It’s no secret that Ohio State has been Penn State’s biggest boogeyman for a long time.
In James Franklin’s 10 full seasons as PSU’s head coach, the team is 1-9 against OSU.
To be fair to Franklin, PSU didn’t win a lot against Ohio State before he got there, either, going 7-14.
This season, Ohio State is in the familiar role of top dog in the Big Ten, being ranked No. 3 in the nation and the odds on favorite to win the conference. But if somebody is to topple Ohio State in the Big Ten, one former SEC coach said Penn State is the team to do it.
“I think it’s Penn State,” Dan Mullen said at halftime of Miami-Virginia Tech on ESPN Friday night.
Why does he think that?
“They’re more explosive offensively this year,” Mullen said. “They have a dynamic duo in the backfield with Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. They have a quarterback, Drew Allar, that’s getting the ball down the field finally, with explosive plays. And we know in big moments they play well defensively.”
Mullen, who coached at Mississippi State from 2009-17 and then Florida from 2018-21, then cited Penn State’s schedule as a reason it could go far.
The schedule does appear to be favorable, with No. 19 Illinois (Sept. 28), No. 13 USC (Oct. 12) and, of course, Ohio State (Nov. 2) being the only three ranked opponents on the schedule.
For Mullen, all of these factors make Penn State his pick to get to the Big Ten Title Game, where it hasn’t been since 2016.
“I think this is the year Penn State has the opportunity to get to the championship game and then compete against Ohio State,” he said.
