Ohio State improved its most important statistic – its record – when it moved to 3-0 by defeating Rutgers, 49-27 on Saturday night.
Ohio State started out the game against Rutgers with a bang Saturday night, leading the Scarlet Knights 35-3 at halftime after dominant performances from multiple key players, including Justin Fields and Garrett Wilson, before the lead slipped a bit in the second half. Wilson became only the fourth Ohio State player to record three straight 100-yard receiving games.
On today's Three Key Stats, we'll look at the continued strong play of Justin Fields, the struggles of the defense in the second half and the many, many trick plays Rutgers ran.
Justin Fields was 24/28 For 314 yards and five touchdowns
Fields has been nothing short of exceptional so far this season, and he continued that strong start against the Scarlet Knights on Saturday. Unexpectedly, he stayed in for the duration of the game, with the only exception being the final play.
With his 24-for-28 performance over the weekend, he's now completing 86.7 percent of his passes this year.
Another one. pic.twitter.com/NMAQSFjnxl
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 8, 2020
Rutgers consistently had no answer for the dynamic quarterback all night, allowing Fields to remain near perfect with only four incompletions, with some being the fault of his receivers. The Ohio State quarterback also accounted for six touchdowns – five passing and one rushing – throughout the evening.
The defense Gave up 24 Second-Half points
The Buckeyes defense performed as well as most prognosticators expected in the first half, allowing Rutgers to score only points and rack up just 83 total yards. The Scarlet Knights averaged 2.9 yards per play through two quarters.
However, once the second half began, the play of the defense slipped. In the latter 30 minutes, it gave up 24 points and 287 yards. Rutgers was able to drive down the field repeatedly against the Ohio State defense, scoring four times in a row between the end of the third quarter and middle of the fourth quarter.
Oh, and the trick plays worked a time or two.
BIG MAN TD FOR RUTGERS pic.twitter.com/8ogcCz1oKh
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 8, 2020
Rutgers ran six trick plays
So we all know there is an element of surprise to trick plays that can't be matched. But Rutgers ran more trick plays in this one game than are normally done in an entire season.
By the end, it was almost more surprising when the Scarlet Knights didn't attempt some trickery.
The Scarlet Knights came out with a bang when they executed a trick play on the first kickoff of the game, which included a lateral, though that was only the beginning. Three of the trick plays were onside kicks, and one was effective. Greg Schiano didn't stop there. He even dialed up a pass to an offensive lineman for a touchdown.
Per NJ.com, 107 of Rutgers' 373 yards came on trick plays.
RUTGERS IS PULLING OUT ALL THE STOPS.
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 8, 2020
Trick play punt return TD pic.twitter.com/OvMALS4zx7
Thanks to a very productive first half, disaster was easily avoided in the second half in a true tale of two halves. After this performance by the Buckeyes, Ryan Day is sure to work on improvements before Saturday, when Ohio State will travel to Maryland to take on the Terrapins.
