Scarlet Sunrise: James Franklin impressed by Buckeyes offense

COLUMBUS — Ohio State will head to Happy Valley for a massive matchup against Penn State this weekend. Both teams are ranked inside the top five.

Ahead of the matchup, Penn State James Franklin held his press conference on Monday. He had a lot to say about the Buckeyes. He had quite high praise for the Ohio State offense — at every level of skill positions.

“The quarterback, Will Howard, who transferred from Kansas State, is a big guy and playing really good football for them,” Franklin said. “Touchdown-to-interception ratio, QBR, all those things, doing some really good things. Obviously a young man from Pennsylvania, so he’ll have a bunch of support here from his family and friends.

“TreVeyon Henderson is explosive, one of the most explosive running backs in the country who we recruited out of high school and are very, very familiar with. Quinshon Judkins, who we’re also familiar with as well, two really good running backs. And then obviously there’s a bunch of good receivers you could talk about. A guy that’s getting a lot of buzz is Jeremiah Smith, the freshman, but there’s a number of receivers that we could be talking about.”

Franklin clearly likes what he sees from the Ohio State offense. The Buckeyes must execute Saturday against a really good Penn State defense that is playing its best football lately.

Big Ten overturns Arvell Reese targeting call, LB won’t be suspended in first half at Penn State

Ohio State will have one of its top three linebackers for the game at Penn State after all.

Following a review from the NCAA and the Big Ten, Arvell Reese‘s targeting ejection was overturned. He will not be suspended for the first half of the game at Penn State.

From the Ohio State Athletic Department:

Ohio State filed an appeal to the Big Ten Conference on behalf of Arvell Reese’s action in the fourth quarter of the game. The Big Ten went to the NCAA Football Secretary Rules-Editor and, after review, it was determined that this was not targeting.Ohio State Athletics

Reese was ejected during the late stages of the fourth quarter in the Buckeyes’ win over Nebraska. He was called for targeting after hitting Nebraska wide receiver Jahmal Banks. After a lengthy video review, Reese was ruled to have hit Banks in the head, giving the Cornhuskers 15 extra yards as they tried marching down the field for a game-winning touchdown. Reese’s afternoon was cut short.

The play also resulted in Buckeyes coach Ryan Day spiking his headset and getting a sideline warning. He was close to earning a 15-yard penalty for the antics. Fans proceeded to throw trash onto the field in protest, causing a delay in action.

READ MORE: Big Ten overturns Arvell Reese targeting call, LB won’t be suspended in first half at Penn State

Networks will use six-day window for Buckeyes game vs. Purdue

Ohio State will travel to Penn State for a massive top-five showdown in Beaver Stadium this weekend. It’s one of the biggest games of the year.

The TV networks and Big Ten office are waiting to see what happens between the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions before making a decision on what time and what network the next week’s games will be. Yes, the Big Ten and the television executives are using the six-day window for the Ohio State vs. Purdue game on Nov. 9 in the Horseshoe, as well as other Big Ten matchups.

The other games flexed to the six-day window for Nov. 9 include Michigan at No. 13 Indiana, Washington at Penn State, Minnesota at Rutgers and, of course, the Buckeyes in their matchup against Purdue.

Of course, the matchup could be on either NBC for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff, FOX for a Big Noon matchup, the Big Ten Network at any time other than 7 p.m. (Maryland at Oregon is already in that slot) or CBS for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.

That’s a lot of options; it doesn’t give much clarity for fans attending the game at all.