Penn State-Ohio State: Start time, channel, how to watch and stream

No. 7 Penn State will take on No. 3 Ohio State Saturday afternoon in a massive top-10 showdown that will reveal if the Nittany Lions have evolved into an elite college football team.

Back in 2018, Penn State head coach James Franklin famously declared the Nittany Lions had room to grow following a close 27-26 loss to Ohio State at Beaver Stadium.

“The reality is we’ve gone from an average football team, to a good football team, to a great football team, and we’ve worked really hard to do those things,” Franklin said. “But we’re not an elite football team yet.”

Penn State has lost six straight games to Ohio State, and the Nittany Lions haven’t won a game at the Horseshoe since 2011. Under Franklin the Nittany Lions are just 1-8 against the Buckeyes and just 3-15 against top-10 teams. So has the team finally turned the corner under Franklin and blossomed into one of college football’s elite teams?

“I think we have closed the gap with a lot of what people would consider the top-five programs in the country,” Franklin told reporters at his weekly news conference. “We’ve slowly chipped away at that. We’ve put ourselves in a much better position.”

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The spotlight will certainly be on the game. Both ESPN’s College GameDay and Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff will be in Columbus ahead of what is easily the most important Big Ten game of the season.

It’s the 12th time College GameDay has appeared at a Buckeyes-Nittany Lions game, the most visited matchup in the 30-year history of the popular pregame show. Longtime host Lee Corso has only picked the Nittany Lions to win once outside of State College. Will he make it two Saturday?

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the Penn State-Ohio State matchup:

Saturday’s Penn State-Ohio State game will air on Fox at noon Eastern.

Calling the game will be veteran play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson, joined in the booth for the ninth season by analyst Joel Klatt. Jenn Taft will handle the sideline reporting from Ohio Stadium.

You can also tune into 1210 WPHT. Calling the game on the radio will be longtime play-by-play announcer Steve Jones, joined by NFL Hall of Famer and former Nittany Lions linebacker Jack Ham.

Penn State-Ohio State will stream on the Fox Sports app, but you’ll need a cable subscription to log in.

The game also will stream on any so-called skinny bundle that carries Fox, including fuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and DirecTV Stream. Most offer a free trial.

If you’re looking to stream the game for free and you live in or around Philadelphia, your best option is using a digital antenna, since the game will air on broadcast television on Fox 29.

Penn State had high hopes of a College Football Playoff berth entering the season. A loss on Saturday against Ohio State wouldn’t completely eliminate those hopes, but it would make the road to a national championship a lot more difficult.

Both teams still have No. 2 Michigan remaining on their schedule (Penn State will face the Wolverines on Nov. 11 at Beaver Stadium), and there’s a chance the Big Ten East could come down to tiebreakers if none of the three teams win out.

Under Franklin, Penn State has just one Big Ten title, and has yet to earn a bid to the College Football Playoff, which began during the 2014-15 season.

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Temple lost in a blowout to SMU Friday night, dropping the Owls to just 2-6 this season. Quarterback E.J. Warner was sidelined for a second straight week after suffering an injury in the Owls’ loss to UTSA on Oct. 7.

Villanova is off this week. The Wildcats’ next game is against Stony Brook on Oct. 28.

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