Ohio State vs Rutgers prediction, game preview, how to watch: Saturday, October 2
Ohio State vs Rutgers How To Watch
Date: Saturday, October 2
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Venue: SHI Stadium, Piscataway, NJ
How To Watch: BTN
Record: Ohio State (3-1), Rutgers (3-1)
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Ohio State vs Rutgers Game Preview
Why Ohio State Will Win
The talent is there. It’s just whether or not the team can get through the rough patches until everyone starts to mesh.
It starts with this – Ohio State has to keep running the ball.
CJ Stroud – who sat out the Akron game with a shoulder injury – doesn’t take off, but he doesn’t have to with freshman TreVeyon Henderson looking every bit the star he was supposed to be when he signed on. He hit Tulsa for 277 yards and ran through Akron for 93 yards on just eight carries.
The Rutgers run defense has been solid so far, but the Buckeyes have to keep pounding and keep pounding some more. Even if it doesn’t always work – Michigan’s rising ground attack couldn’t get going – controlling the clock is a must because …
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Why Rutgers Will Win
Rutgers is more than happy to grind this game down to a dead stop.
Head coach Greg Schiano has created a nice formula. Find guys who don’t miss tackles, come up with third down stops, don’t turn the ball over, force takeaways, don’t get penalized, and own the time of possession battle.
The Scarlet Knights can’t hang punch for punch with the Buckeyes, but they can hold the ball for 34ish minutes. Ohio State is getting crushed in the time of possession battle, but …
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What’s Going To Happen
Lost in the narrative of Ohio State struggling on defense and being relatively down compared to the last few years is one way key element …
The offense is TOTALLY working. Ohio State is second in the nation in total O averaging way over 500 yards per game.
Yeah, Stroud missed some receivers here and there in the first few games, and he wasn’t razor-sharp for stretches against Oregon, and the offensive line isn’t consistent and the team is steady pumping out tons and tons of yards.
Before you blow that off in any way, ask Clemson what it’s like to reload the offense. Check with Oklahoma to see how that thing is working. With that said, be very, very careful here.
Rutgers doesn’t have enough in the bag to win unless there’s a total Buckeye meltdown. There have to be at least four Scarlet Knight takeaways, the red zone D has to be air tight, and everything has to go right when it comes to ball control.
That’s all not going to happen, but a 21-point Ohio State second half explosion will to finally be able to breathe easier.
Ohio State vs Rutgers Prediction, Line
Ohio State 34, Rutgers 17
Line: Ohio State -15, o/u: 58
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5
Must See Rating: 3
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