Ahead of an annual marquee matchup, a once-promising season for Penn State has seemingly come off the rails, while a once-worrying start for Ohio State seems to be a distant memory.
The Buckeyes are No. 5 in the latest AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll, winning five in a row after starting the season 1-1. They had defensive woes early, but have yielded just 44 points in their last four games; they're beating opponents by 47 points per game. Penn State, meanwhile, started off 5-0, but has fallen off starkly and quickly, losing to Iowa 23-20 without a fully healthy Sean Clifford and then losing to unranked Illinois 20-18 in nine overtimes in Week 8.
MORE: Watch Ohio State vs. Penn State live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)
Clifford is expected to be close to, if not at 100 percent for the Nittany Lions, but it still may not be enough to counteract Ohio State's offense, which includes quarterback C.J Stroud, receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson and running back TreVeyon Henderson. The Nittany Lions also don't have history on their side: James Franklin hasn't beaten Ohio State since 2016, and Penn State hasn't won in Columbus since 2011.
Ohio State won last year's meeting 38-25 in Beaver Stadium, and will look to continue its dominance over its longtime Big Ten foe in a game with potential College Football Playoff implications.
Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates and highlights from Ohio State vs. Penn State on Saturday. Follow for complete results from the 2021 Big Ten rivalry game.
Ohio State vs. Penn State score
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | F | |
| Ohio State | — | — | — | — | — |
| Penn State | — | — | — | — | — |
Ohio State vs. Penn State live updates, highlights from 2021 rivalry game
Live updates will begin here around kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Ohio State vs. Penn State start time
- Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET | 4:30 p.m. PT
- TV channel (national): ABC
- Live stream: Watch ESPN App, fuboTV
Ohio State vs. Penn State will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET from Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
This matchup between perennial Big Ten powers will air on ABC. Former State College resident Chris Fowler will handle play-by-play duties with former Buckeyes quarterback Kirk Herbstreit joining him as the analyst. The two will be accompanied by Holly Rowe, reporting from the sidelines.
College football schedule Week 9
| Game | Time (ET) | TV channel |
| No. 2 Cincinnati at Tulane | Noon | ESPN2, fuboTV |
| No. 6 Michigan at No. 8 Michigan State | Noon | Fox, fuboTV |
| No. 9 Iowa at Wisconsin | Noon | ESPN, fuboTV |
| Texas at No. 16 Baylor | Noon | ABC, fuboTV |
| Miami at No. 17 Pitt | Noon | ACC Network, fuboTV |
| No. 22 Iowa State at West Virginia | 2 p.m. | Big 12/ESPN+ |
| No. 1 Georgia at Florida | 3:30 p.m. | CBS, fuboTV |
| Texas Tech at No. 4 Oklahoma | 3:30 p.m. | ABC, fuboTV |
| Colorado at No. 7 Oregon | 3:30 p.m. | Fox, fuboTV |
| Duke at No. 13 Wake Forest | 4 p.m. | ACCN, fuboTV |
| No. 10 Ole Miss at No. 18 Auburn | 7 p.m. | ESPN, fuboTV |
| No. 12 Kentucky at Mississippi State | 7 p.m. | SEC Network, fuboTV |
| Kansas at No. 15 Oklahoma State | 7 p.m. | Fox Sports 1, fuboTV |
| No. 19 SMU at Houston | 7 p.m. | ESPN2, fuboTV |
| No. 20 Penn State at No. 5 Ohio State | 7:30 p.m. | ABC, fuboTV |
| North Carolina at No. 11 Notre Dame | 7:30 p.m. | NBC, Peacock fuboTV |
| Virginia at No. 25 BYU | 10:15 p.m. | ESPN2, fuboTV |
| Fresno State at No. 21 San Diego State | 10:30 p.m. | CBS Sports Network, fuboTV |