Photo Credit: Ohio State Photo Galleries

The Buckeyes Will Wrap Up Their Home Conference Schedule With The Scarlet Knights

Ohio State Welcomes Rutgers For Senior Day at The Shoe

The top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will close out their regular-season home slate this Saturday at noon when they host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Buckeyes are 10-0 on the season and are 7-0 in Big Ten play with just two games left. The Scarlet Knights are 5-5 on the year but just 2-5 in conference play. Ohio State is coming off of a 38-point win where they were without Carnell Tate for the game and Jeremiah Smith for the second half. There were a lot of positives to take away from that game, and they will be expected to win big in this one as they have done most of the season.

Rutgers had a bye week to rest and prepare for this one. After a rough start in conference play, they have now won two of their last three games which include wins over Purdue and Maryland. They have found some rhythm on offense, with defense being a problem against better competition.

Regardless of who is available in this one, Ryan Day will have his side prepared to finish off the home stand the right way. This team has proven they will get up for any game on the schedule, but know what lies ahead with the rivalry, a potential conference championship, and playoff run on the horizon. Let’s recap the recent outings for both teams ahead of their late-season clash.

Buckeyes Continue to Dominate

Ohio State jumped out to a 27-0 halftime lead against UCLA and never looked back en route to a dominant 48-10 win under the lights in front of a great Buckeye crowd. As mentioned in the previous preview, it was a great game to get the ground game going, and let guys see the field in preparation for bigger games ahead.

Julian Sayin missed a few throws but still finished 23/31 for 184 yards with one touchdown and no turnovers. He spread the ball around as nine guys caught a pass and six players had 24 or more receiving yards. Mylan Graham and Jeremiah Smith both led the way with 40 yards, while Brandon Inniss led the team in catches with six. Bryson Rodgers hauled in two receptions, including his first touchdown as a Buckeye. It was great to see some young playmkaers fill in in the absences of Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith.

The ground game was a treat to watch in this one. As a team, the Buckeyes rushed for 222 yards with 6.7 yards per carry and four touchdowns. Bo Jackson led the way once again and was the leader in carries (15) and rushing yards (112). He averaged 7.5 yards per carry with a longest rush of 32 yards, which were both second on the team to Isaiah West who averaged 7.6 yards per carry with a longest rush of 38 yards. Both Jackson and West found the endzone, but James Peoples also stole the show with two rushing touchdowns including a highlight reel hurdle in his best game of the season. With no CJ Donaldson, the other three backs put together a great showing behind the strong play of the offensive line.

On the defensive side of the ball, it was punt after punt for UCLA in the first half. They managed 10 points in the second half, but without quarterback Nico Iamaleava, everyone knew this game was a lot to ask out of the Bruins offense. UCLA threw the ball 23 times for 154 yards and scored their lone touchdown through the air. It was another game where the defensive line and linebackers mucked up the ground game, as the Bruins rushed for just 68 yards and 2.7 yards per carry.

The Buckeyes defense didn’t register a sack in this one but had five different players with a tackle for loss including Caden Curry, Kenyatta Jackson Jr., and Kayden McDonald. Sonny Styles led the team with seven total tackles, and his brother Lorenzo Styles Jr. was tied for second with five total tackles, and led the team with three solo tackles. Styles Jr. also had the first kickoff return touchdown for Ohio State since 2010, as he ran over 100 yards to ice the game for the Buckeyes. It was something the team has been working on, and it was great to see everyone buy in on special teams to find the endzone.

Rutgers Gaining Some Momentum

Rutgers trailed at three separate times against Maryland but used a strong second-half to beat the Terrapins 35-20. The Scarlet Knights outscored the Terrapins 14-3 in the second-half two weeks ago, and had a bye week this past weekend to help get ready for the top-ranked Buckeyes.

The story of the game for both teams was running the ball. However, Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis did throw the ball for 229 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions on just 20 attempts. He had 13 completions to just four different players with wide receiver Ian Strong leading the way with five catches, 88 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns. There were some big plays through the air, but the story of the game was running back Antwan Raymond.

Raymond carried the ball 41, yes 41, times for 240 rushing yards and a touchdown. He averaged 5.9 yards per carry, and had all but 16 of the rushing yards for the Scarlet Knights offense. He will definitely be a player to watch for the Buckeyes defense in their upcoming matchup, as he is at exactly 1,000 rushing yards on the season with 11 rushing touchdowns.

Even though they trailed the whole second-half, Maryland continued to find success running the ball. Quarterback Malik Washington had just 98 yards passing on 28 attempts, with two total touchdowns and an interception. He ran the ball though for 164 yards on just eight carries, and running back Nolan Ray had 77 rushing yards on five carries. The Terrapins had 305 rushing yards on the day and averaged 10.5 yards per carry, giving the Buckeyes offense potentially more motivation to use their handful of running backs all day long.

The Rutgers defense was led by defensive lineman Eric O’Neill who led the team in total tackles (10), solo tackles (7), and tackles for loss (2). Defensive back Jacobie Henderson had the only other tackle for loss in the game, and the team didn’t register a sack but did have five passes defended. Kaj Sanders, Abram Wright, and Dariel Djabome all helped make plays to secure the win in this one.

What to Expect

Ohio State is -50000 to win in this one with the spread opening at -33.5 and currently at -31.5. The over/under opened at and remains at 55.5, with ESPN Analytics giving the Buckeyes a 96.9 percent chance to win. There are expected to be a lot of points in this one, points for the Buckeyes at least.

Rutgers is sixth in the Big Ten in total yards per game, just two spots behind Ohio State. They are third in passing yards per game, just one spot behind the Buckeyes, but are not as highly ranked on the ground.

Rutgers weakness is their defense, as they rank dead last in total defense giving up 425.5 total yards per game. Their passing defense is third-worst, while their rushing defense is worst. No matter who is out for the Buckeyes, they should have no problem dicing up that Rutgers defense.

Everyone should get involved including a lot of seniors, with some potential special plays in the cards. It will be a similar game and script to last week, with the biggest game of the year following this one. I could see three guys with rushing touchdowns again, with Brandon Inniss and Max Klare helping out in the passing game. The Buckeyes roll and will be undefeated heading into The Game.

Prediction: Ohio State 45 Rutgers 10