One of the Big Ten’s traditional marquee matchups takes place Saturday in Ohio Stadium as Ohio State and Penn State tangle in a late-season showdown that will significantly shape the Big Ten East Division title race.

Two of the nation’s top defenses will be on display. The Buckeyes lead the nation in both total defense (216.4 yards/game), passing defense (126.0 yards/game) and scoring defense (9.8 points/game) while Penn State is No. 4 in rushing defense (75.9 yards/game) and No. 17 in total defense (316.2 yards/game).

Saturday is the 35th all-time meeting between Ohio State and Penn State with the Buckeyes holding a 19-14 edge in the series. The Buckeyes have won six of nine games when both teams are ranked in the top 10, including each of the last two meetings.

THE BASICS

No. 9 Penn State vs. No. 2 Ohio State • Saturday, Nov. 23 • When: Noon • Where: Ohio Stadium • TV: FOX • Play by Play: Gus Johnson • Analyst: Joel Klatt • Sidelines: Jenny Taft

Ticket Info

Prior to kickoff on Saturday, Ohio State will honor 26 seniors who will be playing in their final game at Ohio Stadium. The group includes seven fifth-year seniors.

This year’s group has 46-5 over the last four years, 24-3 against Big Ten opponents and won back to back conference titles in 2017 and 2018.

The seniors honored pregame will be:

• RB Amari McMahon (Dublin, Ohio)
• P Jake Metzer (Doylestown, Pa.)
• TE Derrick Malone (Dayton, Ohio)
• TE Brock Davin (Cincinnati, Ohio)
• DAF Owen Fankhauser (Stow, Ohio)
• LB Logan Hittle (Nashport, Ohio)
• DL Noah Donald (Uniontown, Ohio)
• OL Brandon Pahl (Cutler, Ohio)
• OL Kevin Woidke (Cleveland, Ohio)
• LS Liam McCullough (Columbus, Ohio)
• QB Chris Chugunov (Skillman, N.J.)
• OL Jonah Jackson (Media, Pa.)
• TE/DE Rashod Berry (Lorain, Ohio)
• OL Joshua Alabi (Detroit, Mich.)
• DT DaVon Hamilton (Pickerington, Ohio)
• LB Malik Harrison (Columbus, Ohio)
• DT Jashon Cornell (St. Paul, Minn.)
• WR Binjimen Victor (Pompano Beach, Fla.)
• WR C.J. Saunders (Dublin, Ohio)
• DT Robert “BB” Landers (Dayton, Ohio)
• OL Branden Bowen (Draper, Utah)
• WR Austin Mack (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
• CB Damon Arnette (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
• DE Jonathon Cooper (Gahanna, Ohio)
• SAF Jordan Fuller (Old Tappan, N.J.)
• WR K.J. Hill (Little Rock, Ark.).

The eyes of the college football world will be on Columbus Saturday: 

• 9 a.m. – ESPN’s College GameDay will broadcast live until noon from outside of St. John Arena.
• 10 a.m. – FOX’s Big Noon pregame show, featuring Rob Stone, Mike Leinart, Reggie Bush, Brady Quinn and Urban Meyer, will have expanded two-hour coverage. It will broadcast the final hour (11 a.m. to noon) inside Ohio Stadium from the southwest corner of the endzone.
• 10 a.m. –  BTN’s Big Ten Tailagate will be back for the second time this season and be set up between the RPAC and Ohio Stadium.

More Info on Pregame Shows

Fact: 

Ohio State will be playing at a College GameDay site for the 46th time, second most of any program in the country. The Buckeyes are 32-13 all-time in “GameDay” games.

• Saturday’s game will be the 10th between Ohio State and Penn State when both teams are ranked in the top 10. The Buckeyes have won six of the nine previous contests.
• The last three games between Penn State and Ohio State have been decided by a total of five points: a three-point PSU win in 2016 followed by back to back one-point wins by Ohio State in 2017 and 2018.
• Saturday will be the 34th all-time meeting between Ohio State and Penn State.
• The Buckeyes lead the series 19-14 and are 11-7 in games played in Columbus.
• Since Penn State became a member of the Big Ten in 1993, Ohio State has won 17 of 25 games vs. the Nittany Lions.

J.K. O.K. IN NCAA

• J.K. Dobbins, despite just 42 second half carries all season and four games with zero second half carries, is No. 4 nationally with 128.9 yards per game and No. 5 in rushing yards with 1,289.
• He also ranks second nationally with 7.04 yards per carry and he is ninth with 15 touchdowns scored.
• Dobbins (3,745 yards) is 24 yards away from passing Eddie George for third all-time in rushing at Ohio State.

41-3: THIS. IS. WONDERFULLY. RIDICULOUS

• This is just a wonderfully ridiculous stat: Justin Fields has a 41-3 touchdown-to-turnover ratio this year, sparked no doubt by his sterling and best-in-the-nation 31-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio.
• Fields has scored 10 rushing touchdowns and has lost only two fumbles all year.

EIGHT CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF 10 WINS

• Ohio State extended its school-record streak of consecutive seasons with 10 or more wins to eight years.
• Alabama has the longest active streak of 10-win season at 11 consecutive years, followed by Clemson with nine.
• A win on Saturday would give Ohio State its 13th 11-win season in the last 18 years.

SPEAKING OF SACKS 

• The Buckeyes rank No. 2 in the nation in average sacks per game (4.20) and are No. 2 in total sacks (42.0).
• Ohio State’s 42 sacks this year have come from 15 different players.
• The Ohio State single-season team record for sacks is 51.0, set in 2000.

GROUND ATTACK

• Ohio State ranks No. 4 nationally in rushing offense with an average of 287.4 yards per game.
• The Buckeyes have run for at last 225 yards in all 10 games and had a season-high 383 yards two weeks ago vs. Maryland.
• Their 6.2 yards-per-carry average for the season is third-best among Power 5 teams.
• Ohio State is the only team in the country with two players averaging 6.5 or more yards per carry (minimum 80 attempts – J.K. Dobbins, 7.0 Master Teague, 6.5).
• The Buckeyes’ 31 rushing touchdowns ranks second among Power 5 teams.

TEN WINS BY 24 OR MORE 

• Ohio State is the first team to start the season with 10 wins by 24 or more points since the Nebraska in 1971.
• The 2019 Buckeyes and 1971 Cornhuskers are the only teams to achieve that feat in the last 100 years.

128

Since the start of the 2017 season, Ohio State has thrown 128 touchdown passes (in 38 games), the most in the country.

27-5

Ohio State is 27-5 against AP top 25 ranked teams in the last eight seasons with 12 consecutive wins. In addition, Ohio State has won 13 of its last 18 games against Associated Press top-10 ranked teams with five consecutive wins.

42.0

Over the last eight seasons, the Buckeyes lead the country in scoring offense, averaging 42.0 points in 105 games.

28

The Buckeyes have won 28 of their last 30 games played in the month of November.

• The Nittany Lions, No. 9 in last week’s College Football Playoff rankings, improved to 9-1 on the season with a 34-27 win over Indiana last Saturday in State College, Pa.
• Penn State possesses one of the nation’s best defenses, especially against the run. The Nittany Lions are allowing just 75.9 yards per game on the ground, good for fourth best in the nation. Penn State is No. 7 nationally in scoring defense (13.5 points/game) and No. 17 in total defense (316.2 yards/game).
• On offense, quarterback Sean Clifford has tossed 22 touchdown passes, including eight to wide receiver KJ Hamler, who is fourth in the Big Ten in that category. Hamler 17.2 yards-per-catch average is ninth best in the league and he has five receptions of 40 yards or more on the year.
• Four different running backs have 35 or more carries through 10 games: Journey Brown (team high 86 carries, 521 yards and six touchdowns), Noah Cain (68 carries, 350 yards, six touchdowns), Devyn Ford (48 carries, 289 yards) and Ricky Slade (36 carries, 120 yards).