Penn State-Ohio State: Time, TV channel, preview for top-5 Big Ten showdown

With Penn State welcoming in Ohio State for its biggest challenge of the season, the field crew gave a part of Beaver Stadium a new look for the big game.

The group supplied the Nittany Lions with a fresh paint job in the end zone. Unlike its normal font, the end zone read ‘Penn State’ in a new font painted in white and outlined in beaver blue. 

The finishing touches. 🖌️

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball)

ESPN’s College Gameday will head to University Park, PA. for college football’s game of the week.

This is the third time this season that College Gameday has featured a Big Ten matchup. Ohio State was featured earlier this season for its matchup against Oregon, while Penn State hasn’t been since last year’s meeting with the Buckeyes. 

The preview show will be stationed at the Bryce Jordan Center, located at Gate C of the university. It will move inside Beaver Stadium for the final 30 minutes of the show.

WE'RE HEADED TO HAPPY VALLEY 🏈

See you soon for Ohio State-Penn State 🍿

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay)

PSU starter Drew Allar missed the second half of Penn State’s win against Wisconsin last week due to a left leg injury. 

If Allar isn’t good to go, the Nittany Lions will turn to backup Beau Pribula, who threw 11 of 13 passes for 98 yards and added 28 rushing yards versus the Badgers. Although Pribula’s performance proved there wasn’t too much falloff between him and Allar, what team wouldn’t want their starter to play in the team’s biggest game of the season?

After last Saturday’s victory, Franklin mentioned that Allar’s availability against Ohio State was uncertain.

"It's too early to tell at this point. But he's played enough football that I think that decision will go all the way up to game time.”

Closer look at the sack that sent Drew Allar to the locker room

— Badgsketball (@Badgsketball)

With December nearly a month away, conversations surrounding the CFP and conference championship games are beginning to ramp. And for Penn State and Ohio State, a win or loss can change each team's postseason trajectory. 

Here's a look at the magnitude of Saturday's contest for both programs:

• Nittany Lions

Penn State is knocking on the door of its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance and Big Ten Championship since 2016.

Standing at 7-0 and with one remaining ranked opponent left on their regular season schedule currently, Nittany Lions' biggest obstacle to achieving stardom is the Buckeyes. 

Of course, the CFP’s expanded format gives each team more leeway to make mistakes — one and two-loss teams could still make the playoffs. However, a conference championship would give them a bye to the CFP’s quarterfinals and bring the program its fifth-ever Big Ten ring. 

• Buckeyes

Ohio State's loss to Oregon stung, but it didn't knock them completely out of CFP contention, especially in a top-5 matchup.

However, a loss to Penn State could end the Buckeye’s national title hopes and a trip to Lucas Oil Stadium come December. It would be the second time in the CFP era that OSU hadn’t made the playoffs in two straight seasons (2017 and 2018). 

The Buckeyes still have No. 13 Indiana, who’s first in Big Ten’s standings, still on the docket. And with the Hoosiers and Nittany Lions ahead of them in the conference standings, both wins are required for a postseason they hope for. 

OSU QB Will Howard on playing Penn State, the team he grew up rooting for:

"They didn't think I was good enough. I guess we'll see next week if I was." 👀

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)

An annual matchup since 1993, Penn State and Ohio State meet for the 40th time where the scarlet-and-gray lead the series 24-14.*

Seven of the Buckeyes’ wins have come in the last seven meetings, as the Buckeyes have turned the rivalry into a one-sided affair over the past decade. Alongside their seven-game win streak, OSU is 9-1 in the last 10 matchups.

This go-around is a little different, though, as both teams enter the contest ranked in the top 5 for the first time since 1996. 

Here’s a look back at two of the biggest games in the last 10 years:

• 2016: Penn State 24, No. 2 Ohio State 21

There aren’t many strong talking points Penn State fans can bring up against Ohio State fans, but 2016’s matchup is one of them.

Double-digit underdogs and trailing 21-9 as they entered the fourth quarter, the Nittany Lions mounted a 17-point comeback to stun the Buckeyes in Happy Valley. With less than five minutes left, PSU blocked Ohio State’s field goal attempt, leading to Grant Haley’s recovery and 60-yard return for what would become the game-winning touchdown.

2016 saw upset No. 2 Ohio State with this eventual game-winning touchdown❗️

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB)

• 2017: No. 6 Ohio State 39, No. 2 Penn State 38

A year after one of Penn State’s biggest upsets in school history, the 2017 matchup was the definition of cinema.

Between Saquon Barkley’s house call on the opening kickoff and Ohio State’s fumble three plays into its first offensive drive, Penn State held a 14-0 lead two minutes into the affair and 28-17 at halftime. 

That’s when OSU quarterback JT Barrett took over. 

Dropping 22 points in the second half, the Buckeyes came back to stun Penn State capped off by wideout Marcus Baugh’s 16-yard receiving touchdown with less than two minutes left. Barrett finished with 328 passing yards, 95 rushing yards and four passing touchdowns.

*Ohio State's 2010 win was vacated

In the latest AP Top 25 Poll, the top-4 teams, which include Penn State and Ohio State, stayed put for the second time all season. The Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes are in bold.