College Football Game of the Week: Penn State vs Ohio State

By Justin Adams Oct 27, 2017

Saquon Barkley reacts after running towards the endzone for the first touchdown of the Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, California on Monday, Jan 2, 2017. By Antonella Crescimbeni (The Daily Collegian) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The eyes of college football fans will be on Columbus, Ohio Saturday as No. 2 Penn State hits the road to face No. 6 Ohio State. This is matchup isn’t just two Big Ten rivals playing for the inside track to the Big Ten Championship Game, but it’s also an inside track for the winner to the College Football Playoff.

So who will win the heavyweight bout between James Franklin and Urban Meyer? Below is our picks including our upset specials.

Jason Romano – No. 2 Penn State 27 – No. 6 Ohio State 17 – I think Penn State is playing fantastic football right now and they keep it rolling and win in the Horseshoe at Ohio State.

UPSET – No. 25 Iowa State 30 – No. 4 TCU 27 – Iowa State’s offense has been on fire the past 3 games. At home, they pull off the upset and end the unbeaten hopes of the Horned Frogs.

Justin Adams – No. 2 Penn State 24 – No. 6 Ohio State 21 – Urban Meyer has won 20 consecutive games and is 5-0 against ranked teams in games after a bye week. Both of those streaks will end after this week. Penn State has the best running back in Saquon Barkley and it’s defense has only given up 9.6 points per game. I’ll stick with Penn State in close one.

UPSET – No. 22 West Virginia 41 – No. 11 Oklahoma State 38 – Crazy things happen in Morgantown in October. West Virginia QB Will Grier leads FBS with 26 touchdown passes and his defense will do just enough to hold off the Cowboys explosive offense at home.

Jon Ackerman – No. 6 Ohio State 27 – No. 2 Penn State 20 – Penn State hasn’t been this good in a while, and I think that hurts them here. These Ohio State players are plenty familiar with big games, and playing at the Horseshoe is a big advantage.

UPSET – Arizona 33 – No. 15 Washington State 30 – Washington State demoralized Arizona last year, 69-7. The Wildcats get the Cougars at home this year, and have run-first quarterback Khalil Tate running wild over the Pac-12.

Also see our picks for the NFL Game of the Week between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions.

Last Week’s Picks

Jason: Notre Dame 30 – USC 21

Justin: Notre Dame 33 – USC 30

Jon: Notre Dame 38 – USC 30

Actual Result: Notre Dame 49 – USC 14

Season Record: (Upsets Record in Parentheses)

Jason: 4-5 (3-3)

Justin: 5-4 (1-5)

Jon: 3-5 (2-4)