The top-10 showdown between No. 4 Ohio State and No. 9 Penn State has absolutely massive implications for the future of both programs.
First, the obvious ones. The winner will have the inside track to the Big Ten East title, the conference championship, and a berth in the College Football Playoff.
Add on to that the fact that PSU is hosting a massive list of top recruits, including the No. 1 overall player in the 2020 class, Bryan Bresee.
Many of those recruits are also considering OSU, so an impressive performance could turn this into a big recruiting weekend for the Buckeyes instead.
You’ve probably spent much of this week thinking, dreaming, and worrying about the game.
Here are a few questions that will determine how it’s going to play out.
How will the OSU offensive line hold up?
They haven’t been perfect this season, but they’ve been pretty darn good.
This week, Jordan said those were a result of knowing he was facing a great defensive line and rushing to get set up for pass or run blocking. He’s going to be facing another great line in Happy Valley. Has he solved that issue?
If the line can give Dwayne Haskins time to throw, he should have a big night against a young Penn State defense.
How will Haskins perform in his first true road start?
There aren’t many questions left for the Buckeyes’ quarterback to answer, but he hasn’t played in front of a truly raucous road crowd against a defense that had actually game-planned for him.
Last year, he walked in off the sidelines against a Michigan defense that spent all week preparing for J.T. Barrett’s strengths and weaknesses. And let’s be honest: Michigan Stadium isn’t the most intimidating road venue.
If Haskins passes this test, the sky is the limit this year.
Will the Buckeyes stick with what’s working?
Urban Meyer has been hands-off with the offense this season, and the results have been incredible. Of course, it’s easy to sit back and watch when the offense is putting up point-splosions every week.
If the Buckeyes fall behind, will he continue to trust Ryan Day and Kevin Wilson to figure it out?
This coaching staff has seemed to panic at times in previous years, and reverted to the default factory setting of the Urban Meyer Offense in the past.
Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel each had 71 yards rushing in 2016. Weber did it on 21 carries, Samuel on two. He never got a third.
Meanwhile, J.T. Barrett ran it 17 times for 26 yards.
It’s very unlikely that Haskins will get anything close to 17 carries in this game, but Meyer must avoid falling into old habits and continue to trust his playmakers to do their thing.
If they get out to a lead, will OSU keep the pedal down?
In 2014, Ohio State went into Beaver Stadium and had a 17-0 halftime lead. It was still 17-7 Buckeyes early in the fourth quarter.
That game ended up going to double-overtime before a J.T. Barrett scramble and a Joey Bosa walk-off sack finally clinched the win.
In 2016, it was 21-7 Ohio State in the fourth quarter before a cascading series of failures handed Penn State a 24-21 win.
Two trips in a row, the Bucks have blown a 10+ point lead in the final 15 minutes.
This year’s edition of the Nittany Lions has made a habit of closing strong as well.
They scored the last 14 points in an overtime win over Appalachian State.
The Lions led Pitt just 7-6 with a minute to go before halftime and then outscored the Panthers 44-0 the rest of the way.
They did something similar to Kent State, turning a 21-10 game into a 63-10 blowout in the span of 30 minutes.
Last Friday at Illinois, the Lions trailed 24-21 more than five minutes into the third quarter. They exploded for 42 unanswered points to finish with a 63-24 win.
The lesson for the Buckeyes is clear: Don’t try to just sit on a lead, because the Nittany Lion in the mirror may be closer than he appears.
Can the defensive line dominate without Nick Bosa?
It’s not ideal to lose arguably the best player in college football. Let’s just get that out of the way up front.
But if any team outside of Tuscaloosa was in a position to continue to thrive without a star, it’s the Buckeyes.
Jonathon Cooper and Chase Young should continue to play well.
Inside, Dre’Mont Jones has been absolutely dominating this season. Robert Landers and Davon Hamilton have been great as well.
Penn State’s offensive line is just okay. Even without Bosa, this could still be an area of advantage for the Buckeyes.
Sooooooo… the linebackers.
That’s not really a question, but yeah, it’s been… not great.
The starters finishing with zero tackles against Tulane isn’t a great sign.
The fact that only Malik Harrison and Dante Booker have graded as champions in any game this season isn’t great, either.
The fact that this has been an issue for two seasons now… yeah.
The Buckeyes can’t allow PSU to move the ball consistently on the ground with Miles Sanders and Trace McSorley.
They also can’t give up a ton of easy, short passes to McSorley.
This will come down largely to the linebackers.
I’ve graded second-year linebackers coach Bill Davis as an “incomplete” so far in his career. If the linebackers are lost again in Happy Valley, it might be time for that to change.
Can the safeties limit Penn State’s explosive plays?
The answer at one spot is undoubtedly yes. Jordan Fuller has been consistently fantastic for the last two seasons.
On the other side… (collar pull)… it’s a little less… good.
Isaiah Pryor and Jahsen Wint have both struggled this season, taking some poor angles, struggling with the ball in the air, and giving up big plays.
Pryor is probably going to turn into a good player at some point. He’s still young – just a third of the way through his true sophomore season – but he’s not a national championship-caliber safety yet.
Whether it’s Pryor or Shaun Wade or someone else, the Buckeyes need to find an answer here. Quickly.
Can OSU avoid a big special teams mistake?
The Buckeyes are a little better than Penn State on both sides of the ball. All they have to do on special teams is not lose the game.
Two years ago, a blocked punt and blocked field goal cost the Buckeyes in that fourth-quarter collapse.
OSU has to avoid those mistakes again.
Kick the ball out the back of the end zone on kickoffs.
Hang punts high and continue to not give up returns.
Don’t muff punts. Don’t get kicks blocked.
The special teams don’t have to be remarkable. All they have to do is not lose the game.