Game Preview: Ohio State "Looking Forward" To Rare Noon Game At Penn State

"I heard a couple guys say on the (practice) field that these are the games that can change your life, and I think our guys feel that.”

Just like Ohio State’s 49-20 win at Michigan State earlier this month, Saturday’s trip to Penn State (12 p.m. on FOX) will be unfamiliar territory for most players of the team. 

Of course, the Buckeyes travel to Happy Valley every other year members of the Big Ten's East Division, but their last visit in 2020 was played in empty stadium rather than in front of 110,000-plus fans due to the pandemic.

“The noise they were pumping in was so loud, you couldn’t communicate,” head coach Ryan Day recalled this week. “When you would pull your mask down to try to yell at someone, they would say you have to put your mask up. It was very difficult, very frustrating and strange just being in the stadium when there’s no fans.”

Only three players on the current team – defensive end Tyler Friday, linebacker Teradja Mitchell and cornerback Cameron Brown – have experienced Beaver Stadium at full strength, with each seeing limited action as the Buckeyes overcame a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Nittany Lions, 27-26, in 2018.

“I know a lot of guys are looking forward to playing in this one,” Day said. “Whether it’s a night game, afternoon game or noon game, it’s going to be a challenge. The crowd’s going to be in it and they’ll play a factor ... I heard a couple guys say on the (practice) field that these are the games that can change your life, and I think our guys feel that.”

While Ohio State heads into Saturday having won five straight and nine of the last 10 games against Penn State, two of those victories came by a single point (2017 and 2018) and several others weren’t decided until the fourth quarter. That's why this game has been circled on the Buckeyes' calendar for months.

“When you look at the schedule every year and map out your road to Indianapolis, a big part of it is beating Penn State. It always has been,” Day said. “They have a great tradition, great coaching staff, really good players and winning at Penn State is difficult to do.”

General Info

Date: Oct. 29, 2022
Where: Beaver Stadium (University Park, Pa.)
Expected Weather: 50 degrees, sunny
Kickoff: 12 p.m. ET

Current Betting Numbers

Spread: Ohio State (-15.5)
O/U Total: 61.0
Betting: Check out the new SISportsbook!

How to Watch/Listen

Television: FOX
Streaming: fuboTV (get a 7-day free trial)
Announcers: Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst) and Jenny Taft (sideline)

Local Radio: Ohio State Sports Network from Learfield IMG College
Flagship: WBNS 97.1 The Fan
Announcers: Paul Keels (play-by-play), Jim Lachey (analyst), Matt Andrews (sideline reporter)

Series History

Ohio State leads Penn State, 22-14
* OSU record on the road: 9-6

LAST TIME THEY MET
2021: Ohio State 33, Penn State 24

Coaching Matchup

* Ryan Day
* At Ohio State: 4th Season, Record: 41-4
* Overall: Same

* James Franklin
* At Penn State: 9th Season, Record: 73-35
* Overall: 12th Season, 97-50

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Ohio State Capsule

Although he said earlier in the week that “the plan” was for junior wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba to play against Penn State, Day declined to give an update on his status on Thursday afternoon.

“We’re going to kind of stay away from the injury updates at this point,” Day said, once again deferring to the weekly availability report that will be released at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Smith-Njigba caught one pass for seven yards in 22 offensive snaps in last weekend’s 54-10 win over Iowa, his first game back after missing three straight with a lingering hamstring injury.

However, he appeared to aggravate the injury while running a route in the second quarter, though Day said afterward he was on a “pitch count” that he coincidentally reached on that drive.

“When you come out of games like that, you’ve got to keep evaluating and see how things go,” Day said when asked if Smith-Njigba would be on a play limit against the Nittany Lions. “But we’ll keep figuring stuff out and by the end of the week, we’ll have a better idea.”

Day's tone changed considerably from Tuesday to Thursday, though, suggesting the Buckeyes might be without Smith-Njigba for the fifth time in eight games this season when they travel to Happy Valley.

He was then asked if the staff has considered shutting Smith-Njigba down until later in the season in hopes of getting him fully healthy for a potential postseason run rather than pushing him to get back each week.

“That’s the conversation that’s made on a daily basis. It has been for weeks,” Day said. “I leave it up to the doctors and professionals in that area. I certainly don’t know a lot about the ins and outs of what you’re talking about. That’s why we have such a great crew here.”

In the days leading up to the win over the Hawkeyes, Smith-Njigba was in full pads as the team walked off the practice field and then caught passes from a JUGs machine as his teammates discussed his looming return.

That was not the case on Wednesday, though, as most of the players were in the locker room before the media was allowed inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for interviews with redshirt sophomore quarterback C.J. Stroud and others.

“I don’t want to really disclose his personal information or how he feels, but I can imagine it’s not good,” Stroud said when asked if he sensed any frustration from Smith-Njigba following Saturday’s game. “I talk to him every day, but it’s just not my place to tell his business. He’ll be OK, though.

“He understands that God’s working his life in ways that no one else can understand – at least here on Earth. God has a plan for his life that no one else can know. Maybe he’s protecting him from something bigger that we don’t know about.”

Penn State Capsule

Ohio State has yet to face an opponent that ranks in the top 50 nationally in total offense, but that will change on Saturday, as Penn State averages 33.4 points and 423.6 yards per game this season, good for 39th and 49th in the country, respectively.

“The combination of quarterback and wide receiver will be our biggest challenge so far,” Day said. “Our guys understand what kind of challenge this is going to be, and so we’ve got to have a great week of preparation … Going on the road and winning a game like this is going to be huge.”

The Nittany Lions are led by sixth-year senior quarterback Sean Clifford, who was named the Big Ten’s offensive player of the week after throwing for 295 yards and a career-high-tying four touchdowns in the 45-17 win over Minnesota last weekend.

“He’s veteran,” Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said. “He’s very smart. He’s good at reading what you’re doing, delivering the ball. He’s tough. Hangs in there. He can scramble. He’s just a really good quarterback. He’s an operator.”

Clifford is Penn State’s all-time leader in competitions (722) and completion percentage (60.6), while also ranking second in passing touchdowns (75) and passing yards (9,284). With 40 career starts to his name, he’s easily the most-experienced signal caller the Buckeyes have faced this season.

“Sean has played a lot of football and won a lot of games, made a lot of plays,” Day said. “A lot of guys who play that much football, they have so many snaps under their belt that they’ve seen so many different things. That makes them dangerous in and of itself.”

Defensively, Penn State’s strength has been its secondary. The Nittany Lions are led by cornerbacks Joey Porter Jr. (21 tackles and 11 pass break ups) and Ji’Ayir Brown (41 tackles and three interceptions).

Porter, of course, is the son of the former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker of the same name who had many notable battles in the NFL against the father of Ohio State sophomore wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who he'll defend this weekend.

“Nothing’s easy against Penn State. Never has been,” Day said. “It took us a while to crack the rock last year, and I know it’s going to be the same way there this year. They have a really good secondary, good scheme, new defensive coordinator (in Manny Diaz) … This is going to be a challenge for our offense.”

Major Storylines

• Saturday snaps a streak of five straight primetime kickoffs between the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. The 2009 matchup started at 3:30 p.m, while the last noon kickoff was in 2001.
• Ohio State won’t face a “White Out” this season at Penn State, though it’s worth noting the Buckeyes are 3-2 in such conditions. The Nittany Lions will instead “Stripe Out” the stadium, alternating blue and white by section.
• This marks the 30th straight year Ohio State and Penn State have played each other dating back to when the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten in 1993. They played eight times prior to that, including the 1980 Fiesta Bowl, a 31-19 win by the Nittany Lions.
• Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich was Ohio State’s passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2019. He spent the season prior to that on Oklahoma State’s staff with Knowles.
• Wide receivers Julian Fleming (Catawissa) and Marvin Harrison Jr. (Philadelphia) are the only Buckeyes from Pennsylvania. Quarterback Kyle McCord was Harrison’s high school teammate, but he’s from Mt. Laurel, N.J.
• Penn State has six players from Ohio, including Clifford (Cincinnati) and fellow quarterback Drew Allar (Medina), wide receivers Liam Clifford (Maineville) and Kaden Saunders (Westerville), offensive lineman Juice Scruggs (Ashtabula) and long snapper Chris Stoll (Westerville).
• Ohio State has won 24 straight games in which it has forced three or more turnovers dating back to a 35-21 loss to Virginia Tech in 2014.
• The Buckeyes are the only team in the country to convert 100 percent of their red zone opportunities. They’ve scored 31 touchdowns and five field goals on 36 trips inside the 20-yard line this season.
• Stroud’s 72 career touchdown passes rank sixth all-time in Big Ten history. Three more scores will move him into fifth, while five more will tie him with former Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley for fourth in conference history with 77.
• With 20 or more points on Saturday, Ohio State would tie Oklahoma for the longest streak in Football Bowl Subdivision record (69 games). Interestingly, the streak dates back to a 31-16 loss to the Sooners in 2017.

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