3 reasons Ohio State will trample Rutgers
By Alec Hartman
The Ohio State Buckeyes look to keep the momentum rolling into Saturday night primetime as they host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
The Buckeyes are coming off a signature win to bolster their perfect record thus far in the Big Ten. The team continues to clear every hurdle in their way on the field and off as they navigate an unforgiving 2020 season. Lofty expectations have not gotten to the heads of the Buckeyes and the team anticipates much of the same Saturday night against the Scarlet Knights.
The Scarlet Knights have had a rough go of it since joining the ranks of the Big Ten back in 2014. This includes three different head coaches and no more than three conference wins each season. In fact, the Scarlet Knights have just eight Big Ten wins since 2014 and had not won a game in the conference since 2017 until last week.
The Scarlet Knights have been taking some pages out of the Buckeyes’ book recently as they’ve had a former Buckeye coach as their head coach since 2016. However, this has not led to the success they hoped for as things only got worse. The Scarlet Knights have accumulated just 10 total wins since then. Former Buckeyes defensive coordinator Chris Ash took the reigns for the Scarlet Knights in 2016 which resulted in a two win first season.
The team is now under the supervision of another former Buckeyes defensive coordinator by the name of Greg Schiano. Though this name is familiar to Buckeye fans, it is more familiar to those following the Scarlet Knights as he was their head coach between 2001-2011. Schiano brought greatness to the program as the team’s peak in 2006 saw the Scarlet Knights hit No. 7 in the AP Poll. The team had begun the season 9-0 and finished with an 11-2 record in the Big East.
Schiano would go on to accept the job as head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012 before returning to college football in 2016 as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for the Buckeyes. A successful return to college football certainly drew attention from the rest of the league including the Scarlet Knights. Fast forward to the present and Schiano has made his return to Rutgers nation.
Things have been looking up for the Scarlet Knights as they earned a statement victory in week one at Michigan State. Schiano’s return has already made a profound impact on the team considering that victory marked the team’s first in the Big Ten in years. Schiano was swift in making moves during the offseason to kickstart the team’s success. He immediately consulted the transfer portal and acquired some experienced talent to add to the roster. Key transfers include former Buckeyes defensive back Brendon White and Wisconsin transfer Aron Cruickshank at receiver.
The Scarlet Knights are coming off a tough loss to Indiana where they conceded an early lead and could not rally back. On the other end, the Buckeyes are coming off an impressive victory over divisional power Penn State where the Buckeyes did not concede a touchdown until the second half. The Buckeyes will need to keep focused in this upcoming matchup as the Scarlet Knights’ talent is certainly a drop off from Penn State. This match up being at home and in primetime should be enough to keep the Buckeyes motivated which is all they’ll need in order to get the job done.