UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — It wasn’t until about a year ago under the lights at Beaver Stadium when Ohio State pulled out a 31-24 double-overtime victory against Penn State that Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer realized he had a special group. “Up until that point, we were good, but I never really saw them fight,” Meyer said earlier this week. “To crawl out from underneath a bad situation, and they did that time, it was incredible. We did go back and watch it, and that was a violent and tough game and [give] a lot of credit to Penn State and our guys. That was a well-played, tough football game.” Penn State has won just three of the past 10 meetings against the Buckeyes, and Saturday night at Ohio Stadium in Columbus coach James Franklin’s team has a chance once again to try to pull off an upset. This time, though it’s the top-ranked and defending national champion Buckeyes that await, an opportunity several Penn State players said is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s a long shot for Penn State, who opened as a 17½-point underdog and whose offense ranks at 103 in Football Bowl Subdivision (344.3 yards per game), but there are lessons to take away from the past two games for both teams. Ohio State won handily in 2013, 63-14, and Penn State’s 17-point comeback that fell short a year ago could be part of the team’s blueprint this week. “We lost. That’s what I remember,” senior Jordan Lucas said of the 2013 game in Columbus. “It was a great environment, one of the best outside of Beaver Stadium that I’ve seen and besides Nebraska.” Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg said the Lions are using all their resources to prepare, including the film of the game from last season. …
Continue Reading: Penn State and Ohio State taking what they can from previous matchups
