Ohio State Buckeyes

Revenge motivates as No. 6 Ohio State takes on No. 2 Penn State (Oct 28, 2017)

Published Oct. 24, 2017 8:50 p.m. ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It is sacrilege at Ohio State to say there's a bigger game on the schedule than the annual border battle with hated rival Michigan.

But there's no denying that Saturday's Big Ten matchup (3:30 p.m. ET) between No. 2 Penn State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) and No. 6 Ohio State (6-1, 4-0) is the biggest game of the season to date for both teams.

The winner gains the inside track to the Big Ten Championship Game -- although Michigan State will have its say -- and a likely berth in the College Football Playoff if it can win out.

This will be the eighth meeting between the storied programs when both are ranked in the top 10. The last one came in 2008, when Penn State edged Ohio State 13-6.

Last year, Ohio State was riding high at No. 2 in the country when it was taken down in overtime by Penn State. That win propelled the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten championship.

Asked this week if revenge is a factor, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was candid.

"Sure. Is revenge a motivator? Yeah, it is," he said.

Buckeyes defensive end Sam Hubbard remembers taking the Nittany Lions lightly last season.

"We were just stunned," Hubbard said. "We didn't respect a really good opponent and took for granted winning."

Ohio State still ended up in the College Football Playoff. Penn State played in the Big Ten Championship Game and in the Rose Bowl.

The Nittany Lions certainly understand the stakes.

"When you find a way as an organization to beat the No. 2 team in the country, I don't care where you're at, those wins have a big impact," Penn State coach James Franklin said. "We take it one game at a time and things like that, but there's definitely awareness from all of us."

Each team has a prolific offense with multiple playmakers. Ohio State and Penn State rank 1-2 in the Big Ten in scoring, total offense and passing.

Penn State's offense revolves around running back Saquon Barkley. He leads the country in all-purpose yards and has scored a touchdown in 14 consecutive games.

The Nittany Lions will use him in multiple ways as they did last week against Michigan -- taking direct snaps, split wide, in the slot and on kickoff returns.

"No question, he's the best all-purpose guy we've probably faced in probably, maybe my career," Meyer said. "He's obviously a great running back. But they do a good job using him and creating matchup issues.

"I'd be careful to say this, but he's as good an all-purpose running back we've seen. And that's 30 years."

Led by Barkley and quarterback Trace McSorley, Penn State cruised to a 42-13 victory over Michigan in a white-out game at home last Saturday.

After that game, Franklin rankled some Ohio State fans when he "forgot" which team the Nittany Lions played the following week and then refused to talk about the Buckeyes.

"It's funny because whenever you do anything like this, other fan bases and nationally, they're looking for reasons to go crazy," Franklin said Tuesday. "I could not have more respect for Ohio State, their program, and Urban Meyer, but I mean literally the game just ended, can I talk about Michigan, can we enjoy Michigan for a half hour before we move on to the next opponent?"

Ohio State had last Saturday off and, just as Penn State did before it played Michigan, used the bye week to heal and prepare for a tough opponent. Meyer's teams are 20-1 in his career after a bye week and 5-0 against Top 25 opponents.

"It helped us last week and will help them this week," Franklin said of the bye.

Ohio State center Billy Price agreed.

"It's a big matchup for us, and it's a huge advantage for us coming off a bye week," Price said.

After Ohio State's offense struggled against Oklahoma in the only loss of the season, the Buckeyes have found their mojo. They've scored 50 points and produced more than 500 yards in each of their past four wins, the latest being a 56-14 blowout at Nebraska two weeks ago.

Quarterback J.T. Barrett is completing 66.7 percent of his passes (McSorley is at 66.8) and has thrown for 21 touchdowns with just one interception. Freshman running back J.K. Dobbins has rushed for 775 yards -- 18 more than Barkley -- and Ohio State's deep receiving corps is improving each week.

The Buckeyes haven't faced a defense like Penn State's, though. The Nittany Lions, led by Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Jason Cabinda, are No. 1 in the country in fewest points allowed (9.6 per game) and No. 9 in yards allowed (282.9).

Ohio State isn't far behind at No. 10 in scoring defense (15.4) and No. 16 in total defense (305.3 yards per game).

"We're all realistic about what's coming down," Meyer said.