First Down: #4 Ohio State at #9 Penn State: College Football’s Woodstock: Gameday, the Whiteout Game, a primetime kickoff….So what do we know about these teams? Penn State can score against defenses that rank 84th nationally on average. Ohio State can score against defenses that rank 94th on average. Where are the differences? Penn State has trailed both Appalachian State and Illinois in the second half. Ohio State trailed TCU in the 3rd quarter but stomped everyone else. Ohi

Penn State fans have always believed in a higher standard, in a pride in yelling WE ARE.. Certainly there is a small segment who may act like jerks, but in the years I’ve traveled the country the feedback about Penn State fans has been overwhelmingly positive. This weekend against Ohio State is a chance to make a statement about what "WE ARE" means, “WE” being inclusive of every student, alum and fan. The offseason has been a difficult one at Ohio State, and the investigation

1. The Big Ten’s Playoff Hopes: With a series of bad non-conference losses impacting the perception of the league, it may take a Big Ten team being undefeated to get into the playoff. Among the one-loss teams, Wisconsin’s loss is a bad one at home against BYU. If Michigan runs the table with wins over Penn State, Ohio State and the Big Ten Title game, their road loss to Notre Dame may not keep them out. With Penn State and Ohio State the lone undefeated teams left in the Big

First Down: Big Ten Crossover Games: The Big 10 inter-divisional crossover games this week. Since going to an East/West split there has been a lot of discussion about the imbalance of the two divisions. However despite that perception of Eastern superiority only once has the East had a winning crossover regular season record. East Vs West Crossover Game Records: 2017 East 13-8 2016 West 11-10 2015 Tied 7-7 2014

1. These “Basketball Schools” Are a Surprising 3-0: Three teams that we normally associate with great college basketball teams are off to 3-0 starts. Cincinnati opened on the road with a win at UCLA to start 3-0. With Ohio U, UConn and Tulane ahead the Bearcats could be looking at 6-0. Kentucky broke the Florida curse, but with Top-15 Mississippi State this week we’ll know how real they are. Duke has won road games at Northwestern and Baylor to get to 3-0 and should be 4-0 be

First Down: This is The First of Many Multi-Screen Weekends: Hurricane Florence has put a dent into the schedule but there are still some great games. The noon slot holds little intrigue, but at 3:30 you’ll need a TV, Tablet and Smartphone. In that slot BYU goes to #6 Wisconsin, #12 LSU is at Auburn, and #17 Boise State is at #24 Oklahoma State. In the prime time slot at 7:00 #1 Alabama is at surprising 2-0 Ole Miss which overlaps with 8:00 games #4 Ohio State at #15 TCU and

1. Stanford Goes Old School on USC: Stanford ‘s17-3 win over USC came down to great defense. Stanford held USC to under a 50% pass completion rate and just 3.1 yards per run. But the bigger number was field position. Because Stanford protected the football with no turnovers USC’s averaged starting at their own 23 yard line. Also USC never started a possession further out than their own 37. That is some old school football. 2. Momentum—Catch it While You Can: Both Pitt and Sou

First Down: A Rivalry Returns Part 1: This weekend #13 Penn State travels to Pitt for the 99th meeting between the two schools. In the 1970s through the 1990s this rivalry ran as hot as any in the country. From 1976 through 1986 these teams combined to play for 5 National Titles in 11 years (PSU won 2 and Pitt 1). In 2016 the rivalry returned after a 16-year break as Pitt beat Penn State. Last year Penn State won 33-14 as Pitt moved the ball but struggled to put points on the

Every Monday we recap things you may have missed this past weekend: 1. Bachie Ball: On Friday Night Michigan State Linebacker Joe Bachie (pronounced like Bocce) made a play to win a hard-fought game over Utah State. While blitzing Utah State's QB he....just watch the play here. 2. Big Ten East Power Rankings: 2018 Big Ten East power ratings based ONLY on what a team had done this year would look like this after Week 1 (a very small sample size that reflects only 1 game). 1. O