Ohio State football: 5 reasons the Buckeyes will dominate Rutgers
By Alec Hartman
2. Rutgers’ too inexperienced
Physical traits on a team in any sport is good but nowadays that’s just not enough. With all of the competition available in terms of gifted athletes, there has to be something that makes some greater than others. Yes there are players like J.J. Watt, Julio Jones, and Rob Gronkowski that can dominate the game with just their physical features alone but those are more like generational talents.
The real thing that sets teams apart, especially in college, is experience. This attribute is even more important in significant positions such as point guard or quarterback. Leadership can come from any position but it tends to trickle down more effectively when it’s coming from the player who handles the game ball the most.
Rutgers will be starting freshman quarterback Artur Sitkowski. He struggled in his first start against lowly Texas State as he threw three interceptions and just one touchdown. In fact, the lone touchdown scored by Texas State was from a pick-six.
The Scarlet Knights are also starting redshirt freshman Shaheem Jones at receiver. The other skill positions on the team are filled by sophomore receivers Bo Melton, Hunter Hayek, and running back Raheem Blackshear. These players may be good athletes but that won’t be nearly enough to take down the Buckeyes.
An obvious reason for this is that the Buckeyes have not just good but great athletes at every position. The Scarlet Knights would need more in their arsenal to shake things up. Raheem Blackshear is one of the Scarlet Knights’ better athletes. He is an explosive playmaker the Buckeyes need to watch out for. He had five touchdowns as freshman with two of them coming through the air.
The Scarlet Knights are in the process of growing as a team but it does not look like they’ve left the ground yet in their building process. Their structure will have to leave the basement first before they will be in consideration for upsetting the Buckeyes. Expect the Buckeyes to bully the Scarlet Knights with their superior experience and great athletes.