The buildup this week to No. 1 Ohio State playing Penn State is not what it has been in previous seasons, for obvious reasons.
Penn State is 3-4 and 0-4 in Big Ten play, and they have already fired head coach James Franklin after three straight losses to Oregon, UCLA, and Northwestern. In their first game of the post-Franklin era, the Nittany Lions lost 25-24 at Iowa.
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This matchup between the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions has been one of the biggest annual matchups in college football over the last decade, with four of them featuring both teams ranked in the top 10. Even though that’s not the case this season, there are still noteworthy numbers going into this matchup.
By the Numbers
2-of-7
Saturday is just the Buckeyes’ second home game in seven weeks. Since playing their first three games at home, the Buckeyes have had two bye weeks and have played three of their last four games on the road.
Their only home since Sept. 13 against Ohio was on Oct. 4 against Minnesota.
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11
Ohio State has a nation-high 11-game winning streak coming into this game Saturday.
4
The Buckeyes’ 11-game winning streak is their fourth winning streak of 10+ wins for Ryan Day.
In addition, Ohio State is 4-0 all-time when playing Penn State as the No. 1 team in the country. The previous four wins came in 1998, 2006, 2007, and 2015.
25
That’s the number of wins Ohio State has in 39 all-time meetings against Penn State.
In addition, the Buckeyes have played 25 games in Ryan Day’s head coaching tenure with more than one week to prepare. Their record in those games is 21-4.
5
Five different Buckeyes have scored multiple touchdowns this season.
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6.75
Ohio State has won eight straight games against the Nittany Lions, but the average margin of victory has only been by 6.75 points per game. That’s key to note here.
Again, Penn State is only 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten, but they are a team that’s still fighting with nothing to lose.
33
The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions have played in each of the last 33 seasons, the longest active streak for any Buckeyes’ opponent (The Game was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19). However, the next time these two teams will meet after Saturday isn’t until 2028.
10
In the Buckeyes’ 2017 and 2018 wins over Penn State, they overcame 10-point fourth quarter deficits in both of them to emerge victorious.
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2
There are two assistant coaches on the Penn State coaching staff that were with Ohio State when the Buckeyes won the 2014 and 2024 CFP National Championships.
Penn State DC Jim Knowles was coordinator at Ohio State for three years (2022-24). Running backs coach Stan Drayton held the same position at Ohio State from 2012-14.
4-13
Penn State is 4-13 all-time against the AP No. 1 team.
5
Saturday will be the fifth time Big Noon Kickoff features the Penn State-Ohio State matchup.
2016
Penn State’s blocked field goal returned for a touchdown last week was their first since 2016. I don’t need to mention who that was against that season…
Of note, the Nittany Lions have blocked four kicks this season. Ohio State’s special teams, meanwhile, has been less than stellar.
