Nittany Lions RB Barkley remains limited

He missed the throw – it was underthrown – but it was an indication that perhaps, the coaches would be approaching this game differently.

Penn State’s mantra, especially since their opening-week loss to Temple, has been simple: Focus on the present. “In the quarterback run you have to be a little more of a tailback”. And receivers still dropped a few balls they could have easily caught.

The Buckeyes are racking up 460 yards of offense per game, and are scoring roughly 37 points per contest. The Lions ran the ball well. “It ended up working out pretty well”, he said. It’s been that way for years. She now owns sole possession of 10th-place in goals all-time at Penn State.

Penn State had a rocky start to the season before recovering to start league play, but if recruiting is any indication of how competitive these four teams will be in the future, the potential of a four-headed Big Ten East monster is there. But the Lions turned it around and were never in any real danger of losing again. They weren’t necessarily in the quarterback run. Fortunately, there’s Rutgers and Minnesota after this to keep on improving, and then it’s on with road games at Illinois and Michigan wrapped around the Michigan State game. You know how that ended. So against a team that has been as dominant as any in college football since last November, Penn State at least has the advantage of knowing it can compete. The 1987 season, for instance.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The first half has proven that, despite the NCAA sanctions being lifted, Penn State still is dealing with their lingering residue, particularly regarding depth and injuries. And then, went on to lose the Citrus Bowl to Clemson. But you’ve got to play for the next play and go from there. The Nittany Lions are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 meetings in Ohio State and the under is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in Ohio State while the Buckeyes are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games on fieldturf.

Facing top-ranked Ohio State will do that to a program, of course.

Even it’s forward-thinking quarterback won’t turn down that knowledge. Earlier this season, the Nittany Lion defense held a mark of 384:19 minutes without allowing a goal. If Penn State has a weakness on defense, it’s their secondary. Hopefully, the unis won’t come to symbolize the mood inside Ohio Stadium as fans watch an OSU defense that has sort of lost its way. The Buckeyes fell behind to Virginia Tech before pulling away in the second half. They failed to cover against a rebuilding Buffalo team that has one FBS win. They’ve committed 65 yards worth of penalties per game (92nd nationally). That same Indiana team who ran up and down the field vs. Ohio State the week before. And Penn State has had moments where it looked like it could beat just about anyone.

One of the first questions for Ohio State coach Urban Meyer at his press conference Monday was not about the use of dual quarterbacks in the red zone, or how Braxton Miller is being utilized as a receiver.

The Buckeyes are unbeaten but still slightly embarrassed that running quarterbacks have made them look silly at times in wins over Indiana and Maryland. I trust PSU’s defense to show up but don’t have almost as much confidence that the offense will be able to trade points.

It means there’s reason to be optimistic.

Florida is a state where all four schools have allocated resources with Michigan offering 39 prospects, Ohio State offering 35, Penn State offering 25 and Michigan State with 21 offers in the 2016 class. In 2015 and 2016, Michigan has landed seven prospects from Florida, Ohio State with four and Michigan State with one. Now, Ohio State’s offense is way more talented than the offenses Penn State has faced so far.