Ohio State, Justin Fields Should Target Penn State Secondary
Ohio State coach Ryan Day doesn't have to open practice this week for a clear view through an open window into how the second-ranked Buckeyes will attack No. 9 Penn State on Saturday in Ohio Stadium.
If you've been watching OSU the last two weeks, or the Nittany Lions over that same span, the plan is as plain as the reason both ESPN GameDay and Fox Big Noon Kickoff will broadcast live from Columbus in the hours preceding kickoff.
It's Ohio State's first Top Ten opponent of the season, its first test approximating what it will face in January in the College Football Playoff.
That assumes the Buckeyes (10-0) will get there, of course, and their path will become infinitely more complicated should they fall to Penn State (9-1).
More on that later, after unpacking the clues to Ohio State's game plan.
Saturday at Rutgers, quarterback Justin Fields threw four touchdown passes, matching his number of incompletions on 19 attempts, and threw for a career-high 305 yards.
The week before against Maryland, Fields matched his season-high with 25 attempts, all in the first half.
Day knew Ohio State would likely roll both weeks, and roll it did, hammering Maryland, 73-24, and Rutgers, 56-21.
The Buckeyes could have easily powered their way to those same, or similar scores, with a fearsome run game that ranks fourth in the nation with 287 yards per-game.
But it's interesting Day chose to sharpen Ohio State's passing game in advance of Penn State, which has struggled to contain the Buckeyes in the secondary the past two years.
J.T. Barrett threw for 328 yards and four touchdowns in 2017 and Dwayne Haskins threw for 270 and three touchdowns last season.
Sure, Ohio State trailed big both years and had to throw, but one look at the Lions' pass defense this season reinforces the wisdom of OSU throwing it early and often on Saturday.
Penn State is 12th among 14 teams in the league in passing yards allowed, surrendering 240 per-game.
Minnesota and Indiana completed 80% of their attempts against the Lions the past two weeks, throwing for 339 yards and 371 yards, respectively.
So expect Fields and his deep receiving corp to provide the stiffest test yet for a Penn State secondary that's been riddled routinely.
The Lions would capture the inside lane to the Big Ten East with an upset win, needing only to defeat hapless Rutgers (2-8) at home the following week to play for the league championship Dec. 7 in Indianapolis.
In that scenario, Ohio State would become the nervous non-champion of its conference and its division, a path the Buckeyes took to the 2016 playoff when Penn State last defeated them in the regular season.
That loophole was easier to slip through then because Penn State had two losses, which it would not have unless it lost to the West champion (Wisconsin or Minnesota) in Indy.
Ohio State can dismiss a large portion of that speculation with a win over Penn State, thus clinching the East before a trip to two-loss Michigan on Nov. 30.
The Buckeyes would probably have to lose both to the Wolverines and in the Big Ten title game to fall out of the Playoff.
Penn State would love nothing more than to ruin OSU's dream season, not just for the ample motivation of the moment, but to repay the Buckeyes for a couple of crushing comeback wins in 2018 and 2017.
Ohio State trailed by more than two scores in the second half of both games, but passed its way all the way back both times.
There's no reason to wait to employ that strategy time time.
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