Ohio State football: 5 reasons the Buckeyes will beat Rutgers
By Alec Hartman
5. Rutgers is not adept anywhere offensively.
The Buckeyes ran into problems against the Hoosiers and the Sooners due to their offensive firepower. In particular, both of those foes boasted formidable passing offenses. The Bucks have now given up over 228 yards per game which is 62nd in the nation. The Bucks were ranked sixth in the nation in passing defense last season.
This is such in the college football format where teams are almost never going to look the same each season. The teams who are the most susceptible to these changes are the ones near the top of the college football spectrum. The Buckeyes are indeed part of this group to its greatest extent.
This is due to the overload of talent that the Bucks possess every season. Consequently, this talent is quickly whisked away by the NFL Draft shortly after the season is over. That is exactly what happened to end last season where the Bucks saw their entire secondary walk out the door.
The all-star defensive backfield led by Marson Lattimore, Malik Hooker, and Gareon Conley is no longer available to the Bucks this season. The Bucks had to turn around and piece together a new cast in the secondary with Damon Arnette, Jordan Fuller, Damon Webb, and Denzel Ward. Understandably so, the current unit is struggling to fill the enormous shoes left from last season.
With that being said, time can fix just about everything so maybe that’s all they need is to get more acquainted. This week presents a good opportunity for this defense to do just that. Rutgers ranks last in the Big Ten in passing offense, second worst in total offense, and third worst in scoring offense.
The Buckeyes’ defense still needs some time to jell. Even against a poor competitor in UNLV last weekend the defense let up 21 points. This weekend brings another opportunity for the Bucks to come together defensively to see what works and what doesn’t against Rutgers. Yet, this defense is definitely enough to halt anything that Rutgers has to offer.