ESPN - Big Ten Blog: Hello from Happy Valley

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Posted by ESPN.com’s David Albright

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Who says there’s no playoff in the top division in college football?

Tell that to No. 16 Ohio State (7-2, 4-1 in Big Ten) and No. 11 Penn State (8-1, 4-1), who meet this afternoon at Beaver Stadium (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET). The winner will still be in the hunt in the Big Ten race, not to mention for a BCS bowl bid. The loser can prepare to play out the regular-season string before heading to a less-than-anticipated bowl game.

The Buckeyes control their own destiny and can earn the conference’s automatic BCS bid by winning out. Even with a win today the Nittany Lions will still need Big Ten leader Iowa to lose twice because the Hawkeyes won here back in September.

It’s a gorgeous day in Central Pennsylvania. The sun is shining; temperatures are in the 40s and are expected to climb into the 50s by kickoff. It’s quite a difference from the rain and snow that was a part of several Penn State home games earlier this season.

The conditions promise to be much less hospitable for Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor. The Jeanette, Pa., native spurned a scholarship offer from Joe Paterno and this will be the quarterback’s first trip into a Penn State atmosphere that should be electric and geeked up to rattle the home state signal-caller.

The all-time series between OSU and PSU is tied at 12-12 and each team has won the last game on the road in this rivalry -- Penn State 13-6 last year in Columbus and Ohio State 37-7 in 2007 in State College.

Thanks to our friends in ESPN Stats & Information, here are three things you should know heading into the game:

1. Over the past two seasons, Penn State is just 4-3 against teams ranked in the top 50 in total defense, while it is 15-0 against non-top-50 teams. Ohio State is ranked sixth in total defense.
2. Penn State, which beat Ohio State in Columbus last year, can become only the second Big Ten team to beat the Buckeyes in consecutive seasons under Jim Tressel. The only one to do it so far is Wisconsin in 2003-04.
3. Ohio State is 10-1 under Jim Tressel in games against Big Ten opponents which defeated the Buckeyes in the previous meeting. The only Big Ten team to win two straight against Ohio State under Tressel is Wisconsin (2003-04).

And here’s one bonus fun fact: This game will mark the first time two FBS coaches with a combined 600 wins have met in a regular-season game. Paterno currently has 391, while Tressel has 225. It also happened in the 2006 Orange Bowl, when Paterno (353) faced Bobby Bowden (359) in a game that featured more than 700 wins between them.

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