The Ohio State Buckeyes might be ranked No. 4 in the nation coming into Saturday's matchup, but that doesn't mean they don't have their fair share of detractors, and potentially rightfully so.
Ohio State has not played a tough schedule with its only ranked matchup coming on the road in Autzen against the now-ranked No. 1 Oregon Ducks. They competed in the matchup — which went down to the final seconds — but ultimately came up empty in a 32-31 loss. Ohio State had two weeks to prepare for its next test, and it's clear the Buckeyes did not pass with flying colors.
The expectation coming into last Saturday was that Ohio State would blow out Nebraska at home. The exact opposite happened. The Cornhuskers stuck around and exposed that Ohio State offensive line, which struggled with Nebraska's pass-rush all day. The Buckeyes held on for a 21-17 victory, but it was ugly and certainly not what should be expected from a team ranked inside the top-four of the nation.
Now, all eyes are on Ohio State again, this time for a matchup that the Buckeyes will absolutely have to play better to win. Ohio State will travel to Happy Valley this Saturday to take on the No. 3-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions. The winner will have a leg-up in the Big Ten standings, and if Ohio State wins, the Buckeys would actually control their own destiny since they play Indiana later this year.
One ESPN analyst was quick to point out the Buckeyes' weak schedule in his analysis of their season thus far. Desmond Howard said that the Buckeyes were getting a "false impression of how great are" because of their games against "inferior opponents."
"You get a false impression of how great you are when you're going up and down the field against inferior opponents."
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 29, 2024
—@desmondhoward on Ohio State 😳 pic.twitter.com/hVLrTjXfx1
It's fair to point out that Ohio State has not played a gauntlet schedule thus far. As we shared already, the Buckeyes have played exactly one ranked team and they lost to them. Michigan State, Iowa, and Nebraska are not world-beaters in any sense of the phrase. However, it's also important to note that Penn State hasn't played a particularly tough schedule either.
The Nittany Lions get a pass because they're undefeated, but let's not pretend that they've played the class of the nation so far either. As a matter of fact, you could argue that Penn State's schedule has actually been easier than Ohio State's to this point in the season.
The Nittany Lions have played exactly one team ranked inside the current AP Top-25, Illinois, which just got blown out by Oregon and is one loss away from dropping out of the rankings altogether. Other finals, like 34-27 against Bowling Green or a 33-30 overtime win against USC, don't instill much confidence either.
The truth of the matter is that while both of these teams look good, only Ohio State has been tested with an elite team so far, and the Buckeyes failed in that contest.
The question: Will seeing that level of competition bring an advantage for Ohio State on Saturday, or will Penn State rise to another level and show why it belongs inside the Top-5?
Both look the part of being potentially elite teams this season, but both are still unproven. We'll get a better idea Saturday of what the real picture looks like.
Ohio State and Penn State will kickoff at noon on FOX as the Big Noon Kickoff game of the week.