Six Questions on Ohio State-Penn State with For The Glory Of Old State

By Eric Seger on October 15, 2015 at 11:57 am
A Q&A with www.ftgpsu.weebly.com.
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Ohio State is set to welcome Penn State to Ohio Stadium Saturday, primed and ready with black uniforms and the bright lights of a night game.

The last time the two teams met was nearly a year ago in State College, Pennsylvania, where James Franklin and the Nittany Lions nearly pulled off the upset in double overtime. A sack of Christian Hackenberg by Joey Bosa sealed the 31-24 victory and changed Ohio State's season, but the big-armed junior is back for another shot at the Buckeyes.

To get some insight from the other half of the matchup, we spoke with Cory Lestochi, a writer for For The Glory Of Old State, a Penn State blog. The six questions on Hackenberg, Penn State's struggling offensive line and more are below.

My takes on five questions from Cory can be found here.



Eleven Warriors: Urban Meyer called Penn State's passing offense the best Ohio State's seen this season, largely due to Christian Hackenberg. His numbers aren't the best so far, but he completed 31 passes against the Buckeyes in State College last year. How has he improved since then? Does he have more freedom within the offense?

For The Glory Of Old State: Hackenberg's stats are unimpressive. However, through six games he's thrown only two interceptions, which is a huge improvement since last year. The biggest improvement in Christian Hackenberg this season has been his pre-snap reads and audibles. Countless times this year he has checked into different plays and has been extremely successful. Does he have more freedom in making play calls from the line of scrimmage? Absolutely. Has the offense opened up more this year, giving his abilities more freedom? No. Not at all. The offensive line has limited his freedom to throw the ball around the field because he simply doesn't have enough time. Don't be surprised if you see him take off for eight-yard scampers here and there, either. 

11W: The Penn State offensive line allowed 10 sacks of Hackenberg in the ugly season-opening loss at Temple, but since then has improved. What is the unit doing better?

FTGPSU: To be honest, the only real improvement has been experience. This group gets better every week because they are growing as a unit. The status of senior center Angelo Mangiro is unknown, but him playing would be huge boost for the line. Wendy Laurent has filled in well, and I wouldn't be surprised if Mangiro is moved to left guard to help Paris Palmer against the pass rush while Laurent stays at center. John Donovan, the offensive coordinator, has to be given some credit for making calls that don't force the offensive line to block for a considerable amount of time. Is the line ready for Joey Bosa and Tyquan Lewis? I'm not sure.

Hackenberg

11W: Penn State leads the Big Ten in sacks and is in the top-3 of total defense. What is different about the unit from last year? What are the things that make the unit so good?

FTGPSU: For starters, it's important to acknowledge that last year's defense was really good. That unit only lost a few players, Mike Hull, Deion Barnes and Adrian Amos. Linebacker U has shown its depth-even after an early injury to Nyeem Wartman-White. The defensive line is surely the strength of the defense and offenses struggle to block Anthony Zettel and Austin Johnson in the middle. This opens up one on one opportunities for Carl Nassib and Garrett Sickels on the edges. One improvement from last year is the overall team speed. This speed will be important to stopping the Buckeyes on Saturday night.  

11W: James Franklin said this week it looks like Braxton Miller's been playing wide receiver his whole life. Miller seems to explode in primetime games. Is he Penn State's biggest worry on the Ohio State offense, or is it someone else?

FTGPSU: Without a doubt Miller could be the X-factor in this game. The one aspect where the defense is struggling is open field tackling. I don't think Miller will be a factor early, but if the defense tires, those open field tackles could turn into big plays for Ohio State.

11W: Ohio State's season turned on the double overtime win at Penn State last season. Could something similar be in the cards for Penn State at Ohio Stadium Saturday night?

FTGPSU: It's funny you ask that, because I have been thinking about that for a long time. It seems like the overtime portion of the game last year was when Ohio State figured it all out. I would expect something similar on Saturday, but maybe it's a little different. Last year, it was only J.T Barrett. I'm sure you know more about me, but having two quarterbacks seems to be a slippery situation. Does Barrett coming into the game really not have any effect on the chemistry or fluidity of the offense? Regardless, a win for either team will springboard their confidence for the rest of the season.

11W: Who wins, what's the score and why?

FTGPSU: Ohio State is the better team. No question about it. They play 10 times, OSU wins 9 out of 10.  The last two times Penn State beat against the Buckeyes, it was in Columbus. I have a feeling Cardale Jones is going to struggle with the relentless pass rush, and force a lot of balls, and probably fumble at least once. I don't see a beatdown for either team, both offenses aren't good enough compared to the defenses they are going up against. Still, for Penn State to win, they must score points in Columbus. Penn State jumps out early and holds on: 24-23, Penn State.

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