No. 8 Penn State travels to Ohio State this weekend to take on the No. 2 Buckeyes in what will be by far both teams’ biggest challenges of the season.

A lot has been made of the high-powered offense, led by Heisman Trophy candidate Justin Fields. But paired with that high-powered offense is a dominant defense that has terrorized opposing offenses all season long.

In fact, Ohio State’s defense is arguably the best in all of college football. The unit has given up the least amount of yards per game out of any team in college football, only allowing 216.4 yards per game. They’re first in yards per play too, with a minuscule 3.52 yards given up per play.

Yards are clearly not easy to come by against this dominant Buckeye defense and unsurprisingly, neither are touchdowns. Opponents have scored only 11 touchdowns against it all season.

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford has yet to face Ohio State, but he knows the challenges that he and his offense will face heading into Columbus and he’s ready for it

“They are definitely a talented group,” Clifford said. “From pretty much every position they have talent. I compare them to an Iowa-type defense when it comes to doing your assignment and making plays. They definitely have a lot of good players and it’s going to be a challenge, but I’m excited for it.”

One of those talented players on the Ohio State defense is one-man wrecking crew, Chase Young. Young is the best pass rusher in the country and an almost-guaranteed top-five pick in the upcoming NFL draft. He has 13.5 sacks, 15.5 tackles for loss, and five forced fumbles in just eight games.

Young will be returning from his two-game suspension when he takes the field against the Nittany Lions this Saturday. His return couldn’t have come at a worse time for James Franklin and company, as they know the game-changing type player that he is.

“He’s back just in time for good ol’ Penn State,” Franklin said. “I’ve known Chase for a long time. Obviously, he’s as impressive of a player on tape and in the country as anyone. He jumps off the tape at you.”

Young hasn’t just caught the attention of Franklin. Sean Clifford, who will likely feel Young’s presence throughout the game Saturday, has also taken notice.

“Chase Young is extremely talented,” Clifford said. “He has a god-gifted ability, from size and speed. He’s a guy who you can consider a game wrecker. It’s going to be a challenge on Saturday, but we are going to put together a good plan and be ready.”

To put in perspective what the Penn State offense is going up against, take a look at how the Ohio State defense fared against a familiar opponent.

Remember the Indiana offense that gave Penn State issues with 462 total yards, three touchdowns, and 27 points? That same offense was only able to accumulate 243 total yards, one touchdown, and 10 points against Ohio State.

Penn State’s offense is going to need to play its best game of the season in order to overcome the challenge of facing Ohio State’s defense. With that includes avoiding turnovers and taking advantage of opportunities, such as scoring off turnovers and scoring when given good field position.

“I think it goes back to being consistent and having a good game plan,” Clifford said. “You have to have a 1-0 mentality on each play. They are not going to give up a lot of explosive plays. You kind of have to dice them up from a different perspective. They are an extremely talented team and they execute at an extremely high level. We just need to do the same at an even higher level.”

In addition to its high defensive rankings, the Ohio State defense has done some things that make them even scarier:

• Has not allowed a 100-yard receiving game to a receiver all season
• Hasn’t allowed more than one passing touchdown in a game
• Held the opposing starting quarterback under 100 passing yards four times
• Has not allowed a 100-yard rushing game to a single player.
• Second most sacks in college football
• Eighth in college football and first in Big Ten in forced turnovers