COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — After playing three of its last four games on the road, No. 1 Ohio State returns home to take on Penn State in a meeting of two teams that are trending in opposite directions.
Saturday marks the 41st meeting between the programs, with the Buckeyes leading the all-time series 25-14. OSU owns an eight-game winning streak over the Nittany Lions dating to 2016. Due to expansion in the Big Ten, this will be the final matchup between the two until 2028.
Ohio State enters the game on an 11-game winning streak dating to last season’s College Football Playoff, while Penn State is stuck in a four-game losing skid, falling out of the national polls after starting the season ranked No. 2 in the country.
“I don’t think there’s many teams in the country that have more talent than Penn State has, and I think people recognized that early in the season,” coach Ryan Day said. “I’m sure it hasn’t gone the way they wanted it to, but that doesn’t change they still have really good players.”
Here’s what to know before kickoff at noon Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
Central Ohio native at QB for Penn State
When Penn State lost its third game in a row to Northwestern on Nov. 11, the program not only saw coach James Franklin get canned, but the team lost starting quarterback Drew Allar to a season-ending injury.
In Allar’s place comes Ethan Grunkemeyer, a redshirt freshman who graduated from Olentangy High School, where he set records in categories including career passing yards, career passing touchdowns and season passing yards and touchdowns.
In his first start at quarterback against Iowa, Grunkemeyer completed 15 of 28 passes for 93 yards, throwing two interceptions.
“He’s a very talented young man,” Day said. “Very intelligent, competitive player that has a very bright future in the game. This is just his second start, but you can see the talent on the field. You can see he’s got leadership skills.”
The return of Jim Knowles
Just days after the national championship, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles left Ohio State for the same job at Penn State, signing a three-year deal worth more than $3 million dollars that made him one of the highest paid coordinators in college football.
Since his departure, the teams couldn’t have been on more different paths. The Buckeyes hired Matt Patricia to fill Knowles’ spot, and the defense has never looked better. Ohio State is allowing opponents to score an average of 5.9 points through seven games, ranking as the best scoring defense in the country.
Meanwhile, Knowles’ defense at Penn State is allowing an average of 19.4 points and 303.7 yards.
Day said his relationship with Knowles, who spent three seasons at Ohio State, is practically nonexistent since leaving Columbus.
“Like any relationship, when it breaks off, sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad, but there really hasn’t been much communication,” Day said. “He did a great job when he was here. Helped us win a national championship and kind of left it at that. And then we had to go make a replacement and move on from there. That’s kind of how it is. It was abrupt, but we respect the work he did when he was here.”
Honoring Nick Mangold
A moment of silence will be held before kickoff to honor the life and memory of former Buckeye Nick Mangold. The All-America center passed away last weekend at age 41 after a battle with chronic kidney disease.
Mangold played for Ohio State from 2002 to ’05, taking part in four bowl game wins as well as the national championship victory at the end of his freshman season. He went on to become the first Buckeyes center to get drafted in the first round, by the New York Jets, where he spent 11 seasons.
“We talk about leaving legacies behind. When you hear that name in this building, people stand up straight,” Day said. “This is a guy who had a tremendous amount of character and left a lot of that behind. He didn’t just go through this place. He left a work ethic. He left a leadership. He left a discipline and certainly a body of work on the field. Everybody in Buckeye Nation is mourning his loss.”
