Ohio State Football: Buckeyes legacy defined over next two weeks

The Ohio State football team may be on a historic pace through their first ten games, but all of that is irrelevant as only what’s to come matters.

There’s a saying around Columbus that careers are made and legends are born in rivalry games. The Ohio State Football team has two of those on their slate to finish off the regular season, needing a win this week against Penn State to clinch the Big Ten East Division title.

Legacies are defined in November. Despite steamrolling each opponent by at least 24 points, this team’s legacy will be determined by how they fare these next two or three weeks.

First, Ohio State welcomes Penn State to town for a weekend in which the entire college football world will revolve around Columbus, literally. An unprecedented three pregame shows will broadcast live from Ohio State’s campus on Saturday morning.

ESPN’s College Gameday, FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff and BTN Tailgate will all be in attendance, all expected to draw massive crowds to surround Ohio Stadium prior to game time.

Ohio State opened as a heavy favorite, according to The Action Network, in the highly anticipated matchup with Penn State and this year the signs certainly point toward that outcome. However, over the last three years the combined margin of victory has been just five points. The Nittany Lions won in upset fashion in 2016 and the Buckeyes erased late double-digit deficits in each of the last two showdowns.

Chase Young will return from suspension for Ohio State and will look to make it a long afternoon for Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford. If the Buckeyes are able to start fast and force the Nittany Lions to throw the ball to play catch up, that could certainly bode well for the Silver Bullets to feast. That’s especially if wide receiver KJ Hamler is unable to go as his status remains in question for Saturday.

The winner of this matchup will book their trip to Indianapolis and most likely a CFP semifinal in the process. Up until this point, this is the most important victory of the season for the Buckeyes if they’re able to continue their success before heading into The Game in Ann Arbor.

The Greatest Rivalry in all of sport needs no introduction as its reputation speaks for itself, but this year it features storylines aplenty. Just as defeating Penn State is priority one for Ohio State, so will it be against That Team Up North as soon as the clock hits triple zeros this Saturday.

The facts are that the Wolverines can only play spoiler and will want revenge from last season’s crushing blow of 62 points, paired with Jim Harbaugh trying to get the monkey off his back as he hopes to beat the Buckeyes for the first time in his career. This is all in addition to Ohio State having a first-year head coach on the road, all making this game more intriguing.

Ryan Day is undoubtedly suited and ready for the challenge, but there’s still no way to adequately prepare for the Big House with the season on the line until you actually have to live it. Though The Game may not mean anything  as far as divisional outcomes are concerned, everything is still riding on whichever team emerges victorious.

Major postseason implications and bragging rights are at the forefront as well as moving one step closer to making history for Ohio State. Moreover, the Buckeyes have their two most challenging games ahead of them and the outcomes will help determine the legacy this seemingly historic team will leave.

The pen scribing the legacy and story of this team is in the hands of Ohio State for the first time in three years in terms of controlling their own destiny for the postseason. What will the final chapters of the regular season bring?