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The word "legacy," is being thrown around.
Penn State defensive tackle Jared Odrick, a senior, is one of those guys whose distinguished career, arguably, could use an exclamation point. Odrick was fairly quiet in Penn State's 21-10 loss to Iowa Sept. 26, and in its 38-24 loss to USC in the Rose Bowl in January.
Saturday's game (3:30 p.m., Beaver Stadium, ABC/ESPN2) could provide it.
Not that it necessarily needs punctuation. Odrick, from Lebanon, was first-team all-Big Ten last season.
He's been even better this year, although that doesn't always translate into gaudy stats. Odrick is usually double-teamed. Sometimes the most useful thing he does is occupy blockers so other people can make plays.
"If people don't understand that, I guess that don't know football," Odrick said with a shrug, after Penn State's 34-13 win at Northwestern last Saturday.
"No, I don't feel unappreciated."
He should, according to Penn State coach Joe Paterno.
"I think he's done a terrific job and I've said before I think that he may be kind of an unknown factor sometimes," Paterno said.
"He's played really well, he's a great leader on the field, and he reminds me a lot of the good ones we've had, Matt Millen who played defensive tackle for us is the same kind of guy.
"We had guys like Mike Reid and Steve Smear and people going down through the years; we've had good defensive tackles, and Odrick would be right up there with them."
Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley calls Odrick, "the best 3-technique (down tackle) in the country."
This legacy stuff usually involves quarterbacks, and the respective QBs, Penn State's Daryll Clark and Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor, will be under an even more high-powered microscope than usual.
Clark is a senior who was all-Big Ten a year ago and is having a better season now.
"I don't think there's anybody better than he is in the country at quarterback right now," Penn State quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno said after the Northwestern game.
Clark is by all accounts a great leader, great teammate, great player. But his big-game, high-stakes resume, it's fair to say, is thin.
In last year's one-point loss at Iowa, Clark completed just nine of 23 passes, for just 86 yards, plus a crucial interception. This year against Iowa, he completed 12 of 32 throws for 198 yards and three picks.
He left last year's Ohio State game with a concussion, and backup Pat Devlin was on the field for the only touchdown in a fiercely-fought, 13-6 Penn State win.
Clark played well enough in the Rose Bowl, but in the end was overwhelmed by USC just like everybody else in blue and white.
Pryor is a sophomore who was among the highest-profile recruits in the country two years ago. He's from Jeannette, Pa., and was heavily recruited by Penn State and most everyone else.
His college career has been a mixed bag. Pryor can make big plays with his athleticism. He can make big mistakes in the passing game.
He'll be a target in Happy Valley Saturday. He's already been a target.
Early this week the Penn State Marketing Association distributed a "Terrelle Cryer," T-shirt, featuring a weeping Pryor being comforted by a muscular Nittany Lion caricature.
Just 200 of the shirts were produced before the group thought better of it and recalled them. Still …
"It's Ohio State vs. Penn State, period," Clark said after the Northwestern game. "It's not Daryll Clark vs. Terrelle Pryor. We're not going to play that type of chess match. That's not what it's about."
If depends how one defines a big game, of course. Clark could become the first Penn State QB to beat Ohio and Michigan twice. For many Penn State fans, that's big enough.
"That would be something," Clark said. "And the opportunity is there. A lot of people have talked to me about that."
Ohio State, on the other hand, has lost six straight to teams ranked higher than it. Penn State is 11th in the BCS standings, Ohio State 16th. Pryor, when he met the Ohio State media Tuesday, didn't back away from that.
"I haven't led us to a big win yet," said quarterback Terrelle Pryor, a central figure in the past three big-game losses. "The quarterback has to lead. And I haven't led in a big game."
Pryor suffered an apparently minor lower-leg injury during the Buckeyes' 45-0 blowout of New Mexico State last week.
He admitted to being, "a little sore," but added that, "You're gonna have to kill me not to play."
