9/9/2022 football Edit

Penn State vs Ohio: Keys to victory for the Nittany Lions

Alex Murphy

Staff Writer

Penn State football has itself off to a 1-0 start this season after a thrilling last-minute victory in its season opener against Purdue. The Nittany Lions pulled off a 35-31 win under the lights at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, IN and are looking to ride the momentum of that game-winning touchdown drive into this week’s home opener against Ohio.

The Bobcats comes into Week 2 also 1-0 on the season, having won a close 41-38 season opener against Florida Atlantic last Saturday. Despite Penn State dominating the all-time matchup between the two schools, Ohio won their last meeting back in 2012, 24-14. However, the Bobcats are coming off a 3-9 record in 2021 and look vulnerable coming into this week. Here are the keys to success for Penn State to get off to a 2-0 start in 2022.

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1. ESTABLISH THE PASSING GAME EARLY...

Penn State showed its grit late against Purdue and quarterback Sean Clifford showed he can win a game with his arm, having passed for roughly 70 yards on that final drive, including a game-winning touchdown. Clifford threw for four touchdowns in the game and threw for nearly 300 passing yards.

Ohio gave up around 50 more yards in the air compared to its average passing yards a game in 2021. The more success the Nittany Lions have in the air, the more that should contribute to points on the board on Saturday.

2. DOMINATE THE GROUND....

Against a tougher defense in Purdue, Penn State struggled to get its running game going, but running backs Keyvone Lee, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen shared the ball well, each running for 30 or more yards in the win.

They face an Ohio team that gave up nearly 200 yards on the ground per game in 2021, getting torched in the running game. While Penn State wasn’t much of a rushing team last season and in Week 1, a great day on the ground will lead to big things this season. Having a dynamic backfield of three running backs who can take care of the football and take advantage of gaps at the line of scrimmage adds another level of depth to this team.

3. PRESSURE KURTIS ROURKE AND FORCE HIM TO RUN...

Despite Ohio’s 3-9 record last season, the Bobcats were 31st in the FBS in sacks allowed and 39th in sacks allowed per game, giving up just 22 in 12 games or 1.83 sacks per game. However, the front line for Ohio showed some cracks in Week 1 as starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke was sacked three times by FAU.

In the end, the three sacks didn’t matter much as Rourke was 27/34 for 345 passing yards and four touchdowns in the victory, but while it didn’t matter much in that game, it will matter plenty against Penn State. The Nittany Lions struggled to get to the QB in 2021, averaging just under two sacks per game, so constant QB pressure on Saturday has great potential to lead to chaos.

4. CONTINUE TO DOMINATE THE MAC....

Penn State is 35-2 all-time against teams from the Mid-American Conference and 25-2 since 2000. Since that loss to Ohio in 2012, the Nittany Lions have gone 10-0 against the MAC, averaging close to 40 points per game in that span.

In their 37 all-time meetings against MAC opposition, Penn State has averaged 36.6 points per game on offense, so the recipe for success is there. Last year, the Nittany Lions defeated Ball State, 44-13, its fourth-straight 40-burger put on MAC teams. That means that a fifth-straight 40-point performance could very well be in the cards on Saturday.