Here are five things to know about the game and the series:
1. The Scarlet Knights already have their most wins since 2014.
Rutgers began the season 3-0 with comfortable wins over Northwestern, Temple and Virginia Tech.
They hung around at Michigan for about a half before losing 31-7 on Sept. 23.
After beating FCS school, Wagner 52-3, the Scarlet Knights lost at Wisconsin 24-13. Then they pulled off a near-miraculous comeback to beat Michigan State 27-24 before winning 31-14 at Indiana on Oct. 21.
The last time Rutgers won more than five games was 2014, when they finished 8-5 under coach Kyle Flood.
2. This is the best team of Schiano’s second stint in Piscataway.
Schiano led the Scarlet Knights from 2001-11, building them from the ground up to become one of the better teams in the old Big East.
After two seasons coaching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and three as defensive coordinator at Ohio State, he returned to Rutgers in 2020 and went 3-6 in the pandemic-shortened season.
The Scarlet Knights were 5-8 a season later and 4-8 last season, but Schiano said in July he felt he had them going in the right direction after finding out upon his return most of the foundation he had left in place was gone.
“I was a little bit shocked how much things had changed,” Schiano said at Big Ten Media Days. “I’m not just talking about the athletes or the football, I’m talking about the infrastructure.
“So we had to really rebuild a lot of the things, whether it’s medical coverage, the way the players ate, nutrition, training — all that. You know what, I didn’t complain at all because you know when you’re taking a job what has to get done.
“I think we’re in a great place right now. I think our support for our student-athletes is unparalleled in college football, what we do for the players, and I’m proud to say that, and I think our guys know that.”
3. The Scarlet Knights are a defense-first outfit.
Rutgers is No. 9 nationally in total defense (276.8 yards allowed per game) and No. 13 in scoring (15.8 points per game). They are second in passing yards allowed (156.2), seventh in passing efficiency defense and 35th in rushing defense.
The 126 points Rutgers has allowed are the fewest through eight games since 2012.
Defensive back Desmond Igbinosun, whose brother Davison is a starting cornerback at Ohio State, leads the team with 5.5 tackles for loss while Robert Longerbeam ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 1.13 pass defended per game.
4. The offense is mostly ground-based.
The offense is tied for 64th in scoring (28.1 ppg.) and 105th in total yards per game (327.1) with the running game (39th) well ahead of the passing game (123rd in yards).
Kyle Monangai, a 5-foot-9, 210-pound junior from New Jersey, is second in the Big Ten in rushing at 93 yards per game, and Rutgers already has four 250-yard rushing games this season, matching the program’s total in the previous six seasons combined.
Quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, a junior from Kentucky, leads Big Ten quarterbacks with seven rushing touchdowns and ranks second among conference QBs with 362 rushing yards.
From an advanced statistical point of view, Rutgers is No. 50 in SP+ (which primarily measures efficiency and explosiveness), 47 spots higher than last season. The Knights are 78th in offensive SP+ but ranked 29th in defense.
5. Ohio State has never lost to Rutgers.
The Buckeyes and Scarlet Knights met for the first time in 2014 and have met every year since.
Ohio State has never scored less than 49 points against Rutgers, and the closest game to date was a 49-27 decision at Ohio Stadium in 2020.
Rutgers is one of four programs to play Ohio State at least nine times without getting a win. The Buckeyes are also 9-0 against Maryland, and they won their first nine games against Oregon before losing to the Ducks in 2021.
Ohio State started its series with Missouri 8-0-1 before losing to the Tigers in the 10th meeting in 1976 then beating them in 1997 and ‘98 to improve to 10-1-1.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Ohio State at Rutgers, Noon, CBS, 1410
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