Penn State’s biggest game in 6 years is finally here. And, fittingly, at the very site of the showdown that’s left the Nittany Lions wandering ever since.

Penn State’s last best shot at the College Football Playoff was in 2017, when the Nittany Lions showed up in Columbus ranked No. 2 in the nation to face the 6th-ranked Buckeyes.

Everything seemed to be coming up Penn State that day as the Lions took a 35-20 lead into the fourth quarter.

Instead, it turned out that Ohio State needed a full 45 minutes to wake up from its decision to break out a spectacularly ugly set of all-gray uniforms with black-and-gray camouflage pattern helmets. Or for the football and/or style gods to forgive the sin.

JT Barrett’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Baugh with 1:48 remaining lifted Ohio State to the 39-38 win.

Ohio State’s arrow has largely pointed upward ever since. The Bucks have lost a grand total of 7 games since beating Penn State that day. More importantly, they mothballed the gray uniforms, then set the box of mothballs on fire.

Penn State allowed that particular loss to turn into 2, falling to Michigan State the following week to officially extinguish any remaining CFP hopes. James Franklin has been looking to get back to this spot ever since.

He’s finally here.

In a near reversal of the circumstances from 2017, the Buckeyes sport the No. 3 ranking while Penn State comes in at No. 7.

Will the Lions now get a reversal in results and pick up their first win over Ohio State since 2016?

The belief in Happy Valley is that Penn State now has the quarterback for acing this test in sophomore Drew Allar. And we are about to see if he’s ready to live up to that promise.

Drew Allar’s first true test

Allar arrived at Penn State as the program’s most hyped offensive recruit since Christian Hackenberg. And the early returns suggest Allar may be better suited to meet or exceed that hype.

Unlike Hackenberg, Allar had the benefit of joining Penn State’s program at a time of maximum coaching stability both at the top and on his side of the ball. Allar also benefitted from a year of development behind Sean Clifford, despite the protestations of some fans to put him on the field immediately.

Allar obviously learned something in his time as the No. 2 quarterback and No. 1 student. He has yet to throw an interception in 181 pass attempts this season. No other quarterback in the country with at least 103 attempts has avoided an interception.

But that accuracy is also a result of Franklin and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich refusing to take off the training wheels.

Allar is 82nd in the country with an average of 6.9 yards per attempt — ironically, tied with former Penn State backup Ta’Quan Roberson, who now plays at UConn.

The Nittany Lions are a stunning 119th in the country with just 12 completions of 20 yards or more this season. Should that need any further context, here it is: even Iowa has 14 such completions this year.

Penn State has only completed 1 pass of at least 40 yards, which ties for 124th. That 72-yard touchdown hookup with KeAndre Lambert-Smith came 5 minutes into the season opener against West Virginia.

Minnesota and Iowa are the only teams in the country without any 40-yard completions. The conference may be B1G, but the passing yardage is not.

Understandably, this lack of downfield attacking has become a talking point. To the point of absurdity, even.

But if the question is absurd, so too are the numbers. To the point where it seems most likely that Franklin is playing it so close to the chest that he doesn’t want Ohio State to have anything on film.

Penn State can’t nickel-and-dime its way into the College Football Playoff.

Michigan had a fairly conservative run-first and play defense approach in 2021. But even that Cade McNamara-led offense finished 44th in the country with 47 pass plays of 20-plus yards. That ranking — 44th — is the lowest in explosive passing plays for any team that has reached the CFP.

So if there is anything up Franklin’s sleeve — and surely there must be — this is when it will be revealed. But pulling out an ace doesn’t guarantee the card will take the hand. Especially against the Ohio State defense.

Like a man possessed by Ohio State’s losses to Michigan and Georgia to end 2022, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has hard-wired his defense to prevent the big play. The Buckeyes are 2nd in the country behind only Penn State in total defense, allowing 4 yards per play.

Ohio State hasn’t allowed a single gain of 40 yards or more. And the Buckeyes have allowed only 4 plays of more than 30 yards, which is behind only Rutgers for the national lead.

However, all of those 30-yarders are passes. So if you’re going to make a big play against the Bucks, it’ll probably need to be through the air.

Saturday, we’ll see whether Allar is ready to ace that massive test.