3 reasons Ohio State will dismantle Penn State

1. The Buckeyes will be laser-sharp in this divisional encounter where it could be winner-take-all.

One thing that makes college football unique from many other leagues of sport is the absence of room for error. One loss could be the difference between a national championship season and not even seeing the conference championship game. The Buckeyes know this difference all too well in their tenure in the Big Ten over the past five years alone. The memory of what could have been for the 2015 Buckeyes team whose only loss was to Michigan State which gave them the tiebreaker spot in the Big Ten Championship game and eventual playoffs.

Being the outright favorite to win the Big Ten at the onset of each season sets high expectations for the Buckeyes and even higher stakes for opponents that face the Buckeyes. In any walk of life, the inferior individual will treat any encounter with the most superior individual as if it was the Super Bowl so they will play their part to the best of their ability.

In the case of the superior individual, their tendency will be to play their own game which is better than any inferior individual on average but it is certainly not their best. However, both individuals are human at the end of the day which gives them equivalency on some level. In essence, each opponent the Buckeyes face will give them their best shot especially in this scenario where the Nittany Lions are guaranteed a spot in the Big Ten Championship game if they are victorious in this matchup and win-out the remainder of their schedule.

This very situation was the case in 2016 when the Nittany Lion had lost two games during the regular season including one during the Big Ten schedule but had a win over the Buckeyes which gave them the tiebreaker. The Nittany Lions ended up winning the Big Ten Championship as well but the Buckeyes were very fortunate to still get the nod when playoff decision time came around.

The decision to put the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff without a conference championship turned out to be a mistake as the Buckeyes did not do well in that playoff. Since then, the Big Ten has been on relatively thin ice and the Buckeyes certainly cannot afford to miss another conference championship if they want to continue to make the College Football Playoff.

This aspect goes for any other opponent in the Big Ten including a team like the Indiana Hoosiers who may lose a game before facing the Buckeyes this season but could still get the tiebreaker bid for the conference championship if they beat the Buckeyes. In order to avoid any possible losses along the way, the Buckeyes will need to clean up some things on their side such as a lackluster run game.

Browns: The running game has fallen off with Kareem Hunt as feature back

The Browns are not getting what they paid for with Kareem Hunt, and while still early his struggles are costing the team.

Justin Fields led the Buckeyes in rushing yards against Nebraska. Fields being a talented runner is nothing new to the Buckeyes as he was the third leading rusher for the team last season and had the second-most rushing touchdowns. However, Fields did take some hits last season which hampered him a bit later so the team has certainly been vocal about having him run the ball sparingly this time around when possible.

Grad transfer Trey Sermon and Master Teague were the primary backs last week. The duo was largely unimpressive as they exhibited very little burst. Combined they averaged under four yards per carry which is absolutely abysmal.

For Buckeye running back standards, there is no excuse for this lack of production especially in a game where the Buckeyes were largely in control and wanted to emphasize the run. A player who could emerge in the run game in wake of last week’s lack of production is Steele Chambers who showed good quickness and speed while putting up 32 yards on just four carries.

Teague and Sermon split carries with Teague finding the end zone on two occasions. The bright spot in the offense was the receivers by far as the expected stars Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave flashed with over 100 yards receiving each including a long touchdown from Wilson.

In what was most likely the catch of the year so far in college football, freshman Jaxon Smith-Njigba made an incredible hands catch in the back of the end zone while getting a foot down and securing it with one hand. Another play that cannot be ignored was Fields’ 17-yard touchdown run in which he tiptoed the sideline and spun on a defender to get into the end zone.

The Buckeyes know what is on the line in this game even with the Nittany Lions falling short last weekend. The Big Ten is still wide open and the Buckeyes cannot afford to falter in this spot. Expect the Buckeyes to remain focused during their visit to Happy Valley and finish the night with an important win.