Scarlet Sunrise: All eyes will be on Buckeyes, Penn State this week

COLUMBUS — Ohio State is coming off its worst performance of the year in a narrow win over Nebraska. Penn State, meanwhile, just beat Wisconsin on the road at night but now has a hobbled quarterback and star edge rusher.

But the two teams will now meet as top-five foes in Beaver Stadium on Saturday in a massive game with Big Ten title implications. All eyes are on these two programs this week.

It’s one of just two matchups around the country between two ranked teams; the other is No. 18 Pittsburgh at No. 20 SMU. The winner will have an inside track to the Big Ten Championship Game and potential bye week in the College Football Playoff.

ESPN’s College Gameday and FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame shows will both be in attendance for the morning festivities. Oh, and it’ll have a spotlight on it for a very unique reason. Former President Donald Trump will be in attendance. It’s also being rumored that current Vice President Kamala Harris could also make an appearance in the final days leading up to the 2024 Presidential Election.

Simply put, it’s a big game for the Big Ten, for college football and the country — no exaggeration. This game has massive stakes for both teams.

Buckeyes remain near top of AP Poll

Ohio State just turned in its worst performance of the year; the Buckeyes, coming off an idle week barely beat Nebraska. That wasn’t good enough.

Even after the scare that shouldn’t have been a scare, the Buckeyes stayed put in the latest AP Poll. The team that beat Ohio State a couple of weeks ago, Oregon, remained the No. 1 team in the country. Penn State stayed put at No. 3 ahead of the showdown against the Buckeyes, while Georgia is in the second spot of the AP Poll. Ohio State stayed at fourth, while Miami leaped Texas for the fifth spot.

The only team in the AP Top 10 poll from last week to lose was LSU, which fell on the road to Texas A&M. Other ranked teams to lose this weekend all lost to other ranked teams; the losers were former No. 20 Illinois (lost to Oregon), former No. 21 Missouri (lost to Alabama) and former No. 24 Navy (lost to Notre Dame).

Ohio State is one of five Big Ten teams in this week’s AP Top 25. The league has Oregon, Penn State and the Buckeyes in the top 10. The other ranked teams from the conference are No. 13 Indiana, which remained unbeaten on the season by taking down Washington, and No. 24 Illinois. The Illini were blown out on the road by No. 1 Oregon.

AP Top 5 (Oct. 27)

1. Oregon (61)
2. Georgia (1)
3. Penn State
4. Ohio State
5. Miami

Spread revealed for Ohio State at Penn State

The Buckeyes opened Sunday morning as a 4.5-point favorite for the upcoming road trip to Penn State, according to Fanduel Sportsbook. The total has been set at 47.5.

Penn State has Drew Allar, an Ohioan and former five-star prospect, starting at quarterback. He was courted by the Buckeyes but chose the Nittany Lions. Ohio State, on the other side of this matchup, has Pennsylvania native Will Howard as its starting quarterback.

Howard, the former three-star prospect who was not recruited by Penn State, enters this week with a personal chip on his shoulder. He wants this game.

“Stoked. Stoked. I cannot wait,” Howard said. “It’s going to be a homecoming for me. I grew up a Penn State fan. I wanted to go there my whole life. They didn’t think I was good enough — but I guess we’ll see next week if I was.”

Howard has been a star for the Buckeyes this season. He has 1,795 passing yards and 17 touchdown passes compared to just four interceptions. He also has 41 carries for 91 yards and five rushing scores for the offense this fall.

Counting down

Ohio State at Penn State: 5 days
Ohio State vs. Indiana: 26 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 33 days

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