After three straight non-conference games at home, Ohio State is going back on the road and back into Big Ten play this weekend.
With the non-conference slate now complete, the Buckeyes begin a two-month gauntlet of conference games with a trip to New Jersey this weekend to play Rutgers.
For the past seven years since Rutgers became a Big Ten member in 2014, playing Rutgers has been akin to playing a non-conference game against a non-Power 5 opponent, as Ohio State has won each of its first seven matchups against the Scarlet Knights by at least 22 points. That might not be the case this year, however, as the Scarlet Knights appear to have their best team since joining the Big Ten while questions linger about how good the Buckeyes are.
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| RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS |
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3-1 (0-1 B1G) ROSTER / SCHEDULE |
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3:30 P.M. – SATURDAY, OCT. 2 SHI STADIUM PISCATAWAY, NEW JERSEY |
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BIG TEN NETWORK FOX SPORTS |
At a minimum, Rutgers is a significantly better team than Akron, so Ohio State can’t be fooled into thinking its problems are suddenly solved after a 59-7 win over the Zips last weekend. That will almost certainly be the easiest game Ohio State plays all season – and now that the Buckeyes are into Big Ten play for the rest of the regular season, there aren’t likely to be many easy games the rest of the way.
“It’s gonna be a Big Ten Conference road game that we gotta do a really good job of getting on the road and handling the environment,” Ryan Day said this week. “When you start playing against better competition, every little inch matters, and things get tighter.”
The Headlines
Stroud set to return
After taking a week off to rest his shoulder, C.J. Stroud is expected to return to the starting lineup against Rutgers. While Kyle McCord threw for 319 yards in his Ohio State debut last week, Day said Tuesday that Stroud would be the starter this week as long as he is healthy, and all indications have been that he will be ready to go on Saturday.
“I thought C.J.’s had a good week of work, so looking forward to getting him back on the field this week,” Day said Thursday.
Now that Stroud has had a week to rest his shoulder, which appeared to bother him more and more in each of Ohio State’s first three games, will he be able to cut down on the overthrows and inconsistencies that plagued him in his first three starts and elevate his game to new heights?
The redshirt freshman quarterback will face another tough test on Saturday against a Rutgers defense that’s allowed only 150 passing yards per game so far this season, but both Day and Ohio State wide receiver Garrett Wilson expect their signal-caller to be in better form now that his shoulder’s had some time to heal.
“He looks good,” Wilson said Wednesday. “Seems like he's healthy again. It's the best I've seen him spin it in a while.”
Not the same old Rutgers
In the past, Ohio State has been able to count on its annual tilt with Rutgers being one of its easiest games of the season. The Buckeyes have won their previous seven matchups, all since 2014, by an average of 43 points per game. Before last year, when the Buckeyes only won by 22 points (49-27) but led 35-3 at halftime, Ohio State had won all of its first six games against Rutgers by at least 35 points.
That said, this year’s Scarlet Knights haven’t looked nearly as hapless as their predecessors. They won all three of their non-conference games against Temple, Syracuse and Delaware, and lost by just seven points last weekend to a Michigan team that won all three of its non-conference games in convincing fashion. Second-year head coach Greg Schiano already has the team playing better than his predecessor, fellow former Ohio State defensive coordinator Chris Ash, ever did.
Because of that, Ohio State is only a 15-point favorite for this year’s game against the Scarlet Knights.
“Overall, they’re a strong team, and (Schiano)’s done a really good job of getting them to buy in and play hard,” Day said.
Rutgers’ success so far this season has been driven by its defense, which ranks seventh in the nation with just 13.5 points allowed per game and 11th in the nation with 262.8 yards allowed per game.
“They have some talent, they have a good scheme, they believe in it and they’re not gonna give you anything,” Day said. “They force you to execute all the way down the field and do a good job on third down and play well in the red zone.”
Can defense build on momentum?
After giving up 86 points and 1,414 total yards in its first three games of the season, Ohio State’s defense took a step forward against Akron. After allowing Akron to score a touchdown on its second drive of the game, the Buckeyes didn’t allow the Zips to score again while holding their opponent to just 229 yards of offense on just 3.1 yards per play.
Ohio State’s defense was supposed to dominate Akron, though. If the Buckeyes are actually getting better on defense, they need to prove it against more talented teams, and Day acknowledged as much this week.
“I think we’ve made some strides, and I think this week will be another big test for us,” Day said. “I don’t think the answer’s here yet. We gotta see where we’re at in this thing. It’s week to week. We’ll be on the brink week to week. It’s not just you do a good job one week and then move on. It’s gonna be a whole different game this week, whole different challenge.”
Rutgers shouldn’t really be a tough test for Ohio State’s defense either, considering that the Scarlet Knights are currently ranked 99th in total offense (351.3 yards per game). They have scored 34 points per game, but they’ve only averaged 15 points per game in their two games against Power 5 opponents (Michigan and Syracuse).
As shaky as Ohio State’s defense was in the first three games, though, no opponent can be taken for granted until the Buckeyes prove they can string together multiple strong defensive outings.
Keep An Eye on These Guys
Rutgers LB Olakunle Fatukasi
The star of Rutgers’ defense, Fatukasi leads the Scarlet Knights with 36 total tackles and ranks second in the entire Big Ten with 6.5 tackles for loss.
A first-team All-Big Ten selection and Butkus Award semifinalist in 2020, Fatukasi is an athletic linebacker at 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds who has an excellent nose for the ball and will look to blow up plays in the backfield – so Ohio State’s offensive line will need to know where he is on every play.
Rutgers NT Julius Turner
Ohio State has already faced a variety of unconventional defensive fronts so far this season, and it will face another one against Rutgers and Julius Turner, who lines up as a “tilted” nose tackle – meaning he will line up at a 45-degree angle between the center and a guard rather than lining up directly across from the center.
Turner has been disruptive from that alignment so far this season, recording four tackles for loss in four games, so that’s something Ohio State center Luke Wypler will need to account for this week. He believes that playing against three-man fronts for each of the past three games, though, has prepared him well for the challenge he’ll face this week.
“I had a guy popping me every single game, so now it should be a little bit over to the right or left, so I don’t think it’s gonna really make too much of a difference, because I think these last three weeks have kind of prepared me really well for that,” Wypler said.
Rutgers WR/KR/PR Aron Cruikshank
While Bo Melton is Rutgers’ leading receiver, Cruikshank has an ability to make plays in space that Ohio State needs to be prepared for in multiple phases.
Cruikshank has just 104 receiving yards on 14 catches for the Scarlet Knights so far this year, but where the Wisconsin transfer has really been dangerous since arriving at Rutgers last season is in the return game. He had two kickoff return touchdowns for the Scarlet Knights in 2020, and he already has a punt return touchdown this season.
Ohio State’s kickoff and punt coverage have both been sound so far this season, but Cruikshank – who ranks second in yards per punt return and 22nd in yards per kickoff return among all Football Bowl Subdivision players this year – will be the biggest threat the Buckeyes have faced yet in either phase. And if Cruikshank can break a long return or two, that could be the break Rutgers needs to push for an upset.
If last year’s game against Rutgers was any indication, Ohio State also needs to be prepared for the possibility of trick plays on special teams – and having to account for Cruikshank’s big-play potential only makes that more challenging.
Game Week Talk
“Any team can beat any other team in this league, on any given Saturday.”– Greg Schiano on the opportunity to play Ohio State this week
Schiano believes playing in the Big Ten, which he considers to be “the elite conference in college football,” is similar to playing in the NFL. And even though Rutgers has never beaten Ohio State, his goal going into Saturday’s game won’t be anything less than trying to win.
“This isn’t the Rutgers that it used to be. This is a great Rutgers football team. We have a challenge ahead of us.”– Ohio State defensive tackle Haskell Garrett
Garrett played for Schiano in his first two years as a Buckeye, and he says Schiano “inspires and tries to fuel your emotion and your passion” – which he believes has made a big difference for Rutgers and has propelled the Scarlet Knights’ rise to becoming a legitimate competitor in the Big Ten.
“I’m sure it’ll be a packed house and be loud, so that’ll be another thing that our guys gotta continue to deal with.”– Ryan Day on playing at Rutgers
SHI Stadium isn’t exactly known for being one of college football’s most intimidating environments, but Day isn’t selling the Scarlet Knights’ fan base short. Because there weren’t any fans in the stands for Big Ten regular-season games last year, many of Ohio State’s players will be playing in just their second true road game on Saturday, and he said that was something that took some getting used to for the Buckeyes in their road opener at Minnesota.
| Ohio State | Pos | Rutgers |
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| OFFENSE | ||
| C.J. STROUD | QB | NOAH VEDRAL |
| TREVEYON HENDERSON | RB | ISAIH PACHECO |
| CHRIS OLAVE | WR | BO MELTON |
| GARRETT WILSON | WR | SHAMEEN JONES |
| JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA | WR | ARON CRUICKSHANK |
| JEREMY RUCKERT | TE | JOVANI HASKINS |
| NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE | LT | BRENDAN BORDNER |
| THAYER MUNFORD | LG | CEDRICE PAILLANT |
| LUKE WYPLER | C | NICK KRIMIN |
| PARIS JOHNSON JR. | RG | TROY RAINEY |
| DAWAND JONES | RT | HOLLIN PIERCE |
| DEFENSE | ||
| ZACH HARRISON | DE | CJ ONYECHI |
| TYREKE SMITH | DE | MIKE TVERDOV |
| HASKELL GARRETT | DT | MAYAN AHANOTU |
| ANTWUAN JACKSON | NT | JULIUS TURNER |
| TERADJA MITCHELL | WLB | OLAKUNLE FATUKASI |
| CODY SIMON | MLB | TYSHON FOGG |
| RONNIE HICKMAN | BLT/SLB | DREW SINGLETON |
| DENZEL BURKE | CB | TRE AVERY |
| CAMERON BROWN | CB | PATRICE RENE |
| BRYSON SHAW | S | AVERY YOUNG |
| CAMERON MARTINEZ | S | CHRISTIAN IZIEN |
Get Smart
- Ohio State has won its last 22 consecutive games against Big Ten opponents (including Big Ten championship games) dating back to its 2018 loss against Purdue.
- The Buckeyes have won their last 10 consecutive regular-season road games, also dating back to the 2018 Purdue game.
- Rutgers is still seeking its first win over a ranked Big Ten opponent. The Scarlet Knights are 0-23 in conference games against ranked opponents since joining the Big Ten in 2014; Ohio State enters this game ranked 11th in the AP Top 25.
- Rutgers’ roster includes three players from Ohio, including starting left tackle Brandon Bordner, a Columbus native who attended Hilliard Bradley High School. Backup wide receiver Shawn Munnerlyn is also from Columbus (Independence High School) while backup offensive lineman Kevin Toth Jr. is from Hudson, Ohio.
- Ohio State’s roster includes five players from Rutgers’ home state of New Jersey: Starting bullet Ronnie Hickman, starting linebacker Cody Simon, starting center Luke Wypler, backup quarterback Kyle McCord and defensive end Tyler Friday, who’s out for the season with a torn ACL. Defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste is from New York but also attended high school in New Jersey at Bergen Catholic.
- Ohio State’s status report of unavailable players and game-time decisions will be released at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
How It Plays Out
Line: Ohio State -15, O/U 58.5
There’s a strong consensus among Eleven Warriors staff members about how this week’s game will play out. Out of the 14 staff members who submit score predictions for each week’s game to determine our composite projection, seven staffers predicted that Ohio State will score exactly 38 points while there were also seven staffers who predicted that Rutgers will score either 20 or 21 points.
Even though Ohio State has scored at least 49 points in each of its previous seven meetings with Rutgers, only one staff member (Kyle Jones) believes the Buckeyes will score that many points this week. Rutgers’ defense hasn’t allowed any of its first four opponents this season to score more than 20 points, so there’s reason to expect Ohio State’s offense to face more resistance from Rutgers this year than it ever has before, though the Scarlet Knights haven’t yet played any team with a comparable offense to the Buckeyes.
The entire Eleven Warriors staff also believes that Rutgers will score at least 14 points – more than it scored in its 20-13 loss last week against Michigan – though none of us expect the Scarlet Knights to score more than 24 points. While the Buckeyes’ defense has been vulnerable early this season, the Scarlet Knights haven’t been particularly effective at either passing or running the ball, so Ohio State’s defense should be capable of holding them in check.
Ohio State still has a significant talent advantage over Rutgers, and it should be able to beat Rutgers by at least two scores. The Scarlet Knights are more capable of playing a competitive game with the Buckeyes than they’ve ever been before, though, so chances are good the final score will be closer than any previous Ohio State/Rutgers game.
| Eleven Warriors Staff Prediction | ||||
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38 | 20 |
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