Penn State was among the teams that played a meaningful Week 1 matchup, taking to the road and defeating Big Ten opponent Purdue. The Nittany Lions enter the season with fifth-year senior QB Sean Clifford under center, having thrown four touchdowns and an interception in Penn State’s first matchup.
Penn State is returning its second (Parker Washington) and third (Keandre Lambert-Smith) leading receivers from a season ago along with adding Mitchell Tinsley from Western Kentucky. Tinsley had over 1,400 receiving yards last season. The Nittany Lion offense will be a mighty force and should simply overpower a MAC defense in Ohio.
Ohio opened its season up with a win as well. It beat the Florida Atlanta Owls 41-38 despite trailing 17-13 at the half. Ohio had all 14 points in the third quarter then had 14 of a combined 35 in the fourth. Redshirt junior QB Kurtis Rourke went for 345 yards and four touchdowns.
Ohio will travel to Penn State’s Beaver Stadium for a noon ET kickoff Saturday. Let’s break down the game and get into our Ohio vs Penn State prediction for Week 2.
Ohio vs Penn State Predictions & Week 2 Picks
Can Shaky Secondary of Ohio Hold Up?
The Bobcats’ offense kept pace with Florida Atlantic in Week 1, but their defense will be the focal point of their Week 2 matchup. Ohio starting cornerbacks Torrie Cox Jr., a sophomore, and Justin Birchette combined to play in 10 games and have 22 solo tackles last season. They aren’t the combination you want taking on Washington and Lambert-Smith.
N’Kosi Perry lit up Ohio for over 350 yards and five touchdowns. Cox Jr. and Birchette’s inability to stick with receivers along with Ohio’s awful run defense, one that allowed almost 200 yards per game on the ground last season, will be a lethal mixture against a well-oiled and experience Penn State attack.
What hasn’t been typical for a Penn State attack over the last few seasons is its pass game being the vital part of its offense. It didn’t even total 100 rushing yards, trusting Clifford for most of their hard-fought Week 1 victory.
Assuming they do the same, be prepared to watch Washington and Lambert-Smith lead the way against the gaping holes in the Ohio defense. Washington was projected by Pro Football Focus to be a top-six receiving prospect. Against a Bobcats defense that didn’t show much speed in their Week 1 matchup, expect him to be a force to be reckoned with on Saturday.
Penn State Has Roster Capable of Taming Rourke
The Nittany Lions brought back two key pieces of their defensive line last season, senior P.J. Mustipher and redshirt senior Nick Tarburton. Both those two along with a quick, experienced secondary that forced senior Aidan O’Connell to miss on 29 attempts in Week 1 will play a key role in helping limit Rourke, the Bobcats’ main weapon.
O’Connell, the Purdue starting quarterback, was just 29-of-58 passing. While Florida Atlantic didn’t do a good job at limiting Rourke, it did sack him four times. The Bobcat offensive line is undersized, having multiple starting players under 300 pounds. Penn State should be able to abuse that group and make Rourke uncomfortable.
Of 130 programs, Penn State ranked seventh in opponents’ points per game, holding those on the opposite side of the field to just 17.3 points. Penn State’s secondary has a redshirt freshman, freshman and senior transfer starting.
It put it all together against what should be a more challenging Boilermakers side. This matchup should be a step-down opponent, which may give Kalen King and Zakee Whealey, the lesser experienced starters on this Nittany Lions defense, a good chance to show their talent.
Ohio vs Penn State Prediction
This Penn State roster is absolutely jacked full of premier offensive talent and led by a capable and accurate quarterback. The receiving room could emerge as one of the best in the nation. Adding WKU’s Tinsley will give this offense just another dimension of talent. Also, Penn State beat MAC-side Ball State by 31 last season.
Ohio won in Week 1, but it didn’t do it in spectacular fashion. You could argue it shouldn’t have come out on top, and going to one of the most raucous environments in college football, it doesn’t seem likely it is able to keep pace and cover in this one.
Play Penn State -24.5.
Best NCAAF Bet: Penn State -24.5 (-109) at Barstool Sportsbook | Playable to -26.5 (-110)
