THE RUNNING START

When: Saturday, September 30, 2017
Where: Piscataway, NJ, High Point Solutions Stadium
TV: 7:30 p.m., BTN
Announcers: Kevin Kugler, Matt Millen and Lisa Byington

This is the fourth time Ohio State and Rutgers will play each other in football. The Buckeyes are 3–0 all-time against the Scarlet Knights. Chris Ash's team enters this contest with a 1–3 record in 2017. 

Below you will find some interesting facts about the teams, key offensive player stats, coach information, and team stats.

THE LAST TIME...

• Ohio State played Rutgers, the Buckeyes won 58-0.
• OSU shutout an opponent in the opposing team's stadium was 2013. Ohio State blanked Purdue 56-0 in Ross-Ade Stadium.
• The Buckeyes played in Piscataway, NJ, they won 49-7.
• Ohio State defeated Rutgers by less than 38 points was...never.
• The Scarlet Knights defeated a Big Ten team in New Jersey was 2014, they defeated Indiana 45-23.

ON THE HORIZON

• J.T. Barrett is 14 yards shy of 10,000 career yards of offense.
• Barrett needs 201 passing yards to break Art Schlichter's record of 7,547 yards.
• Schlichter also holds the school record of for wins (36), Barrett is 29–5 as a starter.
• Since 1890, the Buckeyes are 84–33–8 in the fifth game of the season and 41–16–1 on the road. 
• Ohio State is 18–4–1 when ranked and facing an unranked opponent on the road in game 5.
• All-time, OSU is 136–23–1 when ranked and playing an unranked team on the road.
• Urban Meyer led Ohio State teams are 23–1 in true road games.
• Meyer is 8–1 when facing a former assistant coach. He has never lost to a former assistant coach at Ohio State (6–0).

Rutgers University

GET TO KNOW RUTGERS

• The Rutgers University is located in New Brunswick, Piscataway and Camden, NJ.
• The university was established in 1766. It was formerly known as Queen's College (1766–1825) and Rutgers College (1825–1925). 
• The Scarlet Knights are 1–3 this season.
• Rutgers is 30–37 (.448) since 2012.
• Chris Ash's team lost to Nebraska 21-17 last week. Their lone win is against Morgan State, an FCS team.
• Since joining the Big Ten, Rutgers is 4–22 (.154) against conference opponents.

​TODAY'S TRIVIA QUESTIONS:

1. Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014, can you name the team they defeated for their first conference win? 
2. The Scarlet Knights have not defeated a conference opponent since 2015, who was the last Big Ten team they beat?
3. Urban Meyer has only lost one game to a former assistant coach and the loss occurred when he was at Florida. Who was the former assistant to beat Meyer?

Answers at the bottom of today's article.

2017 Player Comparison

OFFENSIVE LEADERS
J.T. BARRETT	966 YDS // 10 TD // 1 INT	PASSING	KYLE BOLIN	642 YDS // 3 TD // 6 INT
J.K. DOBBINS	520 YDS // 7.5 YPC 3 TD	RUSHING	GUS EDWARDS	259 YDS //  4.2 YPC // 2TD
PARRIS CAMPBELL	322 YDS // 2 TD	RECEIVING	JEROME WASHINGTON	135 YDS // 1 TD
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
DAMON WEBB	25	TACKLES	TREVOR MORRIS	29
NICK BOSA	3.0	SACKS	DARNELL DAVIS JR.	2.0
4 PLAYERS TIED	1	INTERCEPTIONS	KIY HESTER	2
SPECIAL TEAMS
K.J. HILL	2.3 YPR	PUNT RETURNER	JANARION GRANT	18.2 YPR
PARRIS CAMPBELL	45.6 YPR	KICKOFF RETURN	JANARION GRANT	13.2 YPR
DRUE CHRISMAN	44.6	PUNTING	RYAN ANDERSON	43.0
6		EDGE	3

THE COACHES

This is the second time Urban Meyer and Chris Ash have squared off as head coaches. Meyer is 8–1 when facing a former assistant coach.

Urban Meyer

• 64–7 (.901) at Ohio State (6th year)
• 168–30 (.848) overall (16th year)

Chris Ash

• 3–13 (.188) at Army (2nd year)
• 3–13 (.188) overall as a college coach (2nd year)

CLIFF CLAVEN'S LITTLE KNOWN FACTS CORNER

 

• Rutgers has lost 14 straight Big Ten games. 
• Jordan Fuller and Kevin Feder are the only Buckeyes from New Jersey.
• Ohio State teams under Urban Meyer have scored 50 or more points 20 times. The Buckeyes won all of those games.
• J.K. Dobbins is 6th in the nation with 520 rushing yards.
• The last unranked Big Ten team to defeat Ohio State at night was Penn State in 2016.
• Sean Nuernberger has made 124 straight extra points (a school record). 141 consecutive is the Big Ten record.
• 2009 was the last time Ohio State played the fifth game of the season on the road at night. Jim Tressel's squad beat Indiana 33-14 in Memorial Stadium.
• When playing the fifth game of the season on the road at night, the Buckeyes are 4–1. Penn State beat the Buckeyes 17-10 in 2005.
• Ohio State broke the single game passing record with 474 yards against UNLV. The previous high was 459 against Penn State in 1997. 
• The Buckeyes' last game on September 30th was a 38-17 victory over No. 13 Iowa at Kinnick Stadium in 2006. 
• Ohio State is 9–3 on the 30th of September. The last loss was to Arizona in 1967. The Wildcats upset the Buckeyes 14-7. 

2017 Statistical Comparison

OFFENSE
39.3	28th	POINTS FOR	27.3	80th
229.8	24th	RUSHING OFFENSE	163.3	69th
319.3	13th	PASSING OFFENSE	163.5	117th
549.0	9th	TOTAL OFFENSE	326.8	110th
.415	60th	3rd DOWNS	.383	80th
.833	69th	RED ZONE	.933	23rd
DEFENSE
20.0	39th	POINTS ALLOWED	18.3	27th
139.0	61st	RUSH DEFENSE	118.8	37th
228.3	67th	PASS DEFENSE	179.5	34th
130.2	75th	PASS EFFICIENCY DEFENSE	106.7	27th
367.3	56th	TOTAL DEFENSE	298.3	24th
.339	49th	3rd DOWNS	.302	28th
.818	63rd	RED ZONE	.929	111th
SPECIAL TEAMS
3.2	99th	PUNT RETURN	12.0	31st
33.8	4th	KICKOFF RETURN	17.9	104th
43.2	13th	NET PUNTING	33.9	114th
MISCELLANEOUS
+ 1.0	21st	TURNOVER MARGIN	0.0	59th
6.8	71st	PENALTIES	6.3	65th
9		EDGE	9

TODAY'S TRIVIA ANSWERS

Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014, can you name the team they defeated for their first conference win?

Answer: Michigan. Rutgers won 26-24 in 2014.

The Scarlet Knights have not defeated a conference opponent since 2015, who was the last Big Ten team they beat?

Answer: Rutgers beat Indiana 55-52 in Bloomington for their only conference win in 2015.

Urban Meyer has only lost one game to a former assistant coach and the loss occurred when he was at Florida. Who was the former assistant to beat Meyer?

Answer: Dan Mullen led Mississippi State to a 10-7 win over the Gators in 2010.

ICYMI
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