First Look: Ohio State Prepares to Host Penn State in National Game of the Week

Penn State has played one other ranked opponent aside from Iowa: No. 22 Auburn. PSU defended its home turf against the Tigers, 28-20. Quarterback Sean Clifford threw for two touchdowns in that game.

Clifford has been solid for the Nittany Lions, averaging 7.8 yards per completion with a 12:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The senior has also tallied 1,647 yards through the air and possesses a season QBR of 143.8. But his status for this weekend is unknown as he tries to recover from an injury he suffered against Iowa. Clifford gutted through that injury last weekend against Illinois, but we'll see if he's available on Saturday.

Penn State’s individual rushing and passing attacks have been evenly distributed for the most part. Four different running backs and five different receivers are over 100 yards on the year.

Jahan Dotson has undoubtedly been the biggest offensive weapon for the Nittany Lions. The senior receiver has totaled 562 yards and six touchdowns through Penn State’s seven games. Dotson’s longest grab of the year was good for 52 yards and came against Villanova back in Week 4.

These numbers for Dotson are not surprising considering how much the Nittany Lions favor the passing game.

Penn State has 1,775 passing yards this season, compared to 832 yards earned from running the ball.

The Buckeyes rushing defense is ranked eighth in the Big Ten, allowing an average of 119.4 opponent rushing yards per game. But they also haven't allowed a rushing touchdown in their last five games and the vast majority of their yards allowed came in the first two games of the season.

This stat should be concerning to Nittany Lions fans, considering the PSU rushing attack averages just short of this with 118.9 per game.

Penn State’s defense on the other hand should be even more concerning to the Buckeye faithful.

The Nittany Lions defense is the “biggest challenge of the season,” according to Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.

PSU is ranked 6th in the nation in opponent points per game with 14.7.

Only two opponents (Auburn and Iowa) have scored 20+ points against Penn State. Four of the other five teams the Nittany Lions have faced were kept to under 20 points.

Ohio State has the top offense in the Big Ten, so this matchup against a top-3 defense in the conference will be well worth the price of admission.

Be sure to check out our new message boards, Buckeye Forums. We'd love to have you part of the conversation during the season.