COLUMBUS – As expected, a lopsided win over Rutgers did not impress the college football pollsters, who kept Ohio State at No. 2 in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank, behind LSU and ahead of Clemson and Georgia.
(2) Ohio State (10-0, 7-0) vs. (9) Penn State (9-1, 6-1)
Sat., Nov. 23; Ohio Stadium (Noon/FOX)
The Buckeyes followed up their 38-7 dismantling of then-13th ranked Wisconsin with an off week and one-sided victories over Big Ten also-rans Maryland and Rutgers. Ohio State now embarks on the toughest stretch of its regular season, starting with Saturday’s game against No. 9 Penn State.
“We’ve got to do everything to prepare for this game and it starts right now,” OSU head coach Ryan Day said minutes after the 56-21 win over the Scarlet Knights.
The winner of the game has the inside track to be the Big Ten East representative to the conference championship game Dec. 7 but the Buckeyes will have another hurdle to clear: their regular season finale at No. 12 Michigan on Nov. 30.
The Nittany Lions rebounded from a loss to Minnesota by beating Indiana.
The Wolverines beat Michigan State 44-10 on the heels of a 45-14 rout of Notre Dame last month.
Georgia edged past Alabama to No. 4 in the poll after the Bulldogs had a quality road victory and the Crimson Tide lost star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for the season.