Paul Finebaum assesses the chances Penn State has to beat Ohio State

On Saturday, Penn State will travel to Columbus to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. It’s going to be the game of the week and will likely shape the Big Ten race moving forward. With that, ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum shared his thoughts on the game.

While playing a game of ‘Fine or Not Fine’ on SportsCenter, Finebaum explained that he doesn’t believe that the Nittany Lions will be able to beat Ohio State in the Horseshoe.

“Not fine. I like what James Franklin is doing with this team but going into Columbus and winning that game is a big, big hill,” Paul Finebaum said. “And I just cannot believe — Ohio State has some experience. I mean, they beat Notre Dame. They have some other big wins. They will win this game.”

Both Penn State and Ohio State enter the game unbeaten. However, thanks to the road win against Notre Dame, the Buckeyes are the better tested team to this point. On top of that, both teams have talented young quarterbacks who are still growing in their roles. Being at home is key to that.

The game is going to be a huge one for both the Big Ten and all of college football. Penn State and Ohio State represent two of the top three teams in the Big Ten this season. Both have a shot at the College Football Playoff, and a win in this game would go a long way in getting there.

James Franklin evaluates where Penn State stands at midway point in season

After beating UMass on Saturday, Penn State head coach James Franklin shared where he sees the Nittany Lions being at the midway point of the season.

“More than anything, we want to be 1-0 each week. That’s the obvious thing, and we were able to do that up to this point. The other thing that’s important to me is are we getting better each week? And I feel like we’re doing that. Even tonight, we gave up some yards there at the end, but again, my argument is the value of those guys getting in the game [and] playing is going to pay off for us down the road,” Franklin said.

“There’s still things that we got to get cleaned up. There’s no team in the country, there’s no team in the NFL, that there’s not areas that you get critiqued about. Constructive criticism, that we’re trying to get better in certain areas. But, overall, I like where we’re at. We have found ways to win. We’ve won different ways, we’ve won on the road, we’ve won at home, we’ve won an 11 a.m., we’ve won in the rain, we’ve won in the heat, conference opponents, non-conference opponents, and I just think we’re getting better.”