Ohio State card: Buckeyes are dominating, even if they aren’t at their best

Here’s a look at Ohio State’s 49-10 win over Rutgers, which moved the Buckeyes to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play:

VIOLATION: B

Ohio State’s offense didn’t have its best day, or even close to its best. Neither did quarterback CJ Stroud. And the Buckeyes still scored 49 points.

But Mian Williams had his best day in an Ohio State uniform, and that made up for some other things. Williams rushed for 189 yards on 21 carries and scored five touchdowns, tying him for the OSU record book with Keith Byars and Pete Johnson for most touchdowns in a game by a Buckeye running back.

Williams’ highlight of the day was a 70-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Offensive tackle Parris Johnson set up Orlando Pace with a block that threw the Rutgers quarterback a few yards on that play.

Stroud was 13 of 22 for 154 yards and two touchdowns. But his accuracy was lacking at times, and he rushed into triple coverage on an interception. With a first down at the Rutgers 1-yard line in the second quarter, Ohio State needed five plays to score a touchdown.

Receiver Julian Fleming continued to show what he can do when healthy as he caught a touchdown for the third straight game.

DEFENSE: B

Before the season began, few could have predicted that the linebackers would be the best unit on Ohio State’s defense. But five games into the season, that might be true.

Starting linebackers Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers continued to be productive against Rutgers. Eichenberg, who leads OSU in tackles, added nine to his season total on Saturday and two tackles for loss. Chambers led OSU with 11 tackles and had an interception.

Quarterback Zach Harrison also had a nice play with a forced fumble recovered by Ohio State, and he threw the ball at the line of scrimmage after Chambers’ interception.

Cornerback Denzel Burke’s slump continued when he was burned by Rutgers receiver Sean Ryan on a 14-yard touchdown run for the Scarlet Knights’ only touchdown. Burke became the starter in the first game of his freshman season last year, but his sophomore season didn’t go as smoothly. Surprisingly, Ohio State only had one sack, and it came late in the game by Ryan Turner.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C-

Normally, Emeka Egbuka scrambling on a punt to set up Rutgers’ only touchdown would be Ohio State’s most talked about tackle in a game like this.

But not when OSU punter Jesse Mirko decided to run instead of kick the ball and scampered 22 yards with his team up by 39 points in the fourth quarter.

Rutgers’ Aron Cruikshank shut down Mirko’s tackle and hit him hard out of bounds on the Ohio State sideline. Players from each team pushed and shoved, and OSU coach Ryan Day and Rutgers coach Greg Schiano yelled at each other and pointed fingers.

GENERAL: B

Ohio State dominated in another game it should have dominated, even if there weren’t many style points.