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Paul Finebaum predicts winner of Penn State-Ohio State
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College football radio legend Paul Finebaum opted to step outside of SEC country briefly to offer some of his thoughts on the biggest game of Week 9.
No. 2 Penn State vs. No. 6 Ohio state is a game will division, conference and national implications. The winner has a much clearer path to winning the B1G East, reaching Indianapolis for the conference title game and could potentially get a top-four spot in Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings.
While the loser isn’t necessarily out of any of those races per se, Finebaum believes this game is of critical importance for both sides. He offered some of his thoughts on the game, and who will come out on top.
“If Ohio State can’t win today, they’re done,” Finebaum said. “This is after a season of redemption, after that embarrassing loss last year in the semis to Clemson. We heard everyone talking about J.T. Barrett, well this is it for him. He did not stand up against Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma six weeks ago. This is what it’s all about.
“It’s about Ohio State winning this football game.”
The Buckeyes enter this matchup as a 6.5-point favorite at home.
While Ohio State would mathematically still be in the B1G East race, a loss to the Nittany Lions would all but eliminate them from the College Football Playoff race.
Penn State-Ohio State is scheduled to kickoff from Columbus at 3:30 p.m. and will air on FOX.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB