After being on a bye last week, Rutgers will be back in action on Saturday as they are making the trip out to Columbus to take on No.1 Ohio State. The game is set to kick off at noon on Fox; however, it is not listed as a Big Noon Kickoff game. As with every football game here at On The Banks, our staff will predict the score and provide context as to why they think that way.
Andrew Rice
Ohio State is the number one team in the country. No matter how you slice it, they are a great team that has shown no true weakness at this point in the season. It will be an incredibly tough uphill battle for the Scarlet Knights to keep this one competitive, especially when considering that this game is on the road.
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With that being said, Rutgers does have enough potency on offense to find the end zone. Having three NFL-caliber wide receivers and a star running back helps out a lot with that. It won’t be enough to keep it close, but it will be enough to at least score. In addition, Ohio State’s offense, while being consistent and methodical, hasn’t scored more than 48 on a team not named Grambling State. With Rutgers’ defense being factored in, their offense will have one of its best outings this season, but won’t reach 50 points because of its slow-moving nature and the fact that both Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate are questionable for Saturday.
Ohio State 49, Rutgers 10
Arnav Sarkar
The Scarlet Knights are coming off a season-saving win, but will be massive underdogs in Columbus for good reason. The Buckeyes’ defense will once again be stout, from the defensive line that is nearly impossible to run on to the swarming linebackers in Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles to the ballhawking secondary with Caleb Downs anchoring it. It will be tough for the Scarlet Knights to score, but I think they will find the end zone once.
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On defense, Rutgers must hold their lanes and continue their prowess from the Maryland game if it wants a chance to stop the prolific Ohio State offense. The Buckeyes might be without Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. However, their understudies are still highly talented recruits, and their running back room has a couple of freshmen who are more than capable of handling the ball on the ground.
The offensive line should give a terrific quarterback in Julian Sayin plenty of time to throw, particularly against a Knights’ defensive line that struggles to generate pressure and sacks even when not playing teams like the Buckeyes. Special teams will also be something to watch out for, with Ohio State blocking a punt and returning a kickoff for a touchdown against UCLA. Rutgers has had its struggles in kick coverage and field goals, but has cleaned up in various facets in the game’s third phase.
Ohio State 42, Rutgers 10
John Catapano
The Death Star will have little trouble moving the ball and putting points on the board against a much-maligned Rutgers defense that has made average quarterbacks look like Steve Young running the ball. Ohio State averages 161 yards per game (ypg) rushing and 280 ypg passing. They are putting up 37.5 points per game and yielding 7.5. Less than 8 per game! That’s not a misprint.
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Needless to say, for Rutgers, it’s all about running the ball effectively and keeping the clock moving so the pain ends quickly. If the Scarlet Knights can find the endzone against this historically good OSU defense, consider that a win.
You never know what will go through Schiano’s mind on gameday, but once the game gets quickly out of hand in the first half, Rutgers should be playing the second stringers and getting out of Columbus as healthy as possible for a bowl-or-bust season finale against Penn State.
Does anyone remember Artur Sitowski getting clobbered on a passing play at the end of the first half when RU was getting pummeled in Columbus during the infamous Chris Ash days? Or the Buckeye punter taking off on a fake punt in a 49-10 win, causing a heated on-field exchange between Schiano and Day? I would expect a much more mellow Saturday afternoon this go-around.
Ohio State 51, Rutgers 3
