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Rutgers
Scarlet Knights
Ohio State is playing back-to-back road games for the first time in five years.
One week after traveling west to Wisconsin, the Buckeyes head east this week to take on Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey. This week’s game will be the fifth game in a stretch of at least eight consecutive games for the Buckeyes without a week off, and it’s their third road trip in a four-week span.
Playing Rutgers has typically served as a reprieve from tougher competition in the Big Ten, as evidenced by Ohio State defeating Rutgers by at least 22 points in all of the last nine years. This year’s game could present more of a challenge as the Scarlet Knights enter this week with a 6-2 record and a defense that ranks ninth in the country in yards allowed per game.
Given all of that, the Buckeyes had to turn the page quickly once they got home from Madison and set their sights on a November run that could determine whether the current No. 1 team in the College Football Playoff rankings actually makes the CFP.
“Any time you go on the road in the Big Ten in November, you got to bring it,” Ryan Day said this week. “And they're doing a great job. (Rutgers coach Greg Schiano) does a great job. They're playing well on both sides of the ball, they have a great identity, they're going to challenge you in all three phases … We gotta go continue to take the next step as a team.”
The Headlines
Resurgent Rutgers presents legitimate test
With one month still to go in the regular season, Rutgers has already won more games this year than it won in any of the last eight seasons. The Scarlet Knights are guaranteed to finish the regular season with at least a .500 record for the first time since they went 8-4 in 2014, their first year in the Big Ten.
Rutgers’ defense has been the key to its success. The Scarlet Knights have been particularly strong against the pass, ranking second nationally with only 156.3 passing yards allowed per game, and they’re one of only two teams in the nation – Ohio State being the other – that has yet to allow a single play of more than 40 yards this season.
The Scarlet Knights will be Ohio State’s third consecutive opponent that ranks in the top 25 nationally in scoring defense, following Penn State and Wisconsin. Rutgers has allowed just 15.8 points per game this season, which means Ohio State’s offense is in for yet another test after scoring just 44 total points in its last two games.
“They're playing very well, statistically. One of the better defenses in the country,” Day said. “So nothing new. We’ve played against some really good defenses this year.”
The Scarlet Knights don’t pose as much of a threat offensively, ranking 108th in the FBS in total offense (327.1 yards per game) and seventh-to-last in the FBS in passing yards per game (148.4). They’re also 0-2 this season against teams with winning records (Michigan and Wisconsin), with all six of their wins coming against teams who are currently .500 or worse.
Still, it can be said without qualification that Rutgers is better this season than it’s been in nearly a decade. And that’s enough to get the Buckeyes’ attention.
“I think it’s an underrated team, honestly,” said Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord. ‘I mean, they're 6-2 for a reason. And they've been playing good football, and a talented group, too. And so I think when you pair that with Coach Schiano, who’s in my eyes one of the better coaches in college football, that's the result. And so we know that it's going to be a big test, especially on the road, and we're gonna have to bring our A-game.”
Offense back to full strength?
It’s been more than a month since Ohio State has played a game with all of its top offensive stars on the field. But that could finally change this week.
TreVeyon Henderson returned to action last week after missing Ohio State’s previous three games with a rib injury. Emeka Egbuka, who has missed Ohio State’s last three games with an ankle injury, appears poised to make his own return this week. Egbuka was held out last week against Wisconsin despite being cleared to play, but all indications this week have been that Ohio State’s No. 2 receiver is ready to go against Rutgers.
“To get a guy like that back is huge,” McCord said. “He's looked really good in practice.”
While Ohio State’s offense has underperformed expectations this season, currently ranking just 38th nationally in points per game and 40th in yards per game, there remains a confidence among the Buckeyes that they can find another gear once they’re back to full strength.
“We know how dangerous that we can be if everyone's healthy,” Marvin Harrison Jr. said. “It brings a whole new dimension to our offense when we have everybody fully healthy.”
Fully healthy is a relative term, as even the Buckeyes’ offensive stars who haven’t missed time have dealt with injuries of their own. McCord and Harrison both suffered ankle injuries against Notre Dame, and McCord aggravated his ankle injury last week against Wisconsin. But while McCord was limping after his ankle was hit on a third-quarter scramble against the Badgers, he does not expect to be limited by the injury this week.
“I think honestly coming out of the (Wisconsin) game, I thought it would hurt worse than it does now. So I feel pretty good right now,” McCord said.
Styles set to fill in for Ransom
Day deferred to Saturday’s availability report when asked Wednesday about the status of Lathan Ransom for this week’s game, which suggests Ohio State will be without its starting strong safety after he left the Wisconsin game in the fourth quarter with a lower-body injury. That’s no insignificant loss for Ohio State, as Ransom has played the second-most snaps (behind only Davison Igbinosun) of any Buckeye defender this year.
Fortunately for the Buckeyes, they have an experienced option to take his place in the lineup in Sonny Styles, who started Ohio State’s first seven games of the year at nickel safety but moved back to deep safety last week with Jordan Hancock starting at nickel. While Jim Knowles said that was intended to be a one-week change to match up with a Wisconsin offense that had at least three receivers on the field on the vast majority of plays, he’s confident in Styles’ ability to fill in for Ransom and Hancock’s ability to play nickel full-time.
“I think they have both proven themselves in a lot of different dimensions. So I don’t have any concerns about it,” Knowles said.
Styles’ likely first full game as a deep safety at the collegiate level is one that should play well into his skill set, given that the Scarlet Knights have run the ball on more than 63 percent of their snaps this season. It’s a game in which Styles likely would have seen plenty of snaps at nickel if Ransom was healthy, though Hancock has emerged as a strong run defender in his own right, recording at least four tackles in each of Ohio State’s last three games.
Keep An Eye on These Guys
RB Kyle Monangai
Monangai ranks second in the Big Ten this season with 744 rushing yards on a conference-leading 144 carries. The 5-foot-9, 210-pound rusher has topped 100 rushing yards in four different games this season, including each of the Scarlet Knights’ last two games, and has seven touchdown runs on the year.
While he’s neither the biggest nor fastest running back, he’s a tough runner who does a great job of finding lanes and keeping his feet moving through contact. And he’s proven to be an effective volume runner, with three of his five highest rushing averages of the season coming in games where he’s at least had 20 carries. Given that combination, the Buckeyes will need to be sound tacklers for four quarters.
QB Gavin Wimsatt
With a completion percentage of just 50.3 percent this season, Wimsatt isn’t going to scare Ohio State’s defense as a passer. He has yet to reach 200 passing yards or throw more than one touchdown pass in any game this season.
What warrants Wimsatt’s inclusion here is his ability to make plays as a runner. The junior quarterback has rushed for 362 yards and seven touchdowns this year, going for 143 yards and three touchdowns in the Scarlet Knights’ most recent game against Indiana.
No other quarterback Ohio State has faced this year has rushed for more than 127 yards or four touchdowns on the season, so Wimsatt will provide the toughest test of the season to date by far of Ohio State’s ability to defend the quarterback run.
| Ohio State | Pos | Rutgers |
|---|---|---|
| OFFENSE | ||
| KYLE MCCORD | QB | GAVIN WIMSATT |
| TREVEYON HENDERSON | RB | KYLE MONANGAI |
| MARVIN HARRISON JR. | WR | ISAIAH WASHINGTON |
| JULIAN FLEMING | WR | JAQUAE JACKSON |
| EMEKA EGBUKA | WR | CHRISTIAN DREMEL |
| CADE STOVER | TE | JOHNNY LANGAN |
| JOSH SIMMONS | LT | HOLLIN PIERCE |
| DONOVAN JACKSON | LG | BRYAN FELTER |
| CARSON HINZMAN | C | GUS ZILINSKAS |
| MATT JONES | RG | CURTIS DUNLAP JR. |
| JOSH FRYAR | RT | REGGIE SUTTON |
| DEFENSE | ||
| JT TUIMOLOAU | DE | AARON LEWIS |
| TYLEIK WILLIAMS | DT | ISAIAH ITON |
| MIKE HALL | DT | MAYAN AHANOTU |
| JACK SAWYER | DE | WESLEY BAILEY |
| STEELE CHAMBERS | LB | DEION JENNINGS |
| TOMMY EICHENBERG | LB | TYREEM POWELL |
| JORDAN HANCOCK | NB | DESMOND IGBINOSUN |
| DENZEL BURKE | CB | ROBERT LONGERBEAM |
| DAVISON IGBINOSUN | CB | MAX MELTON |
| JOSH PROCTOR | FS | FLIP DIXON |
| SONNY STYLES | SS | SHAQUAN LOYAL |
“Definitely a challenge,” Knowles said. “And they're a team that likes to really control the ball. So you’ve got to be very, very aware of that.”
CB Robert Longerbeam
Longerbeam has played a leading role in Rutgers’ defensive excellence this season, leading the Scarlet Knights with nine passes defended and two forced fumbles. He’s been one of the nation’s most dominant cornerbacks in coverage, allowing catches on just 15 of 39 targets for 116 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception, according to Pro Football Focus.
This week, Longerbeam and fellow Rutgers cornerback Max Melton will draw the toughest assignment in college football as they face Harrison. That will undoubtedly be a challenge for them, considering Harrison caught 17 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns over the past two weeks even though he was going up against two of the Big Ten’s other top cornerbacks, Penn State’s Kalen King and Wisconsin’s Ricardo Hallman.
But they say they’re embracing the challenge.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity,” Longerbeam said this week, per the Asbury Park Press. “These are the types of games and opponents you dreamed about going against when you came to a Big Ten school. It’s very exciting. And we know what’s ahead of us and what it’s going to take. It’s a big task. But that’s what you want to do. It’s what you dream about.”
Game Week Talk
“That was the team I grew up cheering for, going to their games. And so to kind of see it all come full circle … it's going to be fun.”– Kyle McCord
McCord’s father Derek was a quarterback at Rutgers from 1988-92, and McCord grew up just an hour away from Piscataway in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, so this week’s game will be extra special for Ohio State’s starting quarterback and his family.
“I think every single guy there will be an NFL player … That's why they are one of the top defenses in the country. We'll have our hands full for sure.”– Greg Schiano on Ohio State’s defense
Schiano, who was Ohio State’s defensive coordinator himself from 2016-18, is impressed by what he’s seen from all three levels of this year’s Buckeye defense.
“It’s definitely exciting. It’s a dream come true.”– Davison Igbinosun on playing against his brother, Rutgers safety Desmond Igbinosun
Like McCord, Davison Igbinosun is also from New Jersey – Union, which is just 30 minutes away from Piscataway – and has family ties to the Scarlet Knights. His brother Desmond is a starter in Rutgers’ secondary who leads the Scarlet Knights with 5.5 tackles for loss this season, and the opportunity for Davison to share the field with his brother and play in front of a large contingent of family members will make Saturday a meaningful day for the Ohio State cornerback.
Get Smart
- Ohio State has never won all of its first 10 games against a single opponent, but that will change if it wins Saturday’s game, as the Buckeyes have won all nine of their previous games against Rutgers.
- Ryan Day would improve to 36-0 against unranked opponents as a head coach with a win on Saturday.
- Ohio State’s roster includes five players from New Jersey: McCord, Igbinosun, linebacker Cody Simon, defensive tackle Tywone Malone and safety Jayden Bonsu.
- Rutgers’ roster includes two players from Ohio: Kwabena Asamoah (Pickerington) and Dominic Rivera (Olmsted Falls). Both are backup offensive linemen.
- The Rutgers game will be Ohio State’s second game this season on CBS. The Buckeyes’ season opener against Indiana was also televised by CBS, which is airing seven Big Ten games on its national network in the first year of its football media rights deal with the conference.
How It Plays Out
Line: Ohio State -18.5, O/U 42.5
More Ohio State vs. Wisconsin Coverage
Ohio State has never scored fewer than 49 points in a game against Rutgers and the Scarlet Knights have never come within 22 points of beating the Buckeyes. That might make it tempting to smash the over and bet on the Buckeyes to cover this week, but Rutgers’ defensive success and Ohio State’s mediocre offensive performance this season are both reasons to believe this year’s game could be more competitive and lower-scoring.
Rutgers hasn’t allowed more than 31 points in any game this season, while Ohio State has averaged only slightly more points than that (32.5). Michigan is the only other top-50 offense that Rutgers has faced this season, so it’s certainly not out of the question that the Buckeyes could score more than any previous Rutgers opponent, but a number in the thirties seems more likely than the totals in the 40s and 50s that Ohio State has reached in previous Rutgers games.
Even so, a majority of Eleven Warriors staffers expect the Buckeyes to cover in Piscataway because of how dominant Ohio State’s defense has been. Considering Rutgers’ limitations in the passing game, it’s hard to envision the Scarlet Knights scoring more than once or twice against Ohio State unless they can score a touchdown on defense or special teams – which they have done in each of their last two games.
All told, we expect this year’s game to be the most competitive game the Buckeyes have ever had against the Scarlet Knights, but we still envision Ohio State winning by at least three scores in the end to improve to 9-0.
| Eleven Warriors Staff Prediction | ||||
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31 | 10 |
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