Ohio State, Penn State Matchup Carries Surprising Distinction

The Ohio State Buckeyes will face the Penn State Nittany Lions in a massive Big Ten showdown this Saturday, marking the 32nd straight year the two teams have played each other.

That is Ohio State’s longest stretch against any squad. If that weren’t enough to make this matchup all the more intriguing, how about this?

This will mark the first time Ohio State and Penn State have battled one another while both being ranked in the top five since 1996 (h/t NCAA.com).

Considering how prestigious both programs are, that is a pretty wild statistic.

Currently, the Nittany Lions are ranked third in the country while the Buckeyes are fourth. Penn State is 7-0 while Ohio State is 6-1, with the one loss coming against the Oregon Ducks in Week 7.

There is a whole lot riding on this clash for the Buckeyes.

While a loss to the Nittany Lions would not necessarily eliminate Ohio State from national championship contention, it would certainly make things a lot more difficult for them and would essentially shrink the Buckeyes’ margin of error to zero.

Plus, Ohio State needs to actually display that it can consistently beat good teams in the Ryan Day era. Day has widely been criticized for being unable to win big games, and those voices grew louder when the Buckeyes fell to Oregon earlier in the month.

This individual game won’t define Day’s legacy, but a win over Penn State would certainly help, and a loss would absolutely bring out more critics.