Penn State Football: The blueprint for an upset over Ohio State
By Joey Lovell
As noon on Saturday inches closer and closer, the magnitude of the Ohio State- Penn State football matchup continues to increase.
A Penn State football win sees it right back in the thick of the Big Ten East divisional race, as well as once again being relevant in the College Football Playoff picture.
Another Nittany Lion loss at the hands of the Buckeyes, and an once shimmering and shiny season becomes yet another example of Penn State’s inability to beat their top two rivals in the division.
While the game against Michigan was important, the game against Ohio State is vital. Making this challenge even more difficult is the fact that dating back to the beginning of the 2019 season, the Buckeyes record is a sterling 39-4. If Penn State would like to return to the winner’s circle against Ohio State for the first time in six years, it would help to look at the last few teams to actual best the Buckeyes.
2021 saw Ohio State suffer it suffer a multiple loss regular season, as it went 10-2. Its first loss came at home against Oregon early in the season, 35-28. The Buckeyes went undefeated the rest of the way until their annual grudge match against Michigan, which saw them lose 42-27 in the Big House. 2020, the year of Covid, saw them only play conference games and sport a 6-0 abbreviated regular season record. They beat Clemson in the first leg of the playoffs, only to face, and fall, to Alabama, 52-24. 2019 also saw them post an unblemished regular season with a 13-0. Their only loss of that season came at the hands of Clemson in the first round of the playoff, 29-23.
Here’s a few common themes that developed in these Ohio State losses and how Penn State can employ them to triumph on Saturday afternoon.