5 reasons why Penn State’s Saturday matchup is so meaningful for the Nittany Lions
Penn State will take on Ohio State Saturday afternoon in what is one of the most highly-anticipated games of the James Franklin era. Both teams are currently in the top five and on track to make the College Football Playoff.
But the meaning of this game goes far beyond what it will bring the rest of this season.
Let’s take a look at why this game means so much to Penn State.
Penn State’s recent history vs. Ohio State
There’s no question that the Buckeyes have been the Boogeyman of Franklin’s decade-plus of being in charge of the Nittany Lions. He’s only defeated them one time in 10 attempts and that game came in the program’s most successful season of his Penn State coaching career — 2016 when the team went on to win the Big Ten title. There have been plenty of close matchups between the two programs, but those have frequently gone in Ohio State’s favor. There was the 2017 game when PSU blew a 38-27 lead with less than five minutes on the clock in Columbus. Or 2018 when the Nittany Lions did the same with a 26-14 advantage and less than seven minutes left to play. Or even 2022 when they led 21-16 with less than nine minutes left and ended up losing by two touchdowns.
Point is, this game has been a house of horrors for Penn State for most of the last decade, and winning would go a long way in changing the narrative that the program can’t topple the Buckeyes.
Recruiting benefits
Franklin has elevated Penn State’s recruiting to a program that consistently hauls in top 15 classes in the country. The problem is that the likes of Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama and Texas — the teams Penn State is chasing — consistently bring in top five classes. Even in the vaunted 2022 class that saw the Nittany Lions add three five-star recruits, Ohio State still finished at No. 4 to PSU’s No. 6, according to the 247Sports Composite team rankings.
A win isn’t going to turn that tide over night. Penn State will still struggle with the relative remoteness of the university’s location and its lack of championship-level success, but it would still be a start. And that could lead the program to a path where it can be even more competitive on the recruiting trail than it’s already been in Franklin’s 10-plus years in charge.
Nittany Lions’ chance to prove elite status
The Penn State head coach said it himself after the 2018 game against the Buckeyes — the program was great, but was not yet elite. Six years later, that remains the case. The Nittany Lions have yet to make the College Football Playoff and have struggled in the biggest moments of the season for the majority of the last decade.
But that can change Saturday in a meaningful way.
There may not be a team in the country with a better collection of talent than Ohio State. Despite a loss to Oregon, it remains one of the best teams in the nation and is the hardest team on all of its opponents’ schedules. Defeating this team, this year, can prove that all of the time and effort Franklin and his program have put in were worth it. That this team isn’t just great, it’s elite, and has a chance to compete with the best in the country.
What it could do to Ohio State
There is an underlying current of disaster that could sweep up the Buckeyes if Penn State can get a win. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is undoubtedly one of the best coaches in the country, but losing three of four matchups with Michigan can put any OSU head coach on the hot seat.
But a loss to a Penn State program that it has consistently beat? With two more difficult matchups against Indiana and the Wolverines lying ahead? There’s real chaos potential coming for Ohio State.
A loss could send the program into a bad place and quickly — with any other ensuing loss likely pushing the Buckeyes out of the playoff and putting real heat on Day. And any upheaval with the Buckeyes is good for Penn State moving forward.
Securing a playoff position
This is the most obvious benefit of a win Saturday, but also the most important for the immediate future. it would be hard to envision Penn State missing the College Football Playoff with a win Saturday. Yes, the Nittany Lions have four games left, but two are against Purdue and Maryland — teams that they have no business losing to. The other two, against Washington in the White Out and Minnesota on the road, are very winnable games for Penn State. And even if they lost two of those games, they’d still likely get in the playoff with a 10-2 record.
But the upside with a win is even greater. The Nittany Lions would be in prime position to go 12-0 and make the Big Ten title game for the first time since 2016 — giving themselves a real opportunity to win the conference and secure the No. 1 seed in the playoff, ensuring a place in the quarterfinals and putting themselves three wins away from a national title.
