2 weeks Ago By Joe Tansey
The Ohio State Buckeyes and Penn State Nittany Lions headline Week 10 in college football in a meeting of College Football Playoff-bound programs that need to prove they can win the national title. Ohio State failed in its first major challenge of the season by losing by one point the Oregon Ducks. The Buckeyes were competitive throughout that game, but they still lost and are viewed to be on the level below Oregon in the Big Ten.
The biggest knock on Penn State during the James Franklin era is that it can't win the big game. Penn State enters Saturday on a seven-game losing streak in the series with Ohio State, but this just might be the year where everything comes together for the Nittany Lions. The only other Top 25 matchup in Week 10 pits the Pittsburgh Panthers against the SMU Mustangs.
The winner will be the ACC's third CFB Playoff contender behind the Miami Hurricanes and Clemson Tigers. Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook. Friday, November 1 San Diego State at No.
15 Boise State (-24) (8 p.m. ET, FS1) Saturday, November 2 No.
4 Ohio State (-4) at No. 3 Penn State (Noon ET, Fox) Duke at No. 5 Miami (-20) (Noon ET, ABC) No.
19 Ole Miss (-6.5) at Arkansas (Noon ET, ESPN) Minnesota (-2) at No. 24 Illinois (Noon ET, FS1) No.
1 Oregon (-15.5) at Michigan (3:30 p.m.
ET, CBS) Florida vs. No. 2 Georgia (-16) (3:30 p.
m. ET, ABC) Texas Tech at No. 11 Iowa State (-14.
5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) No.
13 Indiana (-7) at Michigan State (3:30 p.m. ET, Peacock) No.
17 Kansas State (-13) at Houston (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox) No.
10 Texas A&M (-3.5) at South Carolina (7:30 p.m.
ET, ABC) Louisville at No. 11 Clemson (-10.5) (7:30 p.
m. ET, ESPN) Kentucky at No. 7 Tennessee (-16) (7:45 p.
m. ET, SEC Network) No. 18 Pittsburgh at No.
20 SMU (-7) (8 p.m. ET, ACC Network) Penn State has the seven-game losing streak to Ohio State looming over its head.
The Nittany Lions built up a reputation of beating all the teams they are supposed and then losing to every top-five team they face. James Franklin's program is the best equipped in quite some time to challenge, and even beat, the Buckeyes for the first time since 2016. Penn State has one of the best all-around defenses in the country that has shut opponents down in the second half, it has an all-world tight end in Tyler Warren and a dynamic running back duo in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
The big question is the health of quarterback Drew Allar, but backup Beau Pribula proved in the Week 9 win over the Wisconsin Badgers that he is capable of filling in and making winning plays. Ohio State must start strong on the road to have any chance of winning. Penn State allowed 30 first-half points in its last two games.
The Buckeyes have the better complement of wide receivers, led by freshman Jeremiah Smith, but that can be neutralized if Penn State's pass rush gets to Will Howard. Howard threw for multiple touchdowns in each of the last five games. He will be the key to a Buckeyes victory.
Scoring points on the Penn State defense has been difficult in the second half, and if it dictates the time of possession with its ground game, it can be in control and find a way to win. Pittsburgh and SMU are playing for the right to be one of the top teams on the fringe of the CFB Playoff. No one expected the ACC to challenge for three playoff berths once the Florida State Seminoles' season went south.
However, both Pitt and SMU have put together strong offensive seasons to put themselves in the Top 25 at the start of November. Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein has 17 touchdown passes and 1,805 yards through the air. He will keep the Panthers in the game against an SMU defense that's allowed 27 or more points in three of the last five games.
SMU's only strong defensive showings in the last five games came against two struggling offenses in Florida State and the Stanford Cardinal. The Mustangs have a strong offense in their own right, led by quarterback Kevin Jennings, and if anything, the over 59 should be the best bet in this game because of the big-play potential of both offenses. Holstein hasn't made many mistakes for Pitt, and if that keeps up, the Panthers will be within a touchdown for most of Saturday's trip to Dallas.
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