Ohio State's Ryan Day and Penn State's James Franklin have abysmal records in big games
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.