Buckeyes and Nittany Lions have a date with destiny

Penn-St-vs.-Ohio-State-NCAA-Football-Free-Pick

This Saturday, we have a college football playoff warm up. The #4 Ohio St buckeyes will square off against the #9 Nittany Lions out of Penn St. A great defense vs. a great offense. Compelling football at it’s finest. What more could you ask for? Well, I’m sure some of you conference homers will disagree, but you can’t argue the magnitude of this game.  Both teams are undefeated and have already survived early season tests. The buckyes survived in Dallas against the lightning fast TCU horned frogs who made a game of it until the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions escaped from what could had been another feather in App St’s cap, but lady luck helped the home team get the win. This has the potential to be the game of the year. Let’s check out the keys to the game:

  1. Trace McSorley– The senior quarterback has got to get the nittany lions offense going early. He has thrown for 763 yards and has a 53.8 percentage passing, which is not exactly eye candy, but he is consistent. He needs to find KJ Hamler and Juwan Johnson the entire game.
  2. Miles Sanders – If you want to keep the buckeyes off balance, then you need a good rushing attack. Sanders doesn’t have the power like Saquan Barkley, but he is a baller and he can make you miss if you’re not careful. Sanders is averaging 7 yards a carry and has rushed for 5 touchdowns so far. He needs to find the endzone tomorrow, a lot.
  3. Buckeye defense – Just play your game. Tighten up holes and get after McSorley. The buckeyes have created a lot of confusion for their opponents this season. They will need more of that in Happy Valley. If the buckeyes can limit possessions in this game, I like their changes to pull out the win on the road.
  4. Dwayne Haskins– The young sophomore might be the most underrated player in college football. No one is talking about his completion percentage – 75% ! That’s up there with some of the best in the nation. Haskins has thrown for almost 1200 yards and passed for 16 touchdowns and only 1 interception. If he has a great game on Saturday, get the Heisman train going.

The Nittany Lions will be looking for revenge after last seasons heartbreaker in Columbus. On the other side, the Buckeyes have their eyes on a bigger prize- the college football playoff. If Penn St can pull off the upset, they could be looking at the big prize too. Whoever wins, it will for sure make things a lot more clear for the playoff picture in the B1G. The game comes on  ABC at 7:30 PM EST.

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Author: Wes Simms

Lover of writing and all things College Football.

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