Ohio State-Penn State: Tight ends to be integral for both sides

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Explosive offenses have followed the evolutions in Columbus and Happy Valley, but football has always been a game of cycles. Every innovation is followed by adjustment and a need to reinvent ones self to stay current, if not ahead of the curve.

This season both the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions have rediscovered the usefulness of a second tight end — the power of power, in a manner of speaking.

“We are starting to develop that position to be a position power,” Penn State coach James Franklin said, “and the reality is it’s also what everyone really wants since I got here — It is essentially a fullback, that’s what it is. It is a fullback that you essentially can use as a lead blocker, that you can use as a second puller in your counter game, and also we have the ability to line up and play those guys like wide receivers. I think that has been big.”

A trend that started elsewhere, perhaps most notably in the Big 12, has been slow to arrive in these parts, but Ohio State and Penn State have both seen it pay dividends this season.

“So for us, we have more sophistication in our running game,” Franklin said. “I think it helps our defense as well. It helps our defense see stints from our offense that they are going to see throughout the year.”

Pass-catching tight ends have been a big part of the Penn State offense for several seasons, including the Bill O'Brien years prior to Franklin's arrival in 2014, while talking about tight ends catching passes has been a big part of Ohio State football for longer than that.

This season is no exception as Pat Freiermuth is No. 2 at Penn State this season with 34 catches for 424 yards and seven touchdowns.

Although Ohio State has shown some different defensive packages based on specific personnel this season, linebacker Pete Werner is likely to most often be defending Freiermuth, a challenge the junior said he welcomes.

“He's a big, big target, and he runs routes well, but with big challenges, you get excited for that,” said Werner, who matched up with talented tight ends from Florida Atlantic and Cincinnati early in the season. “Excited to play in a game like this, play against one of the better guys that I've played against this year.”

While the Buckeyes have gone four deep at tight end regularly, the quartet of Luke Farrell, Jeremy Ruckert, Rashod Berry and Jake Hausmann have been more valuable in expanding the Ohio State running game than as pass catchers.

They have combined for 16 catches for 205 yards and six touchdowns.

Another aspect of new-age offenses is relying heavily on the quarterback run game, something Ohio State and Penn State both have done in recent seasons.

This year quarterback runs have remained part of the package, but the signal callers have less often been the tip of the spear for the Buckeyes or Nittany Lions.

In a big game where the sides figure to be more evenly matched, that could change, and that is fine with Ohio State’s Justin Fields.

“I'm willing to do whatever it takes to win every game,” the sophomore quarterback said. “So it's not really certain games. I think when coach needs me to do certain things, that the team needs me to do certain things, I'm willing to do it.”

Sean Clifford is Penn State’s No. 2 rusher with 374 yards on 97 carries with five touchdowns while Fields has run 84 times for 377 yards for Ohio State.

In both cases, sacks have trimmed more than 100 yards off their totals, and the threat of the running game is as much a factor as actually taking off with the ball a dozen times or more per game.

“Last week was kind of the first true run game we’ve seen, but it’s just an extra guy has to be there to tackle the football,” Werner said. “Everybody has a certain job assignment and that just means that everybody has to pay attention to detail.”