Ohio State
Penn State
No. 1 Ohio State Returns Home to Host Penn State Saturday
10/28/2025 6:56:00 AM | Football
FIRST AND TEN
- The No. 1/1 Ohio State Buckeyes (7-0; 4-0 Big Ten) host the Penn State Nittany Lions (3-4, 0-4) in a 12 noon game at Ohio Stadium that FOX will carry to a national audience.
- The Buckeyes have played three of their past four games on the road and this week's game is only their second in seven weeks at Ohio Stadium.
- The Buckeyes have won a national-best 11 consecutive games … the fourth 10-plus game winning streak for Ryan Day with 16 consecutive wins (2018-19), 12 consecutive (2021-22) and 11 consecutive twice (2025 and 2023).
- Ohio State is 4-0 when playing Penn State as the No. 1 ranked team in the AP poll with prior wins in 1998, 2006, 2007 and 2015.
- Ohio State leads in the all-time series with Penn State, 25 victories to 14, and has won eight consecutive games in the rivalry dating back to the 2016 game at State College.
- Ryan Day's teams are 21-4 in games with more than one week to prepare.
- Five different Buckeyes have scored multiple touchdowns (Jeremiah Smith 8, CJ Donaldson 7, Carnell Tate 6, Bo Jackson 3, Will Kacmarek 2).
NUMBERS TO KNOW
6.75: The average margin of victory for Ohio State in its eight-game winning streak over Penn State is only 6.75 points per game, with four one-score decisions, including two one score games in 2017 and 2018.
33: Ohio State and Penn State have played 33 consecutive years … the longest active streak for Ohio State against an opponent. The streak ends after this year. The teams next play in 2028 in State College.
21st: Sports Illustrated researched and touted Ohio State's defense as the best in the 21st century by allowing just 41 points in its first seven games. The last team to allow less: the 1993 Florida State Seminoles (38)..
#11: Ryan Day has coached 87 games at Ohio State and in 86 of those games – or 99 pct. – his team has been ranked in the Associated Press Top 10. The lonely week: Ohio State was #11 vs. Rutgers in 2021.
URBAN MEYER ON-CAMPUS SALUTE
- Representatives from the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame will be on campus Saturday honoring Urban Meyer with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, in front of his enshrinement in December into the College Football Hall of Fame.
- The 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class will officially be inducted during the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 9, 2025, at Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
- Meyer is the eighth Ohio State head coach to be enshrined.
RYAN DAY TIME
- Ohio State's program hasn't skipped a beat since Ryan Day took over as head coach in 2019.
- Day's Buckeyes are 77-10 with more College Football Playoff appearances since 2019 – 4 – than any other program.
- His Buckeyes won the 2025 CFP national championship, have two Big Ten Conference championships and are 50-5 in Big Ten games (.909).
- They are on a current eight-game winning streak vs. ranked teams, including two wins over No. 1 teams and five wins over Top 5 teams.
- His Buckeyes are 26-9 vs. ranked teams, 16-8 vs. Top 10 teams and 8-6 vs. Top 5 teams.
- The 2024 Buckeyes became the first team to defeat five Top 5 FBS opponents in one season. His teams have won 10 championships in his first six seasons.
BUCKEYES LEAD SERIES 25-14
- Ohio State leads the all-time series with Penn State, that started in 1912, 25-14.
- Since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993, Ohio State holds a 23-8 advantage in the series, including a 13-2 record in games played at Ohio Stadium.
SCARY SCORES
- Drama is tradition in this series.
- In 2014, Penn State came back from a 17-0 halftime deficit to force overtime. J.T. Barrett scored on TD runs from the 5 and the 4 in the two OTs and Joey Bosa had a "walk off" sack to help Ohio State win, 31-24.
- Penn State scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter in 2016 to win, 24-21.
- Ohio State rallied from fourth quarter deficits of 10 points or more in both 2017 and 2018 and won by one point each time.
- Ohio State's 11-point win over Penn State in 2019 was its slimmest margin of victory over a Big Ten opponent all season.
- In 2022, Ohio State scored 28 fourth quarter points in just over seven minutes to rally from a 21-16 deficit to a 44-24 lead on its way to a 44-31 victory at loud and hostile Beaver Stadium.
- Ohio State had close wins in both 2023 (21-12) and last year (20-13 with one of the great plays in the game coming when Davison Igbinosun secured an end zone interception just before halftime).
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ASSISTANTS
- Two Penn State assistant coaches were on national championship winning Ohio State coaching staffs in the CFP era.
- Penn State DC Jim Knowles was coordinator at Ohio State for three years (2022-24). Running backs coach Stan Drayton held the same position at Ohio State from 2012-14.
- Ohio State won the first College Football Playoff in 2014 and it won the first 12-team CFP in 2025.
