After Master Teague was ruled to be down at the 1-yard line on what initially appeared to be an 8-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter of Saturday’s game at Rutgers, it opened up an opportunity for one of Ohio State’s unsung heroes to score a touchdown instead.
Following an offsides penalty against Rutgers that brought the ball even closer to the end zone, the Buckeyes put a jumbo package in the game with three tight ends – one of which was offensive lineman Donovan Jackson – and a fullback. But instead of handing the ball off to Teague to run behind all those big bodies, Ryan Day dialed up a pass play to the fullback, Mitch Rossi, who was left wide open to catch a pass in the end zone for the first touchdown of his Ohio State career.
Who had @mitch_rossi5 scoring a TD early in the 2Q? pic.twitter.com/Ru76ZCPbiG
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) October 2, 2021
Day was happy to see Rossi, who was placed on scholarship in August after joining the Buckeyes in 2017, get his chance to shine on Saturday. While Rossi’s only previous catch came in a 73-14 win over Maryland in 2019, he has seen semi-regular playing time on offense as a blocking fullback/tight end and as a regular on multiple special teams units, so he’s certainly earned the opportunity to have a moment in the spotlight.
“Mitch has done nothing but everything we’ve asked him to do,” Day said. “He’s a very tough young man. He works really, really hard. And he deserves everything that he’s getting because he’s the quarterback of the punt team, he does all those jobs, he will play fullback on the goal line and those types of things. All those thankless jobs. I’m glad we have him. He’s one of the more reliable guys on our team.”
Iso Blocks.
— Keenan Bailey (@CoachKee) October 3, 2021
Low Redzone TDs.
Bombed fairways.
If @mitch_rossi5 isnt your favorite buckeye, check your vibes. #GoBucks https://t.co/XlAO5eOOXr
Rossi was one of two members of Ohio State’s tight end room to catch a touchdown pass on Saturday along with Jeremy Ruckert, who caught four passes – tying his career-high for receptions – for 40 yards against the Scarlet Knights. He was one of four total players to catch touchdown passes in the 52-13 win, as Chris Olave caught two touchdown passes while Garrett Wilson also caught one.
“It’s good to see some of those tight ends get some touches,” Day said. “Jeremy had a nice day coming back home, which was great, getting a touchdown. And I also thought it was really good to see all the receivers get their hands on some balls as well.”
Olave has now caught 27 touchdown passes in his Ohio State career, tying him with Cris Carter for the third-most in school history, while Ruckert has now caught 10 career touchdowns, tying him with John Lumpkin for the second-most all-time by an Ohio State tight end.
Burke snags a pick-six
For the third week in a row, an Ohio State defensive back returned an interception for a touchdown on Saturday.
After Cameron Martinez scored a touchdown on his first interception as a Buckeye against Tulsa and Ronnie Hickman scored his first touchdown as a Buckeye on an interception against Akron, Denzel Burke joined the party in the first quarter against Rutgers, snagging a pass that Noah Vedral sailed high and returning it 23 yards for a touchdown.
First INT
Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) October 2, 2021
First Pick-6 @King10Burke adds on to No. 11 @OhioStateFB''s early lead at Rutgers. pic.twitter.com/PijWjGyTRg
It was the first interception as a Buckeye for Burke, who had what appeared to be a great interception taken away from him against Tulsa, and also the first pick-six of his football career. While he scored his share of touchdowns in high school, all of them came on the offensive side of the ball, as Burke primarily played wide receiver during his career at Saguaro High School.
“I wouldn’t have gotten the pick without my D-linemen sending pressure to the quarterback,” Burke said. “I was just happy to be able to make a play and take it to the crib.”
Burke’s interception was one of three against Rutgers by the Buckeyes, as Tommy Eichenberg also snagged a pick in the third quarter while Ryan Watts picked off a pass on the first play of the fourth quarter. Burke thought the string of big defensive plays, which marked the first time since 2019 that Ohio State had three interceptions in a game, came as a result of he and his teammates playing with confidence and a desire to prove that their defense is better than its early season struggles.
“We just hungry, man. We just want to show the world that we’re the Silver Bullets and that we can come hard,” Burke said. “We was just out there having fun, man. Just playing football, playing the game we love. We trust the coaches, they put us in a great position to make plays and I feel like we’re starting to get on a roll.”
Henderson could have returned
Along with the six touchdowns that were already mentioned, the other Buckeye who scored a touchdown on Saturday was TreVeyon Henderson, who raced 44 yards for six on Ohio State’s first offensive possession of the game.
There was a health scare involving the freshman standout running back later in the first quarter, however, when he had to go back to the medical tent after taking a hard hit. He no longer had his helmet when he returned to the sideline and he did not return to the game.
Fortunately for Henderson and the Buckeyes, it was just a scare. Day said that Henderson could have played in the second half, but Day made the decision to hold him out for the rest of the game as a precaution, as there was no need for Henderson to play with Ohio State already up 45-6 at halftime.
“It was my decision to hold him out in the second half,” Day said. “He was ready to go. I just felt like I didn’t want to take a chance.”
Despite leaving the game after just eight carries, Henderson finished the day as Ohio State’s leading rusher with 71 rushing yards.
Two other Buckeyes also left Saturday’s game with injuries: Freshman safety Jantzen Dunn, who had to be helped off the field after going down on a Rutgers kickoff return in the first quarter, and sophomore linebacker Cody Simon, who was slow to come off the field after a third-quarter play. No updates were provided on either player after Saturday’s game, but Simon – who also left the Akron game late in the first half was a shoulder injury that he’s been battling through all season – remained on the sideline after getting some attention from the medical staff and appeared to be fine.
