3 teams capable of upsetting Ohio State for Big Ten title this year
By John Buhler
East. Penn State Nittany Lions. 2. Pick Analysis. Big Ten. 806. Scouting Report. player
There is no way Penn State will play as badly as it did a season ago
This is an absolutely critical year for Penn State head coach James Franklin. Last year was a catastrophe for the Nittany Lions. Though they probably don’t have to win the Big Ten East this season, they should be markedly better than they were a year ago. More importantly, they cannot get pushed around by division rival teams like Indiana, Michigan or Ohio State this season at all.
The expectation is Penn State will be closer to what it normally is as a program in normal seasons, which is about a 10-2 team. Though the Nittany Lions will have to travel to Columbus to face the Buckeyes this season, they will be getting them after what could have been a hard-fought battle with the Hoosiers in Bloomington. Penn State may have a loss or two but could play spoiler.
While teams like Indiana and Penn State could conceivably win the Big Ten East by way of having the head-to-head tiebreaker over Ohio State, the Nittany Lions could have four losses before their big rivalry game in The Horseshoe. If it hits the fan in Happy Valley, Penn State may have already fallen to Wisconsin, Indiana, Auburn and Iowa. Of course, they could also be 7-0 at this point.
There is next to no way the Penn State game will be a cakewalk for the Buckeyes program in 2021.