Predictions: Buckeyes Take Care Of Business Against Reeling Penn State

Thought of as one of the biggest games in college football before the season, this matchup against Penn State has lost a little luster after the Nittany Lions have dropped their first four conference games.

But head coach Ryan Day said this week that the Buckeyes are still treating this game the same way they planned to heading into the year since most of the same players they expected to suit up against them will still be on the other side of the ball.

Here’s how the BSB staff sees this game going:

Sam Cipriani: Buckeyes Skunk The Grunk(emeyer)

Coming into the 2025 season OSU-PSU was the matchup I saw as the biggest matchup game for the Buckeyes. PSU brought most of its key contributors back — exactly the formula that U-M and OSU had done on its way to the last two national championships.

However, the Nittany Lions have quickly turned into a dumpster fire firing of James Franklin during a streak of four straight losses, while also losing QB Drew Allar for the season due to injury. With the loss of Allar, in comes redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer, who looked pedestrian in his best moments of a 25-24 loss to Iowa where he threw two picks and completed just 53.6 percent of his passes.

Penn State still can certainly flash moments of brilliance with the sheer amount of talent on the roster, particularly on defense and in the run game. However, I feel Grunkemeyer is going to hold an already-struggling offense back with the Buckeyes elite defense having the ability to key in on the run game.

With those offensive difficulties, PSU will struggle to keep its defense off the field against an OSU pass attack that looks better every week. With that being said, expect multiple turnovers from the inexperienced Grunkemeyer, as the PSU passing attack is blanked by the best secondary in the nation.

Ohio State 33, Penn State 10

Bobby Gorbett: OSU Outlasts PSU In Competitive Bout

Before the season, Ohio State fans, Penn State fans and media members alike all expected the Nov. 1 matchup between the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes to be a pivotal one. Now, with Penn State losing each of its first four Big Ten games, some feel like the game on Saturday isn’t much more than a formality.

Although I see the Buckeyes ultimately prevailing, I expect the Nittany Lions to be somewhat competitive on Saturday.

As bad as Penn State has looked over the last several weeks, the group is comprised of many talented players. The Nittany Lions haven’t yet put together a complete performance this season, but I expect them to play their best on Saturday. Not only is Penn State coming off an off week, but its matchup against Ohio State represents its only chance to make something of what has been a disappointing season.

The Nittany Lions have struggled once again this season to find any consistency with their passing attack, but senior running back Kaytron Allen has had a strong season. Allen has gone for 612 yards and nine touchdowns on 98 carries. I expect the Nittany Lions to rely heavily on their rushing attack to slow the game down and keep the pressure off redshirt freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer.

I certainly don’t expect Penn State to move the ball up and down the field against Ohio State’s top-ranked defense, but I think the Nittany Lions’ offense will do well enough to keep the score close early on.

Defensively, the Nittany Lions have been very disappointing this year, but I expect defensive coordinator Jim Knowles will have the unit looking better after the off week.
In a lower paced game, I think Ohio State will have some occasional struggles in the red zone, which will prevent the game from getting out of hand.

I think the Buckeyes’ run game will continue to be a mixed bag against Penn State’s talented front, but redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Sayin will play well enough to lead his team to a win.

Ohio State 20, Penn State 10

Greg Wilson: Buckeyes Lengthen Lions Losing Streak

Who would have ever thought coming into this year that the “trap game” on Ohio State’s schedule could be one of the preseason favorites to win the national title?

There have been a couple of games that have been tough to predict, and this is one of them. There are a lot of things leading me to believe this will be a blowout, and just as many reasons to believe that Penn State will keep this one closer than most people expect.

Most people are looking at the Nittany Lions losing to Iowa most recently as an equal game to the losses to UCLA and Northwestern, but the Hawkeyes seem to be a very good team, and Penn State seemed to play mostly well for the situation it was in. It was the first game with an interim head coach and the first start for Grunkemeyer.

Out of the Nittany Lions camp, it seems like interim head coach Terry Smith doesn’t seem very happy about the way the offense has been approaching games, and he may want to try to get Grunkemeyer to throw the ball deep more often since Penn State is one of the worst teams in the country at creating explosive plays. But if that’s the case, I don’t think the Lions passing game can hang with Ohio State’s dominant secondary.

Kaytron Allen provides the biggest threat on the offensive side of the ball for Penn State, and if the Nittany Lions opt to play heavier with an extra tight end on the field, that could help both the run game, and Grunkemeyer with an extra short passing option if needed. But the Buckeyes plan could very well be to try to get a lot of pressure on the redshirt freshman quarterback and get into the backfield as much as possible, which I don’t believe Grunkemeyer is reasy to handle yet.

Jim Knowles makes for an interesting wrinkle in this game as well. Ohio State knows how he likes to call his defense. Knowles knows the Buckeye offense. Will one of them change how they call games, or will both just play to their strengths? Either way, I still give Ohio State’s offense the advantage purely on a skill level.

There’s no reason, in my mind, to believe that the Buckeyes’ offense won’t be able to get open. No team can keep the entire group of Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, Max Klare and Brandon Inniss in check for a full 60 minutes. And there doesn’t seem to be any reason to believe that Julian Sayin will stop making smart decisions and playing like a veteran quarterback.

Even going through all of that, I’m still just as divided on what score I’m choosing in this game. The only thing I’m not wavering on is that I, like just about everyone else, still believe the Buckeyes win this game.

That being said:

Ohio State 28, Penn State 9