No. 1 Ohio State Hosts Penn State in Primetime Saturday – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 12, 2015
Facebook.com/Buckeyes | @OhioStAthletics | @Brutus_Buckeye
Penn State at #1 Ohio State
Saturday, October 17, 2015, 8:00 p.m. ET
Ohio Stadium (104,955), Columbus, Oh.
TV: ABC
Chris Fowler (play-by-play)
Kirk Herbstreit (analyst)
Heather Cox (sideline)
Radio: WBNS FM (97.1 The Fan) The Urban Meyer pregame show airs 30 minutes prior to kickoff. Paul Keels will call the action with former Buckeye Jim Lachey and Marty Bannister on the sidelines. The game can also be heard nationally on Sirius and XM channels 81.
FIRST AND 10
- Ohio State enters the game having won 19 in a row overall, the longest active streak in the nation.
- Ohio State has won 26 Big Ten regular season games in a row, going 8-0 in each of the past three seasons and 2-0 this year. The streak is a Big Ten record. The NCAA record is 29 by Florida State.
- Ohio State leads the Big Ten in scoring (36.8), rushing (230.0) and total offense (460.0).
- Running back Ezekiel Elliott is second in the Big Ten and is No. 8 in the NCAA in rushing at 139.2 ypg. He has a current streak of 11 consecutive games with at least 100 yards rushing.
- Elliott (2,975) needs 25 yards to become the ninth Buckeye to rush for 3,000 career yards.
- Wide receiver Michael Thomas has caught a pass in 22 consecutive games. He leads the team with 27 catches for 399 yards and four TDs and recorded his first 100-yard receiving game vs. Maryland.
- Defensive end Tyquan Lewis ranks fifth in the Big Ten in both total sacks (5.5) and TFLs (9.0). He has 6.0 TFL in the past 2 games.
- Punter Cameron Johnston ranks No. 1 in the B1G and No. 5 in the NCAA with a 47.2 yard average.
- Urban Meyer has the highest winning percentage (.850) among active coaches and is third all-time.
- Meyer is tied with FSU’s Jimbo Fisher with the best winning percentage since the start of the 2012 season (44-3; .936). Meyer is 25-1 (.961) in home games at Ohio State.
SETTING THE STAGE
No. 1 Ohio State (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) welcomes Penn State (5-1, 2-0) to Ohio Stadium this Saturday for “Dark Night in the Shoe”. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET and will be televised on ABC.
The Buckeyes are coming off a 49-28 win over Maryland while the Nittany Lions picked up their fifth straight win, 29-7, at home over Indiana. Ohio State and Penn State are two of four teams currently sitting at 2-0 in the Big Ten East division. Michigan and Michigan State are the other two. They square off in Ann Arbor this weekend.
OHIO STATE VS. PENN STATE
Ohio State has won three consecutive games against Penn State and owns a three-game edge, 16-13, in a series that dates to 1912 and has had 22 Big Ten Conference showdowns. Penn State won the first four games in this series — in 1912-56-63- 64 — but since then there has been only two winning streaks as long as three games (Ohio State’s consecutive wins in 2002-03-04 and 2012-13-14).
OHIO STATE AT NIGHT
Ohio State is officially 47-23 in night games (those starting after 5 p.m. local time), including records of 35-19 in road (23-10) or neutral (12-9) night games. Last season Ohio State played in a school-record eight night games. The Buckeyes are playing in their second night game of the season after opening the year with a 42-24 win at Virginia Tech.
Ohio State is meeting Penn State at night for the fourth consecutive season: playing under the lights in 2012 and 2014 in State College and 2013 in Columbus.
BUCKEYES AT NO. 1
Ohio State holds an all-time record of 72-12-1 as a No. 1-ranked team and a 55-4 record as a No. 1 team against unranked opponents.
With the unveiling of this week’s Top 25 polls, Ohio State has now been ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll a total of 102 times, the most of any school.
All-Time Appearances at No. 1 in the Associated Press Poll
| Rk. | School | Times |
| 1. | Ohio State | 102 |
| 2. | Oklahoma | 101 |
| 3. | Notre Dame | 98 |
| 4. | USC | 91 |
| 5. | Alabama | 73 |
26 AND COUNTING
Ohio State has another impressive streak going with a record 26 consecutive Big Ten regular season victories.
By finishing 8-0 in conference play in 2014, Ohio State became the first Big Ten team since Minnesota from 1933-35 to go undefeated in regular-season conference play three consecutive years. The Buckeyes also became the first Big Ten team to win every game (undefeated and untied) in Big Ten regular season games three consecutive years.
The FBS record for most conference victories is 29, set by the Florida State teams from 1992-95. The current FSU team also has a 27-game ACC win streak.
Most Consecutive Victories, Conference Games
29 – Florida State ACC 1992-95
27 – Alabama SEC 1976-80
27 – Miami (Fla.) Big East 1999-2003
27 – Florida State ACC 2012-present
26 – Ohio State Big Ten 2012-present
24 – Florida SEC 1994-97
24 – Florida State ACC 1998-2001
24 – TCU MWC 2008-11
24 – Northern Illinois MAC 2011-14
23 – Georgia SEC 1980-83
22 – California Pac-12 1947-50
21 – Kansas State Big 12 1997-99
Big Ten Win Streaks (Conference Games)
26 — Ohio State, 2012-current
20 — Ohio State, 2005-07
19 — Michigan, 1990-92
17 — Ohio State, 1974-76
17 — Ohio State, 1967-69
17 — Ohio State, 1954-56
