The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released this Tuesday on Halloween night, but for No. 2 ranked Penn State, its first playoff game of the season starts a little bit earlier than that. The Nittany Lions Big Ten title and CFP hopes will either be sustained or lost when they head to No. 6 Ohio State later today (3:30 ET, FOX).

Before we talk about this week’s matchup at the Buckeyes (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten), let’s first look at the convincing win the Nittany Lions (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) had over Michigan and its No. 1 ranked defense last week in the always fun “white out” at Beaver Stadium.

The key matchup was the Wolverines’ stout defense, which was giving up just 223.8 yards per game to the opposition this season against the dynamic Penn State offense. The Nittany Lions offense did not disappoint, racking up 506 yards. Saquon Barkley rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns, while McSorley came through with 358 yards of total offense, rushing for three scores and throwing for one – a 42-yard pitch and catch to Barkley.

Simply put, the Penn State offense was firing on all cylinders and that includes the play of the offensive line. I mentioned last week that if McSorley had time to make plays, especially with the aggressive man-to-man schemes that Michigan likes to run in the secondary, that he would have success throwing the football. The offensive line delivered and the Nittany Lions offense finished the job.

Now, onto this week’s opponent — the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes have been playing some impressive football as of late, albeit against lackluster competition (last five opponents - combined win-loss record of 17-19). Still, the Scarlet and Grey have outscored their last five opponents 268-77.

The Buckeyes’ offense never has a shortage of playmakers and this season is no different. As a unit, they’re averaging 47.3 points per game, which is second in the country, and have gained a mammoth amount of yardage at 577.3 yards per game.

Once again, this offense goes as J.T. Barrett goes and his numbers this season are a bit inflated because of the competition, but he has thrown for 1,838 yards with 21 touchdowns and one interception. In Ohio State’s loss to Oklahoma early in the season, Barrett was not so good. He threw for just 183 yards and one interception against a team with top 10 talent, which means that if the Nittany Lions can generate pressure on him throughout the game, the result could be the same. Penn State has come up with nine interceptions on the season, with most of those miscues caused by pressure from the Nittany Lions’ defensive front.

Remember, Penn State sacked Barrett six times in the second half of its upset win against the Buckeyes last season and Barrett didn’t look good for the rest of the season after that. But if he does get time to throw the football and the Nittany Lions’ linebackers don’t do a good job of stepping up when he scrambles or looks to run up field, it could be a long day for their defense. The Nittany Lions defense is averaging almost 3.5 sacks per game.

“They take shots down the field. J.T. Barrett has been playing at Ohio State for I think this is his 16th year, maybe going on 17, one of the most successful quarterbacks in school history, if not the most. One of the most successful quarterbacks in Big Ten history and nationally,” said Penn State head coach James Franklin. “I mean you got to just completely respect everything that that guy’s been able to do in his career and everything I know about him and have heard about him, he’s a class act.”

Generating pressure on Barret will be Penn State’s main goal defensively, but goal 1.A will be slowing down running back J.K. Dobbins. Dobbins has been tough to stop this season as he’s rushed for 775 yards and five touchdowns at a healthy 7.75 yards per carry. Ohio State averages just over 250 yards rushing per game, so it will be important for the Nittany Lions to be exceptional defending the run as well. On the season, the Nittany Lions have given up 173.4 yards per game on the ground.

Once again, the key matchup this week on the offensive side of the ball will be the Penn State offensive line vs. the opponents’ defensive line, which is arguably more talented than the Michigan defensive front it faced just a week ago. The Buckeyes are strong, fast, and have depth on their defensive front and you better believe defensive coordinator Greg Schiano is going to bring the pressure to try and rattle McSorley. The Buckeyes have collected 18 sacks on the season with ultra-talented players Nick Bosa (4.0) and Tyquan Lewis (3.5) leading the way.

I’ve been on record many times saying that I believe the Penn State wide receivers, tight end, and Barkley coming out of the backfield will win their matchups against anybody in the country except for maybe Alabama. So, if McSorley has time to throw the football you’re going to see positive results.

Ohio State is giving up just under 200 yards per game through the air on the season. One more quick point is that when Ohio State has played a talented offense with a good quarterback this season, it has not fared well. Richard Lagow passed for 410 yards and three scores against the Buckeyes in Week 1 and Heisman hopeful Baker Mayfield torched them for 386 yards and three scores in Week 2.

“They have an elite defense, everybody all off season was talking about their defensive line, and obviously, they have tremendous depth, size, athleticism and power up front,” said Franklin. “That’s kind of been their calling card. Coach [Larry] Johnson obviously does an unbelievable job with them and has his whole career. They pressure a good amount, they’re a 42-percent pressure on normal downs.”

As of right now, Penn State is a 6.5-point underdog.

Ohio State is giving up just 109.6 rushing yards per game, so you have to figure that Barkley is going to be limited in what he can do. I know, sounds crazy right, and I think it is crazy. I think this is the game where you will see Barkley solidify himself as the Heisman frontrunner and he’ll do it both on the ground and as a receiver out of the backfield.

I also think last week was the turning point for the Penn State offensive line. The Nittany Lions were physically dominating up front and nobody can tell me that Ohio State’s defense is any more physical than Michigan’s, so I’m going to believe what my eyes told me last week about Penn State’s offensive line.

On the road, in a hostile environment against a team and a coach that are used to playing on the big stage and a lot of the time coming away with a win on that stage doesn’t sound like a recipe for a win for the Nittany Lions. But I just think Penn State is the better football team.

Defensively, the Nittany Lions are vastly underrated (No. 1 in the country in scoring defense – 9.6 points per game) and Trace McSorley does not get enough credit for what he does week in and week out.

My pick is Penn State 38, Ohio State 27.