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The Buckeyes wrap up their five-game homestand when they host the Scarlet Knights on Saturday afternoon.
COLUMBUS, OH – Ohio State Sides will wrap up a five-game homestand when they host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday afternoon at Ohio Stadium.
Head coach Ryan Day, along with linebackers and cornerbacks coach Tim Walton and tight end Mitch Rossi, spoke to the media Tuesday afternoon ahead of this week’s game.
OHIO STATE VS. RUTGERS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
*Information provided by Ohio State Athletics
- The Buckeyes have played five home games at Ohio Stadium twice before, going 4-1 in 1999 with a win over UCLA, Ohio Cincinnati, a loss to Wisconsin and a win over Purdue. In 2003, the team went 5-0 with wins over Washington, San Diego, North Carolina, Bowling Green and Northwestern.
- Ohio State won its ninth straight game against Wisconsin with a 52-21 victory last Saturday night in a game opener for both teams.
- Duet with TreVeyon Henderson and Mian Williams dominated off the field. Henderson rushed for 121 yards on 21 attempts, while Williams had 11 carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
- After scoring just 21 points in its opening win against Notre Dame, Ohio State is averaging 58 points in its last three contests.
- Ohio State, ranked No. 1, No. 7 and No. 4 in total offense over the past three years under Ryan Day, currently ranks second in the nation with an average of 558.8 yards per game. Ohio State is two yards short of No. 1 Tennessee heading into this week’s games.
- Ohio State is the only team in the country averaging at least 300 passing yards and at least 200 rushing yards per game.
- Last week, quarterback CJ Stroud became just the third player in program history to catch at least 60 career assists.
- Three TD throws on Saturday would be tied Justin Fields for No. 2 on the all-time list (63). Only JT Barrett passes Fields and Stroud with Ohio State and Big Ten record 104 TD passes.
- He ranks first in the nation in passing TDs (16), 2nd in passing efficiency (207.5), 4th in yards per carry (15.47) and 13th in yards per game (305, 5).
- And that’s not all. He also ranks No. 2 in passing efficiency (207.5), No. 4 in yards per carry (15.4) and No. 13 in yards per game (305.5).
Intelligence of the Scarlet Knights
- This is the ninth consecutive year that Ohio State and Rutgers have played. All of the games in that streak have come since Rutgers joined the Big Ten Conference in its inaugural season in 2014.
- After scoring just 27 points in the first five games against Ohio State, Rutgers struggled against the Buckeyes and scored 61 points in the last three meetings.
- Rutgers is off to a 3-0 start thanks to wins over Boston College (22-21), Wagner (66-0) and Temple (16-14) before falling to Iowa 27-10 last Saturday night.
- The Scarlet Knights bring a stout defense to Saturday’s game. They currently rank second nationally, allowing an average of just 56.5 yards per game on the ground.
- On offense, quarterback Evan Simon completed nearly 62 percent of his passes for 566 yards and three touchdowns.
- His favorite target is WR Aaron Cruickshank, who has 18 receptions for 156 yards (39.0 yards per catch) and two TDs.
- Head coach Greg Schiano is in his second stint as the Rutgers head coach. He turned the Scarlet Knights into a consistent team from 2001-11. In seven years from 2005 to 2011, they made six postseason appearances.
- During his tenure as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator (2016-18), Schiano coached 10 players who were selected in the NFL Draft, five of which were first-round picks over three seasons.
- The Buckeyes were one of three programs ranked in the top 10 in total defense in 2016 and 2017.
