Ohio State Football: One Big Ten team that is overrated

Most years, the Big Ten comes down to one of two teams. Really, it comes down to one game; The Game. Either the Ohio State football team wins it or TTUN wins it. Whoever wins that game wins the Big Ten because of how weak the Big Ten West has been since its inception.

There has been only one other team that has been able to break through and win the Big Ten in the last six seasons, and that’s Penn State. Yet every year, fans and media alike hype up the Nittany Lions to be true contenders in the Big Ten East and the Big Ten as a whole.

Like clockwork, the same thing has happened again this offseason. I’ve seen multiple media outlets trying to hype Penn State as a dark horse contender in the Big Ten and the CFP. I’ve seen people put Drew Allar, their new quarterback, as a Heisman contender.

Let’s stop that right now, shall we? Penn State is a good team, but they are not true contenders. This conference is still run by Ohio State and Michigan. Once USC and UCLA enter the conference next year, things might be a bit different. For at least one more year, it’s their conference.

Penn State hasn’t beaten TTUN since 2020. They haven’t beaten the Ohio State football team since 2016. That year, they won the Big Ten and still missed the CFP because the committee took the Buckeyes instead. They still recruit at a level way below Ohio State. They simply don’t have the talent to win the conference.

Part of the reason why they’ve been pegged as a contender is because of the fact they play a cupcake schedule until they face Ohio State on October 21. They play UMass the week before playing the Buckeyes. But I still don’t see any way that they win the conference.