AP Top 25 College Football Schedule: #3 Penn State Nittany Lions Battle #9 Ohio State Buckeyes in Big Ten Rivalry

The #3 Penn State Nittany Lions will travel to take on the #9 Ohio State Buckeyes in a huge Big Ten rivalry on Saturday at 8pm ET on ABC.

The winner of the Penn State-Ohio State game will likely win the Big Ten championship and move on to a BCS bowl game, preferably the BCS national championship game. Ohio State has made it to the last two BCS national championship games.

The resurgence of head coach Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions has been one of the biggest stories in college football, along with the previous injury to Ohio State's Chris "Beanie" Wells and the emergence of OSU freshman sensation Terrelle Pryor. 

Penn State (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) is led by running back Evan Royster, who leads the Big 10 in yards per carry (7.7 ypc), and quarterback Daryll Clark, the Big Ten's second-highest rated passer (152.7). Clark, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, has accounted for 19 total touchdowns in his first year as a starter.

Despite Clark's great season, he may not have been the starter this year had Pryor stayed in-state and selected the Nittany Lions. Pryor picked Ohio State over Big Ten rivals Michigan and Penn State.

Three games into this season, Pryor was named the starter over fifth-year senior Todd Boeckman. He has a 5-0 record as a starter, rushing for 282 yards on 63 carries (4.48 ypc) and completing 48-of-73 passes for 566 yards as the starter.

Pryor's emergence coincides with the return of their leader Wells, who missed three games for a toe injury. Wells missed the highly-anticipated matchup with then-No. 1 USC Trojans, in which the Buckeyes were routed 35-3, dropping them in the AP Top 25 college football rankings. Since returning, Wells has rushed for 508 yards and three TDs in four games.

While Ohio State (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten) has a few big names on offense, they have struggled, especially in the passing game. They are dead-last in the Big 10 in passing offense and second-to-last in total offense.

Penn State, on the other hand, has the nation's 10th-best rushing offense and 11th-best total offense. Penn State's defense is just as exceptional, ranking eighth in total defense and sixth in scoring defense.

Penn State hasn't won at Ohio Stadium in 30 years, and is 0-7 there since joining the conference. The Lions have also lost 10 straight on the road to AP Top 25 opponents dating to Oct. 12, 2002. Two of those losses came at the hands of a No. 1-ranked Ohio State team.

Ohio State has won 12 of its last 13 conference home games against ranked opponents.

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