Things are starting to click.
Ohio State brought its dominance from last week to New Jersey to bring a beatdown upon Rutgers. The Buckeyes proved to everyone that they have made many adjustments and they are looking more complete.
In today's Three Key Stats, we look at a hat-trick of interceptions for the defense, consistent big plays from the air and a step back from the pass rush.
3 Interceptions
The Ohio State defense forced many mistakes from the Rutgers offense on Saturday, including three interceptions.
One came early from Denzel Burke, which was returned for a touchdown, and the others came from Tommy Eichenburg and Ryan Watts. All three had their first career interceptions against Rutgers, although Burke had one overturned earlier this season.
Forcing these mistakes is huge for the Ohio State defense because it allows for a little more flexibility on their end. This is also the third straight week with a defensive touchdown for Ohio State.
18.5 Yards per Completion
C.J. Stroud was able to put together his best game as a Buckeye, highlighted by a ridiculous 18.5 yards per completion. He was able to hit receivers in stride and let the playmakers make plays.
There were many great throws from Stroud, but more importantly, less mistakes on his part. Stroud was able to settle in early and pick apart the Rutgers defense.
The passing game opened up early after TreVeyon Henderson got things going for the Buckeye offense with a 44-yard touchdown run.
1 Sack
While it would have been difficult to match the onslaught of last week's nine sacks against Akron, only one sack is a big step down. Although the defense played well by all accounts on Saturday, the pass-rush still isn’t finishing enough plays.
This didn't seem to matter as the defense still had a great performance, but the pass rush could be a concern going forward if it doesn't start sacking quarterbacks more consistently.
