Among Mark Twain's greatest contributions to modern society was his ability to make timeless this quote:
"There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned lies and Statistics."
Focus on the latter. It's never been a more overbearing theme than in Saturday's Big Ten Game of the Year in Happy Valley.
Undefeated, third-ranked Penn State is supposed to have its most complete team of James Franklin's eleven seasons at the helm.
The Nittany Lions faith don't overly care about complete, or that their season is not lost if this game is lost.
What they care about is that Franklin is a meager 1-9 against the Buckeyes entering this contest; his last win came in 2016, when Penn State won the Big Ten. That's also its only league crown under Franklin, and that wasn't good enough to get PSU into the College Football Playoff that year.
That compounds matters. So, sorry Mr. Twain, but 1-9 against OSU is not a damned lie but a damning stat. Five of those Buckeyes wins have been by nine or more points, four by double figures.
But Ohio State's Ryan Day has his own stat-battle -- not to mention a seeming battle with his own defensive line coach over the Buckeyes' rotation up front, as evidenced by comments out of Columbus, Ohio, earlier this week.
Day is roughly a .500 coach against top-10 opponents, and the very nature of those contests suggests that's an absolutely acceptable rate of success if honest evaluation is applied.
The rub is that Day has sunk to a meager 2-7 against top-five foes; plus, he lost his last two games of 2023 -- a third-straight loss to eventual national champion Michigan, as well as a listless effort against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl -- and his first opportunity game of 2024 last month at Oregon.
There's no more expensive player and coaching roster this season in college football than at Ohio State, which has spent lavishly on Day, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, as well as top offensive assistant Brian Hartline and the aforementioned defensive line coach, Larry Johnson; plus, the Buckeyes roster features highly paid individuals including quarterback Will Howard and All-America safety Josh Downs.
Elsewhere, FootballScoop's own Zach Barnett wonders -- aloud, mind you -- if Ole Miss will perform as LeBron James or Bronny James. Barnett's explanation is classic, if not a bit hyperbolic.
Can Sparty and Jonathan Smith upend Indiana's dream run?
Does Kentucky have any shot at Tennessee in the rivalry formerly known as the 'Battle for the Beer Barrel'?
Aww, nah. To the nah, nah, nah. Kentucky is a wounded Wildcat, not limping but crawling to the season's finish line.
The Wildcats are expected out eight starters in this game, and while Mark Stoops has won some 76 games while overseeing the program that calls the Big Shopping Cart home at Kroger Field, he's amassed 30 of those dubs against FCS and Group of Five programs -- most of the latter coming against MAC foes, of which Kentucky is elite.
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