Ohio State football reporters roundtable: A three-horse race begins in Big Ten East
Editor's note: After each Ohio State football game, beat reporters Joey Kaufman and Bill Rabinowitz discuss the lasting storylines and other key developments.
In the final season of the Big Ten’s divisional format, the East is as competitive as ever with three unbeaten national championship contenders.
Michigan is 7-0, while Ohio State and Penn State are 6-0. With the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions playing this weekend in Columbus, at least one undefeated team will lose.
The next big showdown comes in three weeks when Penn State hosts the Wolverines, then two more before Ohio State travels to Ann Arbor.
The stretch run is here.
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Kaufman: There was little sign that the Buckeyes were looking ahead to this week’s top-10 showdown with the Nittany Lions. They routed Purdue in a 41-7 blowout victory on Saturday and got off to a fast start. If not for quarterback Devin Brown’s fumble at the goal line, their first four drives would have all resulted in touchdowns. Still, they went up 20-0 at halftime and were more formidable early on after their string of recent slow starts.
Rabinowitz: Give Ryan Day credit for this: Under him, the Buckeyes don't lose the little ones. They haven't lost to an unranked team and haven't even been defeated by a team ranked lower than 12th. They dispatched Purdue the way a No. 3-ranked team should against an overmatched and injury-ravaged team. Then again, the Buckeyes have some key injuries themselves, and that could be a big factor in Saturday's showdown.
Kaufman: There’s a lot of uncertainty with the health of the Buckeyes’ playmakers, including running back TreVeyon Henderson, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and cornerback Denzel Burke. Egbuka, who suffered an apparent leg injury against Maryland, didn’t make the trip to Purdue. Henderson has been dealing with an unspecified injury since the Notre Dame game and warmed up ahead of kickoff on Saturday but was again held out. Burke went down in the third quarter and was taken to the locker room with help from a trainer. It was hard to determine what happened, and Day gave no updates on any of them. That’s the skinny. Whose status is most critical this week?
Rabinowitz: I would say it's Burke. He has become a lockdown cornerback. If Jordan Hancock has to play outside corner the whole time and not in the slot, that strains the Buckeyes' secondary depth. Egbuka and Henderson are also important, but the Buckeyes have better depth at those positions, though not having Miyan Williams and/or Chip Trayanum would certainly test that at running back. The good thing is that OSU has Dallan Hayden, who's gone from forgotten fourth-stringer to potential starter. I'm a Hayden fan. He runs north-south and has good vision and feel.
Kaufman: The challenge without Burke is that it would limit their situational options in the secondary. Hancock has replaced Sonny Styles as the slot safety on a lot of passing downs. If he moves outside in place of Burke, that leaves Styles in coverage more often, and he’s shown to be more comfortable closer to the line of scrimmage. To keep Hancock in the slot, that means turning to Jermaine Mathews Jr., a freshman who came in for Burke. Before Saturday, Mathews had played only 21 snaps. He has potential, but is inexperienced.
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Rabinowitz: I agree. What's interesting about Penn State, though, is that the Nittany Lions haven't thrown downfield much, which is a source of frustration in Happy Valley. Quarterback Drew Allar certainly has the arm to do it. Maybe PSU coach James Franklin is waiting until this week to unleash him. Penn State hasn't been tested in its first six games, so that could be one explanation.
Kaufman: The chatter about the lack of deep balls bears out in the numbers, too. Allar’s 6.8-yard average depth of target is the smallest among all starting quarterbacks in the Big Ten, according to Pro Football Focus. He has attempted only 12 throws traveling 20 yards or more in the air. Only Iowa’s Deacon Hill, who replaced an injured Cade McNamara as the Hawkeyes’ starter two weeks ago, has attempted fewer deep balls at that distance. It’s a little perplexing. Perhaps this will be settled in the trenches in vintage Big Ten fashion.
Rabinowitz: You also wonder how much Ohio State has held back, especially on defense. Last week, coordinator Jim Knowles said he hasn't used all of his playbook. He hasn't used blitzes as much as he historically has. It wouldn't be a surprise if he implements some new ones for Allar, a first-year starter. To me, though, this game will be won in the trenches. So far, Ohio State has overcome mediocre offensive line play. It'll have to play better against Penn State. And remember, it took that ridiculous performance by defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau for OSU to pull away from the Nittany Lions last year.
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Kaufman: Penn State's defensive front is every bit as tough as Notre Dame's bunch. That was a matchup that resulted in Kyle McCord being under frequent duress and limited holes for the Buckeyes' running backs. First one to 20 points wins?
Rabinowitz: The last time 20 points was enough to win this game came in 2011, so I doubt that. But the way Ohio State's defense has played, not allowing more than 17 points in any game, and the distinct possibility that OSU's offensive line could have trouble getting traction, who knows? Whether OSU gets its injured players back is also a big factor. Other than the Notre Dame game, this is the first Buckeye game with real uncertainty about the outcome.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on Facebook and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He can also be contacted at jkaufman@dispatch.com.
Bill Rabinowitz covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. He also is the co-author of Cardale Jones' just-published autobiography. Follow Bill on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He can also be reached at brabinowitz@dispatch.com
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football reporters roundtable looking ahead to Penn State
