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Why Ohio State-Penn State looks like the B1G’s best on-field rivalry for years to come
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Last week, Ohio State defensive end Sam Hubbard admitted what everybody and their mother knew.
The Buckeyes didn’t respect Penn State in 2016.
If you want to look past the whole “you should always respect your opponent” coach speak, think about why Hubbard and the Buckeyes didn’t respect Penn State. Before they stunned Ohio State, the Lions were winless against top-25 teams in the James Franklin era. They were 18-14 in that stretch. Even worse, they were 0-7 against the likes of Michigan, Michigan State and OSU.
The Lions screamed “mediocre.” The No. 2 Buckeyes were anything but mediocre. They were 6-0 coming off a gritty overtime win at Wisconsin. The talk had already started about the Michigan-Ohio State game turning into a de facto B1G East title game. On top of that, OSU had a four-game win streak against Penn State.
Respect? Those numbers didn’t warrant respect. They warranted a three-touchdown win, as the oddsmakers projected.
Needless to say, that’s not the case this year. When Ohio State and Penn State meet at the Horseshoe on Saturday, it’ll be a meeting of two teams hoping to control their own destinies to a Playoff spot. That could certainly be the norm for years to come.
That’s why — on the field — Ohio State-Penn State looks like the B1G’s best rivalry for the foreseeable future.
I know what Michigan fans are thinking.
“How can you POSSIBLY say that any rivalry is better than Michigan-Ohio State?!?! Did you even watch The Game last year?!?!?”
Of course I watched it. Not to brag, but I got paid money to watch and write about that game. It was epic. In my opinion, the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is the best overall rivalry in college football.
But in terms of on-field matchups, Penn State-Ohio State will be better in 2017 and beyond. How can I back such an outlandish claim? Simple. I’ll point to the product we see on the field.
In case anyone somehow forgot, last year’s Ohio State-Penn State game was epic in its own right. It was called an “upset” and a “stunner,” but we later found out that the Lions were every bit the team the Buckeyes were. Based on postseason results, Penn State might’ve even been better.
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This year, it’s once again hard to argue that the B1G has a more talented team than either Ohio State or Penn State. Saturday’s matchup in Columbus could feature 5-6 All-Americans and it could make up the majority of the first-team All-B1G roster. Both teams will have first-round draft picks in 2018 and perhaps both teams will be represented at the Heisman Trophy presentation in New York.
Need I say more? Ok, I will.
Besides the countless playmakers we’ll see all over the place on Saturday, both Ohio State and Penn State are recruiting at an elite level. Two months before the new early signing period, Ohio State has the No. 1 class and Penn State has the No. 4 class in the 247sports rankings. Those could change depending on who lands No. 5 overall recruit Micah Parsons, too.
Both of these programs are stockpiling talent in ways that we haven’t seen many B1G teams do, much less two at the same time. That suggests we’ll have plenty more future matchups between the two programs that feature All-Americans, Heisman Trophy candidates and future first-round draft picks.
That isn’t changing even in the likely scenario that both teams have coordinators get head coaching jobs this offseason. Greg Schiano and Joe Moorhead have both been tremendous, invaluable additions to their respective teams. If and when they leave, you can bet Urban Meyer and James Franklin will ask their new coordinators to replicate their styles as best they can. That’s exactly what Nick Saban asked Brian Daboll to do when Lane Kiffin left Alabama to restart his head coaching career.
Still, this matchup is bigger than the coordinators or even the head coaches.
It’s not about a random trophy that’s handed out for some manufactured rivalry. This is about two programs that have become the model for the B1G. They have talent and depth that nobody else in the conference has been able to emulate the past two years. Michigan might’ve won the draft pick title in 2017, but that didn’t yield a B1G title or a College Football Playoff appearance like it did for Penn State and Ohio State.
The point is not that Michigan is a vastly inferior program. It’s not. But as we saw last Saturday night, it simply did not have what it took to line up against Penn State for 60 minutes. Ohio State will get that same opportunity this Saturday night.
There won’t be any disrespect or overlooking. This year, there’s no doubt that they’re on the same level.
And until further notice, nobody else in the B1G is on that level with them.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.