Well, this isn’t the game that all of us expected heading into the preseason, but Penn State and Ohio State will in fact play a Big Noon game with one of the teams being ranked No. 1 in the country. So,
about those Buckeyes. We went to our sister site Land-Grant Holy Land to get answers from Matt Tamanini like we do every year. Head over to their site to read more about Ohio State and get that perspective on Saturday’s game.
1. What has been most impressive about Ohio State’s unbeaten start to the season?
I think for me what is most impressive is how little drop off there has been on this team from last year’s veteran-laden national championship squad; in fact, on defense, I think they are even better. I’ll get into that a bit more in the next question, but last year’s OSU defense was led by guys with a ton of experience and thousands of snaps under their belts.
With eight of last year’s starters now in the NFL, I was concerned that, despite being talented, the backups wouldn’t be able to live up to the standard created by last year’s unit.
2. The defense has reloaded and looked equally as impressive with Matt Patricia in charge? Who are players to watch as Penn State, led by an inexperienced quarterback, will try to get anything going?
There are three main chess pieces that have made this year’s defense even more impressive than last years. First and foremost is safety Caleb Downs. Arguably the best defensive player in the country, last season, Jim Knowles started varying his usage as the season went on, and that has not only continued, but increased in 2025.
While he is still a safety, you will see him all over the field, from the back of a zone coverage scheme to serving as a linebacker spying the quarterback to standing up on the edge to rush the passer. His versatility means that it is nearly impossible for offenses to definitively know what he is going to do on any snap. While that often results in them just going away from him, limiting his counting stat accumulation, watching the game and keeping an eye on No. 2 proves just how invaluable he is to the best defense in the country.
The other two key figures on the defense are the two starting linebackers Sonny Styles and Arvelle Reese. Like Downs, they are able to be deployed in myriad different ways. Styles started his college career as a safety, but just kept getting bigger, so he made the move to linebacker last season. Reese, on the other hand, began as a defensive end, but his athleticism has translated perfectly to LB.
They are both exceedingly skilled and able to do just about anything asked of them, from run-stopping to covering the slot/tight ends/running backs to blitzing the quarterback.
While corners Davison Igbinosun and Jermaine Mathews Jr. and linemen Kayden McDonald, Caden Kurry, and Kenyatta Jackson are all major impact players that I imagine will be in the pros next season, it’s the trio of dynamic defenders Downs, Reese, and Styles that make the Buckeye defense so difficult to play against.
3. How has the offense progressed and how can they stay hot against Jim Knowles’ defense on Saturday?
The one word that I have used to describe how Ryan Day has managed to evolve his program from perennially being great, but one tier down from the best of the best, into sitting atop the college football mountain is patience. In each of the last two seasons, the head coach has clearly had a plan for how he wanted the season to go.
When things go according to plan, it is business as usual, even if fans and analysts on the outside can’t see the grand vision and question the philosophy. But when things work out a little differently than anticipated, he has shown a willingness to adjust that had escaped him in his first five years leading the program.
So that is why I am not 100% sure what to expect from the offense on Saturday, or for the rest of the season, to be completely honest.
The Buckeye running game has been completely fine this season. They are 71st nationally in rushing yards per game (151.71), but 51st in yards per attempt (4.58). Through the first six games of the season, they really tried to maintain a balance between run in pass, presumably out of both offensive philosophy and because opposing defenses were focused on stopping OSU’s elite passing game.
However, in their last game, the offense was placed squarely in the hands of redshirt freshman Julian Sayin. Against Wisconsin, the QB was 36-for-42 for 393 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. While the Badgers are nowhere near the formidable defense that they have been in years past, Day’s willingness to allow Sayin to take over the offense like that showed what I believe could be a change in philosophy.
Over the first month and a half of the season, the coach regularly said that his staff was taking the first half of the regular season to gather data and break down film to figure out what the team did best. So, the fact that once they got to Game No. 7, the offense looked markedly different does raise some eyebrows.
So, while I expect true freshmen running backs Bo Jackson (no relation) and Isaiah West to get a healthy dose of carries, I am personally pulling for OSU to lean into Sayin’s robot-like accuracy and efficiency while also taking opportunities to push the ball downfield when wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate find themselves in one-on-one situations.
4. What are the keys for Ohio State continuing to dominate this series on Saturday?
It sounds cliché, but as long as the Buckeyes don’t hurt themselves with turnovers and penalties, I think they should be able to beat Penn State for the ninth straight year. Ohio State is not a perfect team, but I believe that its defense is so good that it more than compensates for the offense’s relatively minor ineffectiveness.
5. Predictions for Saturday as Penn State comes to town as the biggest underdog it’s been in more than a decade?
I think that we all understand that Penn State’s roster, despite being down some of its best players, is still stacked with talented players on both sides of the ball. And coming off of a bye week and having nothing to lose, they very well might throw a ton of stuff at the Buckeyes that they haven’t shown all season.
Personally, and with all due respect, I think that is what they will need to do to have a chance to win this game. I expect the PSU defense to be able to slow down the Ohio State offense more than nearly any other team has this season, but I’m just not confident in Ethan Grunkemeyer’s ability to lead a unit that can consistently score on this version of OSU’s defense.
So, if Terry Smith and his staff can scheme up some funky schemes to keep the Buckeyes on their heels, and Jim Knowles’ unit can rummage up a few takeaways, then anything can happen. But if it’s a game where everything is played fairly standardly, I don’t think that an OSU victory will ever be in doubt.
Additionally, while Ryan Day said all the right things in his media availabilities this week about Knowles’ departure, it is clear that everyone in Columbus took it personally. While I felt that Day and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline did everything in their power not to embarrass former Buckeye turned Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell, if given the opportunity, I don’t think they will be as magnanimous on Saturday.
So, I am going to go with a score of 38-10… even though I struggle to predict anyone scoring double digits against this OSU defense.
