What to know about the Rutgers game

Nov. 3—Who: No. 1 Ohio State at Rutgers

When: 12:00 p.m., Saturday

Where: SHI Stadium, Piscataway, N.J.

TV/Radio: CBS/1410

Series history: Ohio State leads 9-0. The teams are playing for the 10th consecutive year since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten in 2014.

Last meeting: In their previous encounter, Ohio State had to overcome a muffed punt by scoring a touchdown through a 14-yard pass from Evan Simon to Sean Ryan. However, Ohio State quickly responded with its own touchdown and controlled the game, ultimately winning 49-10 at Ohio Stadium.

Coaches: Ryan Day, the head coach for Ohio State, boasts an impressive record of 53-6 in five seasons, including a perfect 36-2 in the Big Ten and an undefeated 5-0 against Rutgers. Greg Schiano, Rutgers’ head coach, has a 15-year coaching tenure with a record of 86-91, but he has yet to win against Ohio State.

Ohio State notes: Ohio State has a history of never winning a game in their first ten matchups. They lost to Oregon and Missouri after starting with a 9-0 and 8-0-1 record, respectively (They currently maintain a perfect 9-0 record against Maryland). Additionally, Ohio State has always scored over 49 points in previous matches against Rutgers. Impressively, this season, Ohio State has not allowed a single play longer than 36 yards. If Marvin Harrison Jr. records 112 receiving yards, he will become the first Ohio State receiver with back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Notably, Ohio State has five players from New Jersey in their team.

Rutgers notes: Rutgers has heavily relied on their rushing game, executing it on 60.9% of their non-garbage time plays. This places them ninth in the country in terms of rushing percentage. It’s worth mentioning that Schiano previously served as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator from 2016-2018. While Rutgers is undefeated at home this season, they will face the challenge of Tyreem Powell’s absence due to injury, who is their leading tackler. Powell’s absence may impact the team’s defensive performance in the upcoming games.

Quoted: When asked about trying to reach the level of Ohio State, Schiano stated, “We’re trying to be 1-0 at the end of the Ohio State season. We have to have a great week of preparation to do that, and then we have to go play our best game and see where that stacks up against theirs. And I can’t control anything about them but I certainly can us. And that’s going to be my focus — that we have a great, consistent week of practice, and then go play our best game of the season.”

Next week: The Buckeyes will return home for a highly anticipated prime-time game against Michigan State. On the other hand, the Knights will face off against Iowa in an away game at 3:30 p.m.

Prediction: Ohio State is expected to secure a 30-10 victory over Rutgers.