The game Penn State fans have had circled all year is finally here. The No. 3 Nittany Lions are prepping for battle against No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday afternoon in Beaver Stadium.
The Buckeyes are coming off a gutsy win over Nebraska last weekend, one that nearly saw Ryan Day and company drop their second consecutive game. Ohio State comes into Saturday at 6-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play, with the lone loss coming to Oregon in Eugene.
Happy Valley Insider takes a closer look at the Buckeyes by the numbers, ahead of Saturday's top-five matchup.
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Offense:
Ohio State, as per usual, owns one of the top scoring offenses in the Big Ten and the entire country, scoring 40.3 points per game which ranks 11th in the nation and second to just Indiana in the conference.
Behind that is a stellar run and pass game, posing a dual-threat offensive attack.
Running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins headline a strong run game that is fourth in the conference in rushing yards per game despite having the 13th-most rushing attempts. The pair are in the top five of yards per attempt as well, having a combined 29 rushes of 10 or more yards on the season. Judkins paces the group with 520 yards and six scores, while Henderson has added 449 yards and four touchdowns himself.
Equally as impressive is Ohio State's aerial attack, led by quarterback Will Howard, who has performed well during his first season with the Buckeyes out of the transfer portal. Howard is sixth in the conference with 1,776 passing yards, while being second with 17 touchdowns to just four interceptions.
While the Buckeyes have struggled overall of late, Howard has completed 80% or more of his passes, while having nine touchdowns to two interceptions over the last three games. Something Penn State will look to change on Saturday, allowing just 174 yards through the air per game this season and under 200 per game during conference play.
Howard has a star-studded receiving corps at his disposal as well, with Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith headlining the group. The true freshman is third in receiving yards in the conference with 623 to go along with eight touchdowns. Egbuka leads the team with 43 receptions for 546 yards and six scores. Not to mention Carnell Tate, who has broken out for the Buckeyes, with 19 grabs for 334 yards as a sophomore.
The Ohio State offensive line has had injury troubles, but have only allowed seven sacks on the year, which is good for 13th in the nation, as well.
Defense:
For as impressive as Ohio State's offense has been, the Buckeye's defense is even better, which is what Penn State will have to tangle with most on Saturday. The 11.9 points per game allowed this season is tops in the Big Ten and fourth in the country to this point. They are also pacing the conference in total defense (254.4 yards per game), which is second only to Texas in all of college football.
The Buckeyes have four games allowing seven or fewer points and just two with more than 14, which happen to be the last two weeks against Oregon (32) and Nebraska (17). That is a mark the Nittany Lions have cleared in each game this season, with the lowest point total coming in a 21-7 win over Illinois at the end of September.
Ryan Day's defensive unit is crawling with NFL talent, as is a yearly tradition in Columbus, with Jack Sawyer, Tyleik Williams, and JT Tuimoloau as potential first round picks in the 2025 draft and Caleb Downs having the same hype for the 2026 class.
Free safety Lathan Ransom is the highest-graded Buckeye by Pro Football Focus, however, with an overall grade of 88.6 and is expected to play against the Nittany Lions after missing the previous game due to injury. Ransom is one of two elite safeties in the starting lineup, along with Downs.
That group has held Ohio State hold teams to just 163.1 yards per game through the air this season. That number increased after Dillon Gabriel had 341 in the loss to Oregon earlier this month, and outside of that game, the Buckeyes have not surrendered 200 passing yards in a single game all year.
The run defense has shown some holes of late, but the group of Sawyer, Williams and Tuimoloau have kept opposing teams under 100 yards per game on the ground this fall. Although, that number jumps to 109 during conference play.
Special teams:
The kicking game has seldomly been used by the Buckeyes this season, with kicker Jayden Fielding being just 3-4 on the year after having 20 opportunities a season ago. The junior is a perfect 36-36 on extra point attempts, however.
Similarly is the punting situation, with the Buckeyes having only 23 punts all year, fourth-fewest in the conference. Joe McGuire leads a unit that is 15th in the Big Ten in average yardage per punt, with just two boots over 50 yards.
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