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Ohio State Football: 3 keys to victory vs. Penn State in Week 13

By Dante Pryor

LINCOLN, NE - SEPTEMBER 28: Head coach Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes waits with his team to take the field before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on September 28, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - SEPTEMBER 28: Head coach Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes waits with his team to take the field before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on September 28, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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Ohio State football will host the Penn State Nittany Lions for a high noon Big Ten East showdown. Here are the keys for an Ohio State victory.

“The Nightmare at Kinnick” 2017 and the “Tyler Trent” game at Ross Ade 2018 — these are the memories of Ohio State’s recent past first year head coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes want to erase this season.

This is a playoff team, but they know how bad losses can look in the eyes of the committee. This has been a season of answered questions. We’ve seen that Day can manage a program the size of Ohio State. Justin Fields is as accomplished and polished a passer as we have in college football. Question marks about him acclimating to Day’s system were greatly overblown.

The defense has been exponentially better under Jeff Hafley and Greg Mattison. There were no doubts about the talent walking around Columbus. You watch them run onto the field and just know some of those guys are going to play on Sundays.

This year Ohio State has played like a team that wants back in the national eye. The Buckeyes had good seasons and Dwyane Haskins set single-season passing marks in both the Big Ten and at Ohio State, but they fell short last season. Even with JT Barrett at the helm, Ohio State couldn’t get it done.

This season, they are taking no losses — literally and figuratively. That brings us to Penn State. This is the “type” of game they’ve had trouble with. A hungry team looking to prove themselves and change their own narrative. The Buckeyes are ready.

Here are the keys to an Ohio State win.

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