Week 10 of college football features arguably the biggest matchup of the year in the Big 10 as No. 4 Ohio State visits No. 3 Penn State in Happy Valley.
But for fans of both teams this feels a lot more like a matchup between an extremely moveable object and a totally stoppable force. That’s entirely due to the records of each team’s head coach in these massive games.
Penn State’s James Franklin has five 11-win seasons with the Nittany Lions, but is 1-12 against AP Top 5 teams during his tenure. Ohio State’s Ryan Day, meanwhile, has four 11-win seasons (and a trip to the College Football Playoff) on his resume, but is 0-5 against teams who are 7-0 or better.
It’s not an overreaction at all to say the losing coach of Saturday’s game will find themselves on the hot seat, especially with Ohio State reportedly spending $20 million on its roster and Penn State hiring arguably the most innovative offensive coordinator in the FBS.
This isn’t quite a playoff elimination game for the Big Ten teams, but there’s no question the stakes are as high for both of these teams as any recent regular season game.
