Ohio State Football: Breakdown of the Nittany Lions

The Ohio State football team faces its toughest opponent of the season on Saturday as Penn State stumbles into Columbus for a Big Ten showdown.

After starting the season 8-0, Penn State fell to Minnesota 31-26 and then escaped Indiana with a narrow 34-27 win last week. Can they brush off the cobwebs and start playing like they were earlier in the season on Saturday when they take on the Ohio State football team?

With Chase Young back in the mix for OSU on defense, let’s size up the Penn State offense, which averages 36.8 points per game.

Dual-threat QB Sean Clifford leads the Nittany Lions at quarterback as he has passed for 2,450 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions, in addition to running for 374 yards and five touchdowns. For the Buckeyes to be successful, they will have to keep a spy on Clifford to prevent large yardage scrambles.

Journey Brown leads the way for the running backs with 521 yards and 6 touchdowns, and is accompanied by Noah Cain, Devyn Ford and Ricky Slade, who have amassed 759 yards and 10 touchdowns collectively.

The offensive line has been exceptional this season, allowing only 19 sacks and creating a perfect pocket for Clifford, in addition to opening up holes for Brown and company.

However, the star of this Penn State team is wide receiver K.J. Hamler.

Jeffrey Okudah and the rest of the Ohio State secondary will have their hands full, even if Hamler and his 791 receiving yards and eight touchdowns are limited by a concussion he suffered last week against Indiana, according to Penn Live.

If Hamler is restricted, tight ends Pat Freiermuth (424 yards and 7 touchdowns) and Nick Bowers (202 yards and 3 touchdowns) will still keep the Silver Bullets busy as they try to limit the running of Brown and the dual threat of Clifford.

The return of Young will help, but the Ohio State defense will be tasked with its toughest test of the season on Saturday.

Now that the task for the Silver Bullets is set, what can the offensive attack of Justin Fields and J.K. Dobbins expect from the Penn State defense?

Starting with the defensive line, Yetur Gross-Matos and Shaka Toney have been a menace for opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks, combining for 13 sacks. Although their combined total is less than Chase Young’s individual total (13.5), Gross-Matos and Toney are difference-makers and how well the Buckeyes’ offensive line can limit these two will be a major key for Saturday’s matchup.

At linebacker, former Ohio State recruiting target Micah Parsons has been all over the field, amassing 75 total tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and three pass deflections. Cam Brown and Jan Johnson have also been an intimidating force at linebacker, totaling 104 tackles between the two of them.

The secondary for Penn State has collected eight interceptions, but has shown more promise in blanketing opposing wide receivers and forcing fumbles if the receiver does catch the ball. Keaton Ellis has forced three fumbles by himself, while Marquis Wilson has added two.

The Nittany Lions defense may not be ball-hawkers, but they create havoc for opposing offenses on their way to ranking seventh in scoring defense at the FBS level with only 13.5 points per game allowed.

On Saturday, Ohio State will face a solid Penn State team that can vault themselves back into the race for the College Football Playoff. James Franklin’s Nittany Lions will be prepared, but will it be enough to beat the Buckeyes, who rank first in scoring offense and defense?