Scarlet Knights Face Stiff Test Against Ohio State
Before he returned to Rutgers in 2020, Head Coach Greg Schiano spent three years under Urban Meyer at Ohio State as Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator.
So if anyone knows what its like to play in front thousands of rabid fans at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio. And if anyone knows what to expect from current Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day and his football team, it is Schiano.
“We are going to win the game,” Schiano said at his weekly press conference on Monday. “That’s what we’re doing. We’re going to Columbus to win the game. Will that happen? You know there’s another team on the other sideline that wants the same thing.
“That’s why goals are overrated in my opinion. We both have the same goal at the beginning of many game. But we are going to do everything we can, we are going to practice and get ready and go out to Columbus and play our best.”
Day has certainly taken not of his former fellow Buckeye Coaching Staff member. He knows how good Schiano is as a coach, and that Rutgers is no team even a powerhouse like Ohio State can sleep on.
“He’s an excellent motivator. Creates great relationships with his players, motivates. He’s very intelligent, really can drive the whole program at a high level — he sees it, understands what needs to get done,” Day said at his press conference.
And so it begins. On Saturday Rutgers faces its stiffest test to date when they look to upset Ohio State for the first time ever. Rutgers is 0 – 8 against Ohio State all time. And that games haven’t been close. Ohio State has scored 50 or more points on Rutgers in six of those match-ups. The other two match-ups the Buckeyes scored only 49.
After a slow start (for them) where they scored 21 points against Notre Dame, Ohio State rolled up 45 on Arkansas Sate, 77 (not a typo, 77-points) on Toledo, and 52 points on usually defensively sound Wisconsin.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud, who many believe is a top pick in the NFL Draft next spring is completing 70 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns to one interception this year.
Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr. have been tremendous at wide receiver, and running back TreVeyon Henderson averages 6.4 yards a carry.
It will be tough to slow them down. But one thing Rutgers has going for it is its defense. RU is ranked second nationally among Power Five schools in rushing yards allowed per game at 56.5. If they can slow down Henderson and get some pressure on Stroud — certainly, anything is possible.
Turnovers are going to be huge in this game. Not only does RU need to protect the football at all costs, but they need their defense to force a few and create short fields for Evan Simon and Gavin Wismatt to manage.
Rutgers is plus-9 in turnover margin since 2020. The defense proved to be the difference in RU’s wins at Boston College and Temple. And the kept the Scarlet Knights in the game against Iowa. Were it not for the interceptions tossed by Simon, that would have been a far different ball game.
So the keys for Rutgers: 1) protect the football. 2) Create and execute on the short field. 3) Don’t play scared; Rutgers has to take risks, they can’t worry about controlling clock. 4) Sustain consistent pressure on Stroud, and understand a player of his caliber is going to make big plays. It’s about limiting those opportunities.
Kick-off is at 3:30 p.m. right here on Fox Sports New Jersey 93.5 FM 1450 AM. Our pregame coverage begins at 2 p.m. on Fox Sports Radio New Jersey.
