Ohio State Football: Who are the Top 5 rivals?

3. Penn State

Oct 25, 2014; University Park, PA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive lineman Adolphus Washington (92) celebrates after sacking Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Christian Hackenberg (14) in the fourth quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

This is one of the better rivalries in the Big Ten, and these two teams put on a great prime time showdown last season. I really believe with Ohio State winning that double overtime game against the Nittany Lions, the Buckeyes became a better team in ’14.

The problem with this Big Ten rivalry is the fact Penn State doesn’t have the players the caliber of the Buckeyes, but eventually the Nittany Lions will improve their roster under James Franklin. Hopefully future games between the two teams will be more like last season, rather than the game in 2013 where the Buckeyes completely dominated PSU by a 63-0 score. It was a great Buckeyes win, but the game wasn’t as competitive as it needed to be for the conference.

The Oct. 17 meeting this season, at Ohio Stadium, will be the Buckeyes’ game to lose, a game they are expected to win. When these two teams face each other they usually play in front of a national audience and there is some sort of Big Ten standings on the line, that’s what makes this game a rivalry.

With PSU and Franklin, they will be one of the up-and-coming teams of the Big Ten, but it will most likely not be this season.

Bill Landis of Cleveland.com wrote PSU has a 3 percent chance to defeat the Buckeyes in ’15:

"“Chances to beat Ohio State: 3 percent. This was another number we haggled over a bit, and it might seem low considering Penn State gave the Buckeyes their biggest scare outside of the loss to Virginia Tech last year … Penn State is just 3-13 against ranked opponents since 2010, 1-6 against ranked opponents on the road.”"

Next: No. 2: The Most Competitive Rival