Ohio State Football: Early storylines for the Penn State game

The #3 Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Nebraska Huskers in week one, 52-17, while the then-ranked #8 Penn State Nittany Lions were upset in overtime by Indiana, 36-35. PSU dropped to #18 in the AP Poll, but very well may still be the second-best team in the Big Ten.

Not only will this be a ranked vs. ranked rivalry game, there are an abundance of early-week storylines. Let’s dive into a few.

Chris Olave might not play.

In today’s press conference Ryan Day told reporters “We’ll see how it goes as the week goes along.” when asked about the status of Chris Olave. Olave was hit hard by Nebraska’s Quinton Newsome after a 22-yard catch, the hit caused Olave to fumble the football.

After the play, trainers came to Olave on the field, and he missed the remainder of the game. If the junior WR misses the week two game against Penn State, Ohio State will likely utilize Jameson Williams in his place and perhaps use Julian Fleming as the other WR, with Garrett Wilson remaining at the slot position. “We can move things around as we always do” added Day.

PSU RB Noah Cain is out for the season.

The Nittany Lions are already without their starting RB Journey Brown (out due to an undisclosed medical condition), and to make matters worse Noah Cain, who started the season opener, is out for the season with a leg injury. PSU will now turn to their third-string RB Devyn Ford to be the starter against Ohio State.

This will feature the two best QB’s in the Big Ten.

While you could make a case for Wisconsin’s Graham Mertz or Michigan’s Joe Milton, Sean Clifford and Justin Fields appear to be the best overall QBs in the conference. Last week Clifford 238 yards and three touchdowns against Indiana, and rushed for 119 yards, and added a touchdown. While he did throw two interceptions, he still had a strong game.

Justin Fields was nearly perfect in the Buckeyes win over Nebraska, with just one incompletion, two touchdown passes, and a rushing touchdown. It should be a great duel in Happy Valley on Halloween night.

Justin Fields plays at Penn State for the first time.

Why is this significant? Because Justin Fields was first committed to Penn State before flipping to Georgia. James Franklin was one of the first Power Five schools to offer Fields a scholarship, but once SEC schools started to notice and recruit Fields, he de-committed.

If there were 100,000+ fans to fill up Beaver Stadium this weekend, Fields undoubtedly would hear some banter from the stands. Even after the de-commitment from Penn State, Fields still describes James Franklin as “a good coach” and adds “they’re all great guys over there.”

Will Ohio State’s run game improve?

Ohio State used two RB’s for the majority of the game last week. Trey Sermon had 11 carries for 48 yards and Master Teague had 12 carries for just 41 yards. The runningbacks struggled to find much momentum against the Cornhuskers and will have an even bigger challenge with PSU.

Last week against Indiana the Nittany Lions defense allowed just 41 yards rushing (including yards lost on sacks). If Sermon and Teague struggle in the early stages, Steele Chambers may be utilized after his strong, but limited performance against Nebraska.

Despite the absence of a jam-packed white-out at Beaver Stadium, this game promises to be one of, if not the biggest Big Ten game of the season. Kickoff will be at 7:30 PM ET and will be televised on ABC.