No. 18 Penn State football (0-1) will welcome No. 3 Ohio State (1-0) to Happy Valley for its home opener Saturday night.

Coming off a tough loss in Bloomington, the Nittany Lions are heavy underdogs against a very strong Buckeye team. Although there won’t be a White Out in Beaver Stadium this year, these two squads always create an entertaining matchup anyway.

Here’s everything you need to know for what’s shaping up to be Penn State’s biggest game of the year.

Television

Saturday’s highly-anticipated matchup will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on ABC. The classic lineup of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Maria Taylor will be on the call.

The College GameDay crew will also be set up inside Beaver Stadium for its iconic Saturday morning broadcast. The show will begin at 9 a.m. and air until noon.

Radio

Penn State Sports Network — Steve Jones and Jack Ham
Local: 99.5 & 103.7 FM/1450 AM, Sirius XM: Ch. 83

Weather

It’s going to feel like football weather in Happy Valley tomorrow, as it’ll be sunny all day and only get up to about 46 degrees. Accuweather predicts a cool 40 degrees at kickoff.

Although it’s been soggy in State College this whole week, it isn’t supposed to rain Saturday. Expect 57% humidity, light wind, and a 26-degree dew point at 7:30 p.m.

Last Meeting

These two teams last met in Columbus in 2019, resulting in a decisive 28-17 victory for the Buckeyes. Sean Clifford left the game injury, leaving Will Levis with a 21-0 deficit early in the third quarter. Although Levis put on a show and the defense showed out, the Nittany Lions couldn’t complete the comeback.

Even though the Buckeyes have won seven out of the last eight matchups, the Nittany Lions have mostly kept it competitive. The games in 2017 and 2018 were each decided by just one point.

Injuries/Suspensions

Noah Cain left last week’s game in the first drive after sustaining what turned out to be a season-ending injury. Journey Brown is still indefinitely out after the team discovered an undisclosed medical condition in the offseason.

Jesse Luketa will miss the first half of the game due to an ejection for targeting against Indiana.

Most Buckeyes starters remain healthy. Wide Reciever Chris Olave is set to return after sustaining a head injury against Nebraska in week one.

Regarding the coronavirus, we won’t know until kickoff if anyone has tested positive. James Franklin said he has anxiety about gameday-morning tests potentially coming back as false positives, barring someone from playing. Last week, an unknown player was ineligible for that reason.

Betting Lines

Ohio State is favored by 10.5 points heading into the matchup, according to Oddsshark. The over-under is set for 64 points, just two points higher than Penn State’s week one game in Bloomington. Yes, the over hit last week.

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.

Associate editor Will Pegler (@gritdude) will have you covered from inside the box Saturday night. Football writers Ryan Parsons (@rjparsons9) and Gabe Angieri (@gabeangieri) will also help provide coverage throughout the game.

Photographer Shannon Soboslay (@shansobo) will provide visual updates from inside Beaver Stadium.

Onward State

• What We Learned From Penn State’s Loss To Indiana
• What Happened To Penn State Football Teams That Started 0-1?
• Your Guide To ESPN’s Virtual College GameDay
• Breaking Down Post-Indiana Reactions For Penn State Football
• Penn State Football’s Noah Cain Will Miss Rest Of 2020 Season
• Penn State Football Must Play ‘Full Game’ Against No. 3 Ohio State
• An Updated Look At Penn State’s Banged-Up Running Back Corps
• Minimizing Turnovers, Being ‘Explosive’ Key For Penn State Against Ohio State
• Staff Predictions: No. 18 Penn State vs. No. 3 Ohio State
• A Look Back At Penn State Football’s Halloween History
• Previewing The Enemy: Ohio State Buckeyes
• The Official Penn State-Ohio State Drinking Game
• Beaver Stadium Debuts S-Zone Banner Honoring Seniors, Recent Grads
• Kirk Herbstreit, Rece Davis Adjusting To Life Without The White Out