Five Things: Ohio State Improves to 9-0 With a 35-16 Road Win Over Rutgers

Presented by The 1870 Society

Back on the road for a second straight Saturday, No. 1 Ohio State's offense started slow enough for the Buckeyes to trail 9-7 at the half but things fell into place over the final 30 minutes as Ryan Day's squad handed Rutgers a 35-16 defeat in SHI Stadium.

Entering the game with four-straight 100-yard receiving yard performances, Marvin Harrison Jr. was held to just 25 yards on four catches but two of those went for short red zone touchdowns in the fourth quarter as Ohio State delivered the needed daggers to remain undefeated.

With Harrison unable to chew up the yardage Ohio State has come to expect thanks to its own struggles along with Rutgers' two-deep safeties look, tailback TreVeyon Henderson was again elite with 208 total yards and a touchdown.

Parker Fleming's special teams provided the usual head scratcher, this time a botched 4th-and-5 fake punt that Day didn't call. With the slow start on offense and the special teams flub, Ohio State's defense once again rose to the occasion particularly in the first half and in the red zone while also adding a pick-six from Jordan Hancock.

The business trip against a game Rutgers squad yielded the desired result and now the Buckeyes return home to take on a bad Michigan State team next Saturday night in Ohio Stadium.

But before we shift focus to the Spartans, here are Five Things from Ohio State's 19-point win over the Scarlet Knights.

TRE STAYS HOT

TreVeyon Henderson ran for over 100 yards for a third straight game, dating back to his 104-yard performance against Notre Dame before he missed a month then returned to cook Wisconsin for 162 last week and Rutgers for 128 yesterday.

With big days through the air against the Badgers (45 yards) and Scarlet Knights, Henderson also made it back-to-back games with at least 200 total yards. Adding 80 receiving yards to complement the 128 on the ground versus Rutgers, Henderson accounted for 63% of Ohio State's 328 total yards.

Ohio State's offense looked to get on track in the second half and Henderson played a key role as his 9-yard touchdown run gave the Buckeyes some breathing room via a 21-9 score late in the third quarter. Henderson had four carries for 33 yards on the drive.

Yeesh! pic.twitter.com/JEWJV6o1Rc
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 4, 2023

On Ohio State's next possession, facing a 3rd-and-9 from its own 26 after Rutgers had cut OSU's lead to 21-16, Henderson took a 4-yard check down toss and promptly added 61 yards after the catch advancing the football to the Rutgers 9-yard line. A Kyle McCord to Harrison touchdown three plays later made it 28-16 Buckeyes early in the fourth quarter.

Henderson's 5.8 yards per carry made it three straight outings in which he's averaged at least two full yards per carry more than the opposing defense was allowing on the season. His 5.8 yesterday was 2.2 yards per carry better than the Scarlet Knights came in allowing. His 6.8 per try against Wisconsin was 2.7 yards per carry better than the Badgers were allowing before yesterday's games and his 7.4 yards per attempt against Notre Dame was 3.9 yards better than the Irish allowed entering yesterday.

His speed, burst and lateral movement have helped mask the offensive line's inconsistent run blocking though it looked better than most weeks yesterday. And through the air he has 125 yards on nine catches over the last two games, proving a valuable security blanket for McCord. Henderson out of the backfield as a primary target or check down option is a nightmare mismatch for linebackers as we saw yesterday on the 65-yard catch and run.

BRODIE SIMON

While Henderson has been a fixture here in Five Things, a guy who hasn't, but has been coming on like a freight train, is reserve linebacker Cody Simon.

After Ohio State's defense retook the field after a Jordan Hancock pick-six gave the Buckeyes a 14-9 lead, Simon posted three stops on the Rutgers possession. His biggest play of the drive came on a 3rd-and-7 snap as he recorded a PBU to force a punt.

While the breakup was a huge play, he also recorded a season-high nine tackles with all of those coming in run support. That effort was much needed as the Scarlet Knights tallied 43 rushing attempts against 25 passes.

In that way, Simon is, at minimum, a perfect compliment to starting will linebacker Steele Chambers who is seen as a more versatile option thanks to his edge in pass coverage.

That said, it's worth noting Simon has been more productive as a tackler than Chambers when you dig into the huge differential in snaps played.

Entering yesterday, Chambers logged 407 snaps and 47 tackles, or .12 tackles per snap while Simon logged just 156 snaps with 28 tackles, or .18 per snap.

Props to Simon for staying ready and executing his role.

With middle linebacker Tommy Eichenberg suffering some sort of injury, apparently to his arm, toward the end of yesterday's game, it seems plausible Simon could see even more snaps in the near future but in the middle of Ohio State's defense alongside Chambers.

BULLETS CARRY BUCKEYES ONCE MORE

For many of us, it's tough getting used to watching Ohio State's offense sputter and plod along for large stretches while the defense is the superior unit.

But that's the way this year's team appears to be built and there are lots of ways to win football games.

Yesterday, as Day's offense managed just seven points across six first half possessions, Jim Knowles' defense ensured the Buckeyes would trail only 9-7 at intermission thanks to a downhill style daring Rutgers to throw and coming up big on key downs.

Greg Schiano's crew converted just 1-of-7 third down tries in the opening half while completing 4-of-12 passes for 42 yards. Three of Rutgers' six possessions were 3-and-outs.

Two of the field goals allowed by the Buckeyes in the first 30 minutes came as the offense gave Rutgers short fields at the OSU 46 and 32 yard lines.

The defense's biggest play of the day came as Josh Proctor forced a tipped pass near the goal line and Jordan Hancock plucked the ball out of the air before racing 93 yards to the end zone for a 14-9 OSU lead with 9:39 left in the third quarter.

GIMME DAT! - Jordan Hancock pic.twitter.com/VcKovxldFp
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 4, 2023

Later in the second half the Buckeyes forced back-to-back turnovers on downs to preserve a 28-16 lead and pave the way for a short field possession McCord and Harrison turned into a 35-16 advantage with 2:07 left in regulation.

Knowles' group also held Rutgers to one touchdown in six visits to the red zone with two turnovers.

CARNELL'S COMIN'

Day speaks highly of true freshman wide receiver Carnell Tate frequently, often unsolicited, and you can see why. The kid oozes talent, maturity and toughness, with all those on display in a compact burst yesterday in New Jersey.

With Ohio State holding the slim 14-9 lead mid-third quarter and the offense finally getting to see the field for a second half possession, Tate made his presence known.

After a Henderson run for a 1-yard loss to start the drive, Tate absorbed a huge hit from Mohamed Toure but held on to a pass from McCord on a slant route to turn a 2nd-and-11 into a manageable 3rd-and-2. On the ensuring snap, Tate got free down the right sideline for a 22-yard reception near midfield to keep the drive alive. Henderson scored five plays later giving Ohio State a 21-9 lead with 2:39 left in the third quarter.

Maybe you think I'm overcooking Tate's contributions, particularly the 9-yard catch, but the way Ohio State's offense looked to that point, getting back on schedule on the 2nd-and-11 play was huge.

Tate's production was even more important as starter Julian Fleming, though he made some nice downfield blocks on run plays, logged a drop on his only target. Nine games into his freshman season, I'll take Tate over Fleming in the pass game all day long.

Coming into yesterday's game, Fleming tallied 387 snaps to Tate's 165 but after yesterday's performance, Tate now has 14 catches for 228 yards and a touchdown compared to 19 grabs for 190 yards and zero touchdowns for Fleming. Tate's 16.3 yards per catch is 6.3 better than Fleming's and second-best on the team behind Harrison's 17.6.

Again there's more to playing receiver in this offense than catching passes and in no way and I'm trying to slight Fleming. But I hope Tate continues to see more snaps as he's not really a freshman at this point and his ceiling is undefined which is important to note within an offense that can use some complimentary playmakers alongside Harrison and Henderson.

KNIGHT AND DAY

It was another rough start for the Buckeye offense followed by a big second half.

Day's offense managed just 128 total yards on 4.3 yards per play against a respectable Scarlet Knights defense including 3.4 per rush in the first half, leading to seven points.

McCord and company couldn't sustain drives thanks to an 0-for-5 showing on third down tries. The day's offensive star, Henderson, generated 66 total yards on 4.6 per carry and 3.8 yards across 4 catches.

The first half also saw McCord throw his fourth interception of the season which Rutgers turned into a field goal for the 9-7 halftime lead thanks in part to the short field.

Yesterday marked the sixth time in nine games Ohio State failed to generate more than 10 points in the first half. The Buckeyes went into the locker room ahead or tied in the previous five instances.

The second half was a different story however as Day and company made adjustments leading to 28 points via 200 total yards on 8.0 per play. The Buckeyes were a blistering 6-of-7 on third down conversions.

Of course Henderson was the driver of the success as he ran for 77 yards on 6.5 per carry with a touchdown while adding the noted 65-yard catch and run to set up another score.

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