The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0) hit the road Saturday to face No. 9 Penn State (4-0) in front of a whiteout at Beaver Stadium.
The Bucks beat Tulane, 49-6 last weekend.
Penn State comes in off a 63-24 win over Illinois. The Nittany Lions were only up 28-24 after three quarters, but exploded to outscore the Illini 35-0 in the final quarter.
Ohio State is a 3.5-point favorite.
Incidentally, in case you were wondering, Beaver Stadium is named for a person, not an animal.
James A. Beaver was the governor of Pennsylvania from 1887-1891 and also served on the PSU Board of Trustees.
Here’s everything you need to know to enjoy Ohio State vs. Penn State.
Kickoff Time
The game kicks off Saturday, September 29 at 7:44 pm Eastern.
TV & Streaming
You can watch the game on ABC, or stream it via the Watch ESPN app. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Maria Taylor are on the call.
Radio
The game will be carried live on the Ohio State Football Radio Network. Find your local Ohio State Football radio station here.
Weather
Football weather is officially here.
It will be 60 degrees and clear around kickoff, with temperatures dropping into the low 50s by the time the game ends. There is no rain in the forecast, and almost no wind.
It’s pretty much a perfect night for football.
Point Spread
Ohio State is a 3.5-point favorite. That number opened a little higher than that, and has held at 3.5 for most of the week.
The Over/Under is 69.5.
This is the first time in 2018 that the Buckeyes have been favored by single digits.
Tickets
Unsurprisingly, the game is a sellout, and PSU is anticipating that it could set a new stadium attendance record.
Tickets are available on the secondary market start around $200 on Stub Hub. You can get decent seats around the 10 yard line for about $230 each.
Prices on the official ticket resale site are a little more expensive, ranging from $220 or so to get in the door to $519 for seats on the 50. That’s down from about $700 for similar seats earlier in the week.
Those prices will generally drop as kickoff gets closer.
Expect a hostile atmosphere inside the stadium.
Beaver Stadium Bag Policy
You can bring one clear, gallon-sized seamed (not flat bottomed) bag in to Beaver Stadium.
Coats, blankets, and binoculars and cameras are fine, but you can’t bring them in a case. You can find the complete bag policy here.
Parking
The main stadium parking lots are now all sold out.
Penn State issued a release on the next-best parking options, and recommends that you either park in a garage on campus or in a shuttle or park-and-ride lot.
From that release:
- CATA Game Day Shuttle – two routes to Beaver Stadium (catabus.com)
- On campus in the Eisenhower, HUB or Nittany decks and walking or taking CATA Blue or White Loop (parking fee at all campus decks);
- Lot Red A, located west of North Atherton Street by the Westgate Building and walking or taking CATA Blue Loop (parking fee at Lot Red A);
- Several downtown parking garages have hourly rates, including the Beaver Avenue, Fraser Street, McAllister Street and Pugh Street Garages, on a first-come, first-served basis. Fans can walk from the garages, take the CATA Game Day Shuttle or CATA Blue or White Loop to Beaver Stadium;
- Uber (drop off and pick up locations near stadium);
- Grange Park (car and RV park and ride shuttle provided by Cole Transportation; fee for parking and shuttle on Friday/Saturday; grangefair.com).