Ohio State football: 5 reasons the Buckeyes will beat Rutgers
By Alec Hartman
1. The Scarlet Knights won’t generate enough pressure to get Barrett rattled.
Teams have had success against the Bucks by forcing Barrett to make quick decisions. In this case, the Scarlet Knights’ defense may not be enough to force the Bucks to throw the ball at all. That is, unless you consider bubble screens as real pass plays.
Last week, the UNLV Rebels ended up finding themselves down early due to the Bucks’ elite speed. All the Bucks had to do was hand the ball to J.K. Dobbins or pass it off on a screen play to Parris Campbell and it would result in a huge play. In fact, the Bucks’ first drive was just that.
The first Buckeyes’ offensive drive against the Rebels took just two plays to score. The first play was a hand off to Dobbins for eight yards. The second play was just a screen pass where Campbell ran right passed Rebels defenders for a 69 yard touchdown.
This early lead allowed Barrett to play with some cushion as he had very little pressure on his shoulders to produce. Barrett could focus on pitch and catch with his receivers instead of trying to force things or take off and run like he did in previous games.
Rutgers’ limitations offensively won’t force Barrett to make up ground. The Oklahoma Sooners were able to turn it up offensively and put the Bucks in a hole. This was a major predicament for Barrett and the offense as the Bucks’ offense has its own limitations. Playing from behind is rarely in the script for the Bucks so their struggles to continue to compete with the Sooners was clear. Rutgers ranks second worst in the Big Ten in total offense which bodes well for the Bucks’ typical game plan.
Defensively, Rutgers won’t be able to put enough pressure on Barrett to make the tough plays. Rutgers’ defense ranks 119th in the nation in sacks per game. This will allow Barrett to take his time in the pocket.
Rutgers’ defense will have to bottle up the Buckeyes’ run game first and foremost. If that doesn’t happen, then getting under the Bucks’ skin by pressuring Barrett into making plays goes out the window. Expect the Bucks to lean on the run game early to open up clear passing lanes for Barrett.