No. 8 Penn State football (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) will challenge No. 2 Ohio State (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) at noon on Saturday in Columbus.

This probably goes without saying, but this is easily the Nittany Lions’ most important game of the season. A win will all but secure the team’s spot in the Big Ten title game, but a loss will knock off its conference title hopes and any chance of making the College Football Playoff. This is a tall order for James Franklin’s squad, as Ohio State leads the nation in points scored per game (51.5) and points allowed per game (9.8).

Here’s everything you’ll need to know for Saturday’s clash.

Television

Saturday’s game will kick off at noon and be broadcast on FOX. Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, and Jenny Taft will be on the call.

Radio

Penn State Sports Network — Steve Jones, Jack Ham, and Matt McGloin
Local: 93.7 FM/1450 AM, Sirius: Ch. 132, XM: Ch. 196

Weather

Saturday should make for some pretty good football weather at the Horseshoe. The temperature is expected to be in the low 40s at kickoff, but there’s a 49% chance of rain at 1 p.m. that’ll climb to 67% by 2 p.m., according to AccuWeather.

Last Meeting

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that these two squads have had some intense games over the past few seasons. They last met in September 2018 in Beaver Stadium, and the Nittany Lions lost 27-26 by allowing 13 unanswered points to the Buckeyes within the final eight minutes of the game.

The last time these two teams met at Ohio Stadium in 2017, it didn’t go too well for the Nittany Lions either. James Franklin’s squad held a 35-20 lead entering the fourth quarter, but managed to lose by a final score of 39-38. Franklin has only beaten the Buckeyes once in his tenure at Penn State, and Ohio State leads the all-time series 19-14.

Injuries/Suspensions

Starting center Michael Menet will reportedly not play in Saturday’s contest due to an undisclosed injury. According to a report by FOX 43 in Harrisburg, Mike Miranda will start in place of the redshirt junior.

KJ Hamler and Noah Cain are also banged up entering Saturday’s game. Hamler exited the Indiana game in the first quarter due to an unknown injury, but Franklin was hopeful after last week’s victory that the star wide receiver will play against the Buckeyes. Cain suffered a lower-body injury in Penn State’s win over Michigan State and hasn’t gotten any playing time since. The freshman running back appeared to be a full participant at Wednesday’s practice, but he will be a “game-time decision” against Ohio State, according to Franklin.

Wide receiver Cam Sullivan-Brown has also missed the last four games due to an unspecified injury.

Betting Lines

The Nittany Lions are underdogs entering Saturday’s game for the first time this season. Ohio State is currently favored by 18.5 points according to Oddsshark, and the over-under is set at 57.5 points.

Ryan Day’s squad has covered in all but two of its games this season. The Buckeyes failed to cover a wild 52-point spread against Rutgers last weekend and only beat Florida Atlantic 45-21 in a game that they were favored by 27 points.

The Nittany Lions have been favored in all ten of their games this season, but have only covered the spread in five of their contests.

Media Coverage

Onward State will have you covered throughout today’s game. You can find big plays, photos, analysis, and more on our main @OnwardState Twitter account and Facebook page, and we’ll also provide play-by-play commentary from @OnwardStSports on Twitter.

Sports editors Mikey Mandarino (@Mikey_Mandarino) and Will Pegler (@gritdude) will be in the press box while visual editor Matt Sniegowski (@m_sniegowski) and photographer Shannon Soboslay (@shansobo) are set to be on the field.

Onward State

• Staff Predictions
• Previewing The Enemy
• Sean Clifford received death threats after loss to Minnesota
• Penn State climbs to No. 8 in College Football Playoff rankings
• Ohio State fans plan boycott of ESPN’s College GameDay
• No-Nut November: Things that would make a better mascot than a Buckeye
• Looking back at Justin Fields’ whirlwind recruitment by Penn State
• Antonio Shelton prepares for Columbus homecoming
• Penn State’s secondary faces latest challenge in Ohio State and Justin Fields