Kirk Herbstreit reveals how Ohio State fanbase will impact Saturday's game vs. Penn State

Kirk Herbstreit believes Ohio State faithful are going to make it difficult for Penn State to break through their glass ceiling with a victory on Saturday.

While the Nittany Lions believe it’s their best shot at beating the Buckeyes in a myriad of seasons, Herbstreit believes the Buckeyes crowd will be a gigantic factor, especially when it comes to the Penn State offensive operation.

“Tomorrow’s crowd will be a crowd, when Drew Allar steps to the line-of-scrimmage, he will not be able to hear,” Herbstreit said, via The Pat McAfee Show. “Communication will be an issue. We can talk all about that. It’ll be a major problem and a challenge for them.”

Moreover, Herbstreit relented that not every home crowd for the Buckeyes is a raucous bunch, due to their lighter competition in past weeks, but expect Ohio State fans to be at their best against the Nittany Lions.

“Here’s how the Ohio State home stadium works. If they’re playing Minnesota or Purdue or Northwestern, they’re a c-minus crowd. They’re a reactionary crowd. They are, I’m being honest. Just listen to me. They’re a crowd that reacts to a touchdown, they react to a sack. Now listen, I’m just telling you, because of all the success, they have an expectation,” Herbstreit said. “When they don’t feel threatened, they’re a non-factor. When they feel threatened, like tomorrow, they’ll be a major factor in the game. And they will.

“They pick one or two games a year, and tomorrow will be a game that they decide to be (a factor). I’m the reality guy. I’m the realistic guy.”

Alas, it’ll be fascinating to see the impact the crowd makes on tomorrow’s game, as Penn State versus Ohio State is shaping up to be one of the best clashes of the season thus far.

Desmond Howard explains why Saturday is Penn State’s ‘best opportunity to beat Ohio State’

Meanwhile, Herbstreit and McAfee’s College GameDay in Desmond Howard fired off some of his last takes before the showdown.

Howard joined ‘Get Up’ on Friday morning and previewed the game between the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes. To start, he agreed with many by calling this the moment for James Franklin’s program to make a statement.

“I think, Penn State? This is their best opportunity to beat Ohio State,” Howard said.

Then, as far as a key matchup goes, Howard noted the battle on the outside between CB Kalen King and WR Marvin Harrison Jr.. With each of them being one of the best players at their respective positions, that’s one that he’s going to have his eyes on.

“They have a cornerback, Kalen King? He’s a shutdown corner, No. 4,” said Howard. “He’s probably a first-round draft pick. (King’s) going up against Marvin Harrison Jr. who some people think is wide receiver one, would be the first going off the board.”

When it comes down to it, though, Howard believes the game will be decided between Penn State’s defense and Ohio State’s offense. The Nittany Lions are number two in the nation by giving up just eight points per game this season. They’re also allowing under 200 yards overall. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes are scoring right at 36 points per game, which is Top-25 nationally. They do so by putting up almost 450 yards of offense a contest.

On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this article.