Penn State Preview
11/06/2009

After a game in which seven different Buckeyes had more yards than the entire opposing team, 4-1 Ohio State takes on another 4-1 conference foe in what they hope will be a Happy Valley.  Pennsylvania native Terrelle Pryor, who was the Big Ten's preseason offensive player of the year, faces Ohio native Daryll Clark, who is the current front-runner for the award, to see which border rival can get one game closer to unbeaten Iowa.

GAME NOTES

• All-time series tied 12-12
• OSU leads 10-6 since PSU joined Big Ten in 1993
• Higher ranked team has won 17 of last 18 games
• 7 Nittany Lions are from Ohio, including QB Daryll Clark
• 8 Buckeyes are from Pennsylvania, including QB Terrelle Pryor
• OSU leads the Big Ten with 30 points per conference game
• PSU second with 26.8

PENN STATE NOTES

• 8-1, 4-1 in Big Ten, 11th in BCS, only loss 10-21 to Iowa at home
• Leads NCAA in scoring defense (9.3 points per game)
• 4th in NCAA in sacks (3.56 per game)
• 5th in NCAA in rushing defense (84.11 yards per game)
• 5th in NCAA in pass efficiency defense (95.65)
• 5th in NCAA in total defense (254.78 yards per game)
• Leads Big Ten in scoring, passing, rushing, and total defense
• Won games this year by average margin of 21 points
• Out-gained opponents by average of 174 yards
• Opponents combined record 27-34
• Non-conference schedule: Akron, Syracuse, Temple, Eastern Illinois
• Clark leads Big Ten in passer efficiency rating (149.3)
• RB Evan Royster second in Big Ten in rushing (95.4 yards per game)
• Has broken 100 yards in each of last four games
• Derek Moye is leading Lions receiver with 39 catches, 648 yards, 5 TD

COACH PATERNO

• College football's all-time winningest coach, 82 years old
• 391 wins, 5 undefeated seasons, 20 10-win teams, 23 bowl wins
• 60 years on PSU staff, 44 years as head coach, already in Hall of Fame
• 112-33-2 in November

BUCKEYE TIDBITS

• Coach Tressel is 23-4 in November, 5-3 against Penn State
• 284-132-19 in November games, 105-54-8 on the road in November
• 128-104-12 all-time against ranked teams, 34-13 under Coach Tressel
• 39-41-7 on the road against ranked teams, 12-6 under Coach Tressel
• Devin Barclay will be the starting kicker
• Justin Boren will be back from a foot sprain
• Dexter Larimore will be back from a knee sprain
• 11 Buckeyes have birthdays in November

Many think this game between two very similar teams will come down to the battle off the ball.  Penn State leads the conference with 32 sacks and 79 tackles for loss while allowing just 10 sacks.  Ohio State is second with 32 sacks, 15 sacks allowed, and 56.5 tackles for loss.  Last year's game was also decided in the trenches as the two undefeated, defense-oriented teams met in front of a record crowd in the Shoe.  The Buckeyes led 6-3 in the fourth quarter before the Nittany Lions scored 10 points in the final 6:25 to win.  However, Daryll Clark was pulled due to a James Laurinaitis-induced concussion before the comeback.  He'll be sure to see this one right down to the nail-biting, low-scoring finish.  Kickoff is at 3:30 and will be televised on ABC and ESPN2 on a regional basis.

Go Bucks!

By Ben Brown, an OSU senior majoring in journalism