MY THOUGHTS.....Rutgers

 

After spotting Rutgers an early touchdown off a muffed punt, the Ohio State Buckeyes put up seven touchdowns while holding the Scarlet Knights to a field goal after that. Miyan Williams had himself quite a day. Carrying the brunt of the running attack due to the absence of Treveyon Henderson, Williams’ five touchdowns were the most scored in a game by an Ohio State player since October 13, 1984 when Keith Byars scored five on Illinois, and September 27, 1975 when Pete Johnson scored five against North Carolina. Williams finished with his career high of 189 yards, averaging nine yards per carry. The ground game was the main focus of the Ohio State offense as Rutgers proved surprisingly difficult to throw deep against. C.J. Stroud has his lowest production in passing yards ever, with a mere 154 yards and a bad throw into coverage that was picked on the first drive of the second half. Stroud still tossed two touchdown passes. Julian Fleming saw one and finished with four receptions, good for the team lead along with Emeka Egbuka. Marvin Harrison Jr. had the other TD reception as this receiving corps continues their outstanding play despite missing Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

                The defense continues to step up their play. Although nobody would confuse the Rutgers offense with that of Alabama or Georgia, the only touchdown given up was after the muffed punt gave Rutgers the ball back with a very short field to go to score. Steele Chambers led the way with 11 tackles and two tackles for loss, his best game of his career. Tommy Eichenberg continued his stellar play with nine stops and a sack and was everywhere on defense. Ronnie Hickman was instrumental in holding the Rutgers offense to a mere 80 yards through the air. So was Josh Proctor, playing his best game of the year and breaking up a third-down pass that had Rutgers settling for a field goal instead of getting a touchdown. Javaontae Jean-Baptise, Cody Simon, and Jack Sawyer also made timely stops on third down to force punts.

                The Buckeyes end their opening five-game homestand with a perfect record and go on the road to Michigan State. The Spartans, who have struggled recently, usually manage to play tough in their stadium. A 3-9 Spartan team took Ohio State to the wire in 2016 before falling by one point, so the Buckeyes will have to be at their best.