The View From Columbus: Scouting the Ohio State Buckeyes
A question simmers beneath Saturday's Penn State-Ohio State game, the first of three epic Big Ten meetings this season. Which coach benefits more from winning: Penn State's James Franklin or Ohio State's Ryan Day?
The answer seems obvious, considering Day is 51-6 as the Buckeyes' head coach and 4-0 against Franklin. But evidently in Ohio State's universe, it's not so clear. Brendan Gulick, publisher of Buckeyes Now on SI.com, understands why Day sits on the "hot seat" in some corners of Ohio State fandom but considers it hyperbole.
"The guy's 51-6 and he hasn't lost to anybody that you’re like, 'How did you lose to them?'" Gulick said. "... I think the standard at Ohio State is different because they make it different. It's not because other schools don’t try to do the same thing that they do. A lot of what is put on Ohio State externally has a lot to do with the fact that they put it on themselves. Ryan Day says it all the time: 'We are not allowed to lose around here. We can’t lose. Period.' When you make it public that you have three goals every year — beat the Team Up North, go to and win the Big Ten championship game and win the national championship — and when you talk about those expectations all the time, that becomes what you’re measured by."
Ahead of Saturday's matchup of unbeaten top-10 teams at Ohio Stadium, we sat down with Gulick to cover all things Penn State and Ohio State. We discussed Penn State's generational defense, its comfortable-in-its-skin offense and its lack of stress this season. Until Saturday, that is.
We also discussed Ohio State's strengths and uncertainties, which include its own superb defense, quarterback Kyle McCord and one potential weak spot: the offensive line.
"The biggest concern where I would say this team might not be 'whoa, legit, national-championship lookout great, everybody is playing for second place' is the offensive line," Gulick said. "Ohio State's offensive line has been fine but they are not nearly as good as they were in years past, and that has definitely been a trouble spot."
Check out the complete show here, and head to Buckeyes Now for more coverage of Ohio State.
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Welcome to Penn State-Ohio State week
AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.
