COLUMBUS, OH — Fresh from the bye, can the No.1 ranked, defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes continue their winning ways vs. a desperate and dangerous Penn State Nittany Lions squad under interim head coach Terry Smith
Ohio State, coming off of a 34-0 shutout win on the road vs. Wisconsin before going into the bye, look to keep up their winning and dominant ways against a visiting Penn State team rocked by firing head coach James Franklin and reeling from embarrassing losses at UCLA and Northwestern.
What makes this tilt in Columbus even more interesting is that former defensive coordinator Jim Knowles will be on the sidelines going against his former team and colleagues in head coach Ryan Day and current assistant head coach, and the man pegged by many, to become the next head coach in Happy Valley in Brian Hartline
It wasn’t exactly an open secret of the tension between Day and Knowles during the Buckeyes title run that led to Knowles and his sudden defection to Happy Valley.
What makes this Penn State-Ohio State matchup even spicier is that QB1 Drew Allar will not be under center, after suffering a season-ending knee injury, in what would have been a regional homecoming for the former Medina High standout.
Allar, tabbed by some of one of the top potential prospects in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, will now likely have to either transfer to another school or enter the NFL Draft as a third/firth round prospect at best.
Also, since the Franklin ousting, there has lots of chatter about the former Canton McKinley-reared Hartline potentially leaving for Penn State.
Not to say it is, or isn’t true, while Hartline has developed some of the NFL’s current top receivers in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Olave, Marvin Harrison Jr. Emeka Egbuka, Garrett Wilson and now is currently molding Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, why would he leave such a premier program for a less talented one with no head coaching experience, nor any top-level talent that he currently has in Columbus.
Ohio State is one of the few programs in the country that can afford to lose top level coaches and still be dominant, but in the case of Hartline, it would hurt on a deeper level, as he is from the state, played in Columbus, and has proven to be an important factor in their championship staff.
Keep an eye on this.
PHOTO: Robert D. Cobb, INSC Media & Photography for INSC Media Group LLC