Ohio State Football: 3 keys to beating Penn State

The Ohio State football team takes on Penn State this weekend in a night showdown in the Shoe. It would have been a top-10 matchup had the Nittany Lions not fallen on their face against Illinois in a 9 overtime loss. A little bit of luster has been lost in this game.

Ohio State is looking to keep its roll going. They have been destroying teams over the last four weeks or so. They look like they are on a warpath to the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes know that they have no margin for error the rest of the season if they want to get there.

Penn State now has nothing left to lose as a team. They can no longer play for a CFP spot unless something insane happens the last few weeks of the season. At this point, they are just playing for pride. That could make them a dangerous team for the Buckeyes to deal with.

I would believe that is the case if Penn State didn’t seem so distracted. In any case, the Buckeyes have to stay focused on the task at hand and make sure they play their best football. I’ve identified three major keys for the Buckeyes to take care of to win this game.

If they do all three of these things, they will win the game and do so comfortably. If they do two of the three, they should still win a close one. But if they can’t do any of them, they are in danger of losing in the Shoe for the second time this season.

The first key has to do with the offensive line.