Ohio State Hosts Penn State After Franklin Firing

No. 1 Ohio State will host Penn State on Saturday in a matchup now overshadowed by major upheaval in the Nittany Lions' program. Penn State has lost four straight, fired head coach James Franklin after the Northwestern loss, and will be without starting quarterback Drew Allar for the season, leaving interim coach Terry Smith and redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer to try to stabilize the team. Despite being three-touchdown underdogs, Penn State players call the trip to Columbus an opportunity to reset and the Buckeyes are treating it as a serious test because PSU still has top-tier talent. Ohio State arrives intact and dominant — quarterback Julian Sayin is posting an NCAA-leading completion percentage and the offense is humming behind one of the nation's top offensive lines and receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. A recruiting subplot: Penn State offensive-line verbal commit Kevin Brown is visiting Ohio State this weekend and could flip, illustrating how the coaching changes have unsettled PSU's class.