Buckeyes should prevail against 'team of mystery' Penn State

Penn State is the Big Ten's team of mystery. Are the Nittany Lions a team capable of playing with anyone in college football as they were predicted to be before the season began? Were they ever that team? Could they ever become that team? Could they be that team for one game Saturday at No.1 Ohio State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten)? Do you look at their record and believe that's who they are? Penn State (3-4, 0-4 Big Ten) is much closer to last place in the conference than it is to first place. Or do you look at the fact those four losses came by a total of 13 points? The slide began with a one-score overtime loss to Oregon and was followed by a 4-point loss to winless at the time UCLA and back-to-back one-point losses to Northwestern and Iowa. Head coach Dennis Franklin was fired the day after the loss to Northwestern despite winning 71 percent of his games in 12 seasons at Penn State and reaching the semifinals of the College Football Playoff last season. The jury is still out whether that might take the program to a new level or if it was athletic director malpractice. Starting quarterback Drew Allar suffered a broken ankle that required surgery in the Northwestern game and is done for the season. His replacement, redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer, will be getting his second start on Saturday. Expectations could not have been higher. But it has not been the season anyone expected in Happy Valley, as Penn State is sometimes referred to. The four losses have not been the only unpleasant surprise for Penn State this season. Its wide receivers, offensive line and running game all have fallen short of expectations. And having to replace a three-year starter at quarterback with an inexperienced redshirt freshman has created even more offensive issues. Expect Penn State to rely heavily on running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton on offense. Both ran for more than 1,000 yards last season. Allen (612 yards, 6.2 yards per carry) is having a big senior year but Singleton (274 yards, 3.6 yards per carry) is not. The chances of a one-dimensional offense like that succeeding against Ohio State's defense are small. So it would not be surprising if Penn State has installed something new or a trick play or two into its offense to try to catch the Buckeyes sleeping. Much has been made about former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles being the defensive coordinator at Penn State, a position he took a few days after OSU celebrated its national championship in January. Obviously, Knowles would know a lot about Ohio State's offense and probably has some defensive strategies which he thinks might work against it. But that probably is canceled out by what Ryan Day learned about Knowles' approach and tendencies in the three seasons he was at Ohio State. In the end, most games come down to players and talent. Ohio State has better players and more talent. Unless it plays its worst game of the season and Penn State plays its best game, OSU should raise its winning streak over Penn State to nine games in a row and 13 out of the last 14. The prediction: Ohio State 28, Penn State 7.