VS.

#24/22 Penn State Nittany Lions vs. #1 Ohio State

LAST WEEK

Penn State finally won on the road, defeating Indiana 36-31.

THIS WEEK’S OPPONENT: OHIO STATE BUCKEYES

Generally speaking, Ohio State’s bi-annual visits to Beaver Stadium are the games I typically look foward to the most. Most of the games since ’95 have been nailbiters with high stakes. It seems typical for one of the teams to be undefeated heading into the game; the last three years, Ohio State has had that distinction. My favorite all-time Beaver Stadium game was the 1997 matchup with the Buckeyes, a 31-27 thriller.

This year’s edition of the Buckeyes has found itself at #1 after starting much lower. An undefeated season and a series of upsets have pushed Ohio State to the top spot. They spent most of last year there before getting throttled by Florida in the BCS title game. Since 2005, the Buckeyes have not been defeated in the regular season with their 2005 trip to Happy Valley being last blemish.

This year, they have a stout defense, ranked #1 in many categories and consistant offensive attack led by Todd Boeckman, a prototypical Buckeye quarterback. He makes good decisions and manages the game — Joe Paterno woudl love to have someone behind center like Boeckman. Sophomore Chris Wells leads the Buckeye ground attack and appears to be the next great tailback in Columbus. Brian Robeskie, Terry’s son, is the leading wide receiver.

Essentially, Ohio State is team with good athletes that plays good, fundamental football. They have not been challenged significantly though.

WEATHER

Rain in the morning, but it should be clear for tailgating. High around 60°, falling into the 40s in the second half. — Accuweather

TAILGATING

Lot 11 or 12, hopefully 12.

RANKING

#24 AP, #22 USA Today — they’ll either be significantly higher or unranked by Sunday.

PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

Here is the official Intercollegiate Athletics transcript of Tuesday’s Joe Paterno press conference.

INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS GAME NOTES

In PDF form.

TELEVISION

Naitonal telecast, ABC, 8 p.m.

PREDICTIONS

This is a tough one. Ohio State has better stats, barely, and more wins, but hasn’t really been challenged. Penn State has been challenged and was bloodied. The atmosphere at Beaver Stadium will not intimidate the Buckeyes as much as a lot of Penn Staters think. However, being the underdog will probably spur the Nittany Lions to play a little looser since they have less at stake. I think that will be the difference, Penn State wins 16-13 in a battle punts..

GO STATE, BEAT BUCKEYES!