Ohio
Five reasons for concern for Penn State against Ohio State
After reading the headline to this article, Penn State fans will be hard-pressed not to ask, “where to start”? From where this game started in people’s minds in the preseason to now, everything concerning the Nittany Lions has gone downhill, while everything concerning Ohio State is coming up aces. They are the No.1 team in the country with most of their units and players ranked first nationally in every statistic. Meanwhile, there are not many positive vibes coming from Happy Valley. Thus, it will be a rough mountain to climb for the Nittany Lions on the road in the Shoe.
Here are the top five(out of many) reasons for concern for the Nittany Lions headed into their matchup with the vaunted Buckeyes.
Julian Sayin’s absurd completion percentage
For any freshman quarterback, some might say a 65% completion rate is a steady goal to have. It means that they are on track, but have something to improve upon. Say that to Julian Sayin, because he’s unlike any freshman QB ever. While some will point to the elite weapons around him, no one expected he would be completing a quite frankly absurd 80 percent of his passes. Some will also say that most of those have come on quick throws to the flats rather than any explosive throws. Still, it’s mighty impressive, and with that receiving corps, any throw is possible to make. Penn State will have to decide whether it wants to blitz at a high rate or try its best to hold up coverage. Both of those ideas could work if Sayin weren’t ambitious enough to throw the deep ball. Unfortunately for the Blue and White, he absolutely is.
Carnell Tate’s emergence
Speaking of Julian Sayin’s weapons, Carnell Tate might be the most dangerous one. Not only is he emerging as the true WR1 for this offense, but he’s making people forget about Jeremiah Smith as well, which is perhaps the scary prospect. On just 34 receptions, he has 587 yards and 6 touchdowns, averaging an astounding 17.3 yards per catch. He’s not just matching Jeremiah Smith’s output, in many ways, he could be exceeding it. For a Penn State secondary that, while it is one of the best in the nation, hasn’t been tested much, it is a daunting proposition. No defensive scheme can prepare you for Carnell Tate.
Ohio State’s record against Penn State…especially at home
This one hits harder because the Buckeyes have been tormenting the Nittany Lions even before they were a Big Ten team. Ohio State has an impressive record of 26-14 all-time against the Nittany Lions, but it’s their home record that’s so demoralizing for Penn State fans. They are 14-7 in the confines of Columbus, and to make matters worse, Penn State has only won twice in the Shoe since they became Big Ten members. It definitely hits home when you see former head coach James Franklin’s putrid resume as well. If there’s any team the Nittany Lions shouldn’t want to face in a time of crisis, it’s the Buckeyes.
Huge coaching disparity
It’s one thing to go on the road in a place you don’t often win with relatively green personnel in key areas. It’s quite another when the coach on the opposite sideline has the best all-time winning percentage in college football. Ryan Day has become the epitome of winning in college football and now has the national championship to prove it. While everyone thought there would be some growing pains with Sayin taking the reins of the offense and a high turnover on the defensive side of the football, it has been anything but, with Day really doing an exceptional job of understanding the ebbs and flows of his squad. On the other side of the spectrum, you have Terry Smith going into his second career game as head coach with a freshman QB playing in his second-ever start. Not necessarily the best of situations.
1 word: defense
This is perhaps the thing that should scare Penn State fans the most: Ethan Grunkemeyer facing this defense. In every single statistical category that matters, Ohio State is the undisputed leader. At every single level, you have elite NFL-caliber talents who get the job done no matter the team or where they’re at in the season. Players like Arvell Reese and Kenyatta Jackson sprang out of the woodwork while established vets such as Caleb Downs almost feel like they’re already playing with an NFL mentality. Ethan Grunkemeyer won’t know what’s coming to him on Saturday….even with a bye week to try and prepare.
ATHENS COUNTY, Ohio (WSYX) — A $500,000 bond has been set for an Ohio State University student accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
21-year-old Anthony Bokar faces criminal charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, tampering with evidence, and corrupting another with drugs.
Court documents say Bokar purchased and delivered marijuana to the 13-year-old in Franklin County, and prosecutors said the pair started texting on Snapchat.
[Bokar] then made a plan to drive to Nelsonville in Athens, Ohio to pick her up and engage in sexual activity, which he did.
“He drove to her home and picked her up. Then, [he] drove her to the campus at Hocking College, in which he engaged in oral sex as well as vaginally penetrative sex with a 13-year-old girl,” prosecutors said. “He also solicited feet pictures from her in exchange for money.”
Court documents ABC 6 obtained read Bokar instructed the 13-year-old he had been “sexting” to “delete and wipe her phone from all the information they shared.” Prosecutors said in court Thursday that they are still digging through the evidence on his phone.
“We were just informed today that he was soliciting pictures from other juvenile females around the same age: a 13-year-old girl,” prosecutors said.
Bokar’s LinkedIn profile shows he worked as a student teacher at Pickerington Central High School. The district tells ABC 6 they have no record of a personnel file.
His LinkedIn also reads that he worked as a resident assistant in a dorm and as a student engagement leader for OSU’s admissions team. ABC 6 requested a copy of Bokar’s personnel file, and instead, received a statement saying:
“These allegations are extremely concerning. The individual in question has been placed on interim suspension and is not currently allowed on campus or at university engagements, including student teaching assignments. Nothing is more important than the safety of our campus community, and we will assist law enforcement in any way needed. We are unable to comment further given the ongoing investigation.”
ABC 6 spoke with the father of that victim. He said his daughter had to be placed on suicide watch after suffering a mental breakdown at school.
The father says it was then that she revealed the inappropriate relationship to her family.
“You got a little 13-year-old girl who’s in cheerleading — one of the captains of the middle school Buckeyes — and here’s this Buckeye, saying he loves her and giving her drugs and money,” he said. “When she talks, you definitely know she’s a little girl. The verbiage that she uses, the things she talks about are all childish.”
I didn’t protect her.
ABC 6 asked the father how he felt that Bokar was studying to be a teacher. “He was going to be in his playground. It’s how I see it,” he said.
For now, the father said his focus is on getting his daughter counseling to deal with the trauma Bokar allegedly caused.
“To say it loud, and to say it to everyone gives us the power,” he said. “It helps with our healing.”
Bokar’s next court date is February 23rd.
Three quick takes from Ohio State’s 89-82 win against USC.
Ohio State needed this one
USC isn’t ranked, and this won’t be a Quad 1 win for Ohio State’s NET rankings, but this was a critical game for the Buckeyes. After losing to Michigan and dropping to 15-8 overall, Ohio State’s need for wins against quality opponents increased another notch as mid-February approaches.
The Trojans are perched right around where the Buckeyes are in most of the metrics, as well as the Big Ten standings, where they entered the game with identical 7-6 records. Now, Ohio State has the head-to-head tiebreaker when it comes to the conference tournament and, critically, added a quality win to its resume.
“It feels very crucial,” Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said. “It’s a team with similar metrics.”
It also beats the alternative of taking a two-game losing streak to Nashville for a top-20 game against Virginia on Valentine’s Day.
Bruce Thornton was clutch when the Buckeyes needed him
Ohio State’s senior captain passed Kelvin Ransey for fifth place in the program’s all-time scoring annals, and his most important points came down the stretch. Thornton scored Ohio State’s final nine points, finishing with a team-high 21, helping keep USC at arm’s length in the final 1:34.
Seven of those points came from the free-throw line, where Thornton finished the game perfect on 11 attempts. He also dished out eight of Ohio State’s 14 assists, helping the Buckeyes fend off the Trojans in the final minutes as they made a late charge.
Buckeyes made Alijah Arenas work
Ohio State hasn’t made a mark with its defense this season, but the Buckeyes were able to force USC freshman Alijah Arenas to work for his points. He finished with a game-high 25 points, his third straight outing with at least 20 points, but it took him 19 shots to get there.
Arenas was 6 for 19 from the floor and only 1 for 7 from 3-point range, doing most of his damage from the line. He was 12 for 16 at the charity stripe, drawing eight fouls to lead his team. With Chad Baker-Mazara out due to injury, USC leaned more heavily on Arenas, and the Buckeyes were able to force him into challenged shots with regularity.
Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
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