College football Week 9 schedule and predictions

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STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 21: Saquon Barkley #26 of the Penn State Nittany Lions rushes for a 15-yard touchdown in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines on October 21, 2017, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

No. 2 Penn State at No. 6 Ohio State

Kickoff: Saturday, Oct. 27, 3:30 PM, FOX

The best matchup of the weekend will be at the Horseshoe in Columbus, OH. Ohio State’s marquee game every year is against Michigan, but with the Wolverines falling off, this is the biggest matchup for the Buckeyes.

Penn State is coming off of a monster win over Michigan State at home, during their Saturday night white-out. Ohio State has been off since beating Nebraska two weeks ago.

Three Things to Watch

1. Can Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett keep his interception total at one?

It feels like J.T. Barrett has been at Ohio State for far longer than he’s supposed to, but he’s taking advantage of his time there. This season, the Buckeye signal caller has thrown for over 1,800 yards on the season at a 66 completion rate.

His touchdown to interception ratio is the number to amazed with because it’s 21 to 1. One of the keys for Ohio State will be to make sure they don’t turn the ball over and give Saquon Barkley and the Penn State offense extra cracks at the Buckeye defense.

2. Can J.K. Dobbins continue to be effective in the running game?

While Saquon Barkley will be garnering all the hype for running backs in this game, let’s take a moment to talk about the Ohio State halfback too.

Freshman sensation J.K. Dobbins has been extremely dominant in his short time in Columbus as well. He’s rushed for 775 yards on 100 carries, including five touchdowns. The Penn State defense limits opponents to 115 yards per game on the ground, while Ohio State has been averaging nearly 250 yards of offense on the ground. It’ll be an important matchup to see if Penn State can slow down the rushing attack of the Buckeyes.

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3. Can Ohio State limit Saquon Barkley and his other-worldly dominance?

Last year, the hype for running backs was divided between Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette, but this season Saquon Barkley has been garnering all the praise and attention from the media.

He’s been absolutely dominant on the field, rushing for over 750 yards, including eight touchdowns. His backfield threat is opening up the passing game for Trace McSorley. Ohio State has been good at limiting ground games, giving up a shade over 100 yards per game. If they can slow down Barkley, they might have a good chance in this game against the Nittany Lions.

Ohio State over Penn State, 31-27.

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