Ohio State football: Ground game could be central to matchup with Rutgers

While Ohio State is undefeated and atop the College Football Playoff rankings, Rutgers is already has its second-most wins since joining the Big Ten.

Here are five things to keep an eye on Saturday in Piscataway:

1. Both coaches will probably be more worried about their team than the opponent.

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano side-stepped a question about how to get his program to the level of Ohio State, where he was the defensive coordinator for three seasons in between his stints as the head Scarlet Knight.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day also spoke in-depth about wanting to see his team get better every week regardless of who the Buckeyes are playing.

“I think if you look at this season, we’ve said we want to play our best football in November because that’s where the biggest games are,” Day said. “So it’s been a constant build. That’s been the message, but along the way, you’ve got to win every game. So what does that mean?

“After a game, and you win, you have to identify the issues because they’re there, whether you win or lose, and get them fixed, so that when you get down the road your full capacity.”

2. Both defenses are having good seasons.

Ohio State is second in the nation in points allowed (10.0 points per game) and fourth in total yards (260 per game) while Rutgers is 13th (15.8) and ninth (276.8) respectively.

“It’s a combination of good players — I think the talent has been upgraded — (and) I think they do a good job schematically and play complementary football,” Day said.

Schiano, who frequently displayed a dry wit during his time in Columbus, had a simple assessment of the Buckeyes for local reporters this week.

“Their front seven will be all NFL players, but the good thing is the back four or five are all NFL players as well,” Schiano said.

3. This might be a big day for running the football.

Ohio State is coming off one of its best rushing performances of the season (182 yards at Wisconsin) and hoping to build off that for the homestretch of the regular season.

“I think we took a step this week,” Day said. “Where we go from here, we’ll see, but I thought we ran off the ball better. I thought we got good movement. I thought (TreVeyon Henderson) ran hard, and that combination of things really helped to boost our run game, so we’ll see where that takes us on Saturday against Rutgers.”

Rutgers is 35th nationally in stopping the run but second in passing yards allowed while Ohio State is 17th and third, respectively.

On the flip side, the Scarlet Knights are a heavily run-first team with a productive running back (Kyle Monangai) and dual-threat quarterback (Gavin Wimsatt).

Both defenses have also excelled at preventing big plays.

4. It’s a homecoming for Kyle McCord.

Ohio State’s starting quarterback went to high school in Philadelphia, but the junior lists his hometown as Mt. Laurel, N.J.

He revealed this week he grew up rooting for Rutgers, where his father, Derek, was a quarterback from 1988-92.

The younger McCord had already verbally committed to Ohio State before Schiano returned to be head coach at Rutgers in 2020, but Kyle expressed great respect for him this week.

“I think the first thing is they’re really well-coached,” McCord said. “I think they’re a little underrated honestly. They’re 6-2 for a reason, and they’ve been playing good football. You pair that with Coach Schiano who’s in my eyes one of the better coaches in college football, that’s the result. So we know that it’s going to be a big test, especially on the road.”

5. Expect to hear the name Igbinosun frequently.

Ohio State has put more resources into recruiting the Garden State over the past decade or so, and one of those potential NFL players Schiano referenced on the Ohio State defense is cornerback Davison Igbinosun.

A sophomore from Union, N.J., Igbinosun said this week he originally verbally committed to Rutgers before accepting the chance to play in the SEC once he received an offer from Mississippi.

He only stayed down south for one season, though.

When he entered the transfer portal last winter, Schiano reached out to him but was told Igbinosun wanted to play for a national championship contender.

“He didn’t feel we were that, so I understood that we weren’t what he was looking for,” Schiano said.

This week Igbinosun is preparing not only for a homecoming but also a family reunion.

His older brother, Desmond, is a starting safety for Rutgers who leads the team with 5.5 tackles for loss.

“I would credit my skills to him if I’m being honest,” Davison said. “He was stronger than me, so I just feel like he made me work on the technical aspects of my game because he was stronger than me.”

SATURDAY’S GAME

Ohio State at Rutgers, Noon, CBS, 1410