Penn State Football: How Nittany Lions close the gap on Ohio State

Aggression to overcome shortcomings

We could take the easy way out and say recruit better. The reality of the situation is as long as Ohio State continues to win, they will win the recruiting battle. Penn State will have to consistently beat Ohio State on the playing field before they can overtake them on the recruiting trail.

So, what can Penn State Football do to overcome the disparity in talent?

Be Aggressive.

James Franklin has brought in coordinators that are aggressive play-callers. We saw the offense attempt to be more aggressive in the first year under Mike Yurcich. The aggressiveness should only increase the longer Yurcich is at Penn State.

As previously mentioned, Manny Diaz loves being aggressive. While it will take some time for Diaz to install his brand of defense, Penn State needs his type of play-calling.

Teams in the Big Ten don’t beat Ohio State solely based on talent. For the foreseeable future, Ohio State will be the most talented team in the conference.

Ohio State gets beaten by aggressive schemes on both sides of the ball. If you’re conservative on offense, you won’t be able to score enough to keep up with them. If you don’t play aggressively on defense, Ohio State will shred your defense.

Penn State can close the gap against Ohio State. It’s not going to be easy. James Franklin will have to embrace chaos and not be afraid of the consequences of being aggressive.