Senior Day is always a bittersweet time of reflection and recognition for Ohio State football players.

Years of sacrifice, work and hopefully glory are acknowledged by the Ohio Stadium crowd as players join their parents on the field.

That touching ritual will play out again today before the Buckeyes play Penn State in their home finale. But fitting for the tumultuous season they’ve endured, this will be a Senior Day unlike any other.

It’s safe to say that few if any other seniors have had a season debut and home finale on the same day, as receiver DeVier Posey will today in his return from 10 games under NCAA suspension.

It will also be an emotional day for coach Luke Fickell, who was thrust into the coaching job in May after Jim Tressel’s forced resignation. With a 6-4 record, he seems a long shot to keep his job, so this could be his first and last Senior Day as coach.

Then there is the opponent, whose scandal dwarfs Ohio State’s NCAA issues. Penn State will be playing its first road game since the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse scandal broke two weeks ago. That scandal, whose ripples are only now beginning, has already swept away legendary coach Joe Paterno.

Longtime assistant Tom Bradley has taken over on an interim basis. Not since 1910 have both Ohio State and Penn State had first-year coaches.

The magnitude of the Sandusky story has overshadowed what’s at stake on the field today, but plenty is riding on this game. Penn State (8-2, 5-1) would clinch at least a tie for the Big Ten Leaders Division championship with a victory.

Ohio State’s goal of winning the Leaders Division could be over by kickoff. The Buckeyes (6-4, 3-3) need Illinois to upset Wisconsin in a noon game to remain alive in the race.

Today’s game figures to be a low-scoring one. Penn State has given up only 12.9 points per game, third-best in the country. But the Nittany Lions’ offense has been feeble. Only now has Mike McGloin officially been anointed the starting quarterback. Running back Silas Redd has had a breakthrough sophomore season, but he could be limited by a collarbone injury suffered last week against Nebraska.

The Buckeyes’ casualty list also could play a role. Linebacker Andrew Sweat likely won’t play because of a concussion. Defensive lineman Johnathan Hankins, receiver Corey Brown and right tackle J.B. Shugarts are expected to be limited, if they play at all.

“It looks like they might have a chance,” Fickell said. “But how much will you get out of them, how good can they be, that’s one of those things that as coaches you have to be smart about and know what they can handle.”

The Penn State game is usually a slugfest, and that’s what the Buckeyes are expecting.

“They’re a physical team, an old-school kind of hit-them-in-the-mouth (team),” running back Daniel Herron said. “We just have to be more physical.”

Herron, who missed the first six games this season because of NCAA suspensions, will savor his final game at Ohio Stadium.

“Any time I walk into Ohio State’s stadium, it’s just something that just goes through you,” he said. “Especially being that this will be my last time playing here, it’s definitely going to hit me harder this time.”

Ohio State’s 23 seniors experienced extreme highs and lows in their careers. This season has not lived up to their expectations, but Fickell said he’s proud of what they’ve achieved.

“As a coach, you’ve watched guys grow up for four and five years,” he said. “You’ve watched guys handle situations, mature in a lot of different ways. That’s why you coach. You didn’t get into coaching just to win football games. You didn’t get into coaching for any other reason than you like being around the young men. You like seeing them grow.

“So it’s an emotional time for everybody. We know how much respect we have for those guys and the things they’ve been through and the things they’ve meant to this program.”

brabinowitz@dispatch.com