THE PERTINENT INFO

When: Saturday, November 4, 2023
Where: SHI Stadium, Piscataway, New Jersey
TV: Noon // CBS
Announcers: Tom McCarthy, Ross Tucker and Tiffany Blackmon

This will be the tenth time Ohio State and Rutgers have faced each other in football. The Buckeyes hold a 9–0 advantage in the all-time series and are 4–0 when playing the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway.  

Greg Schiano's team is coming off of a bye week. The Scarlet Knights defeated Indiana, 31-14, in Bloomington on Oct. 21 and are 6–2 this season. 

Below, you will find some interesting facts about the teams, key offensive player stats, coach information and team stats.

THE LAST TIME...

• Ohio State played Rutgers, in Piscataway, the Buckeyes won 52-13. 
• The Buckeyes played on Nov. 4th was 2017. Iowa shocked the world with a 55-24 upset victory in Iowa City. 
• The Scarlet and Gray lost the ninth game of the season was the loss to Iowa in 2017. The Buckeyes have won 12 of their last 13 ninth games.
• Ohio State blocked an extra point was against Rutgers in 2021.
• The Buckeyes had a noon kickoff against the Scarlet Knights was the 58-0 shutout in Columbus in 2016.

ON THE HORIZON

• Marvin Harrison Jr. is 111 yards away from becoming the first Ohio State player to eclipse 1,000 yards receiving in two different seasons.  
• Harrison has 2,291 receiving yards and is currently ranked ninth on Ohio State's career receiving yards list. He needs five yards to pass Santonio Holmes (2,295) and 42 yards to pass K.J. Hill (2,332) for eighth and seventh on the all-time list.
• Cade Stover (909) needs 91 yards to become the sixth Ohio State TE with 1,000 career receiving yards.
• With 136 career receptions, Harrison is five catches away from passing Santonio Holmes (140) for eighth on the all-time receptions list. 
• Emeka Egbuka has 1,645 career receiving yards and is currently ranked 24th on the all-time career list. He is 23 yards away from moving ahead of Terry Glenn (1,677) and 63 yards away from surpassing Cedric Anderson (1,707) for 23rd and 22nd.
• Egbuka has 102 receptions and is within striking distance of Doug Donley (106), Ken-Yon Rambo (106) Curtis Samuel (107), Billy Anders (108) and Joey Galloway (108) to move into the top 20.
• Saturday will be Ryan Day's 60th as Ohio State's head coach.
• With a win, the Buckeyes will have 310* victories when playing in a true road game.

*NCAA sanctions be damned

Let's go streaking

• The Buckeyes have won nine straight games against Rutgers.
• Ohio State has defeated the Scarlet Knights four consecutive times in Piscataway.
• Harrison has eclipsed at least 100 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in four straight games.
• Ryan Day has won 35 consecutive games against unranked teams.

GET TO KNOW RUTGERS

• Rutgers University is located in New Brunswick, Newark and Camden, NJ. 
• The university was established in 1766. It was formerly known as Queen's College (1766-1825) and Rutgers College (1825-1925). 
• The Scarlet Knights are 6–2 this season.
• Since joining the Big Ten, Rutgers is 16–68 (.190) against conference opponents.
• The original mascot for Rutgers was named Chanticleer, a fighting rooster. It is believed the school switched to the Scarlet Knight after students complained about being represented by a chicken.
• Rutgers and Princeton played in the first collegiate football game on November 6, 1869. Rutgers won the game by a score of 6 runs to Princeton's 4. The rules of the game were believed to be closer to soccer than the football we are accustomed to.
• There are currently 16 players in the NFL who played for the Scarlet Knights: Tre Avery, Christian Braswell, Michael Burton, Andrew DePaola, J.D. DiRenzo, Gus Edwards, Olakunle Fatukasi, Duron Harmon, Christian Izien, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Tyler Kroft, Tyreek Maddox-Williams, Bo Melton, Isiah Pacheco, Willington Previlon, and Sean Ryan.  
• Notable alumni are: Kristin Davis (Sex and the City), John DiMaggio (Bender on Futurama), Keir Dullea (2001, A Space Odyssey), Calista Flockhart (Ally McBeal) James Gandolfini (The Sopranos), Jane Krakowski (Ally McBeal) Bernard Marcus (Home Depot founder), Ozzie Nelson (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet), Matt Pinfield (MTV's 120 Minutes), Bill Rasmussen (ESPN founder), Roy Scheider (Jaws), David Stern (former NBA Commissioner) and Jim Valvano (NC State basketball coach and inspiration of the V Foundation).

​TODAY'S TRIVIA QUESTIONS

1. Ohio State has started 9-0 against three teams, with Rutgers being one of the three. Can you name the other two? Hints: one is currently in the Big Ten and the other will be a conference foe in the near future. 
2. Which Ohio State defensive back, who transferred to the Buckeyes this year, has a brother player who plays for Rutgers?
3. Can you name the first Big Ten team Rutgers defeated as a member of the conference? 

Answers at the bottom of today's article.

2023 Player Comparison

OFFENSIVE LEADERS
KYLE McCORD	2,163 YDS // 14 TD // 3 INT	PASSING	GAVIN WIMSATT	1,134 YDS // 7 TD // 4 INT
TREVEYON HENDERSON	457 YDS // 6.7 YPC // 6 TD	RUSHING	KYLE MONANGAI	744 YDS //  5.2 YPC // 7 TD
MARVIN HARRISON JR.	889 YDS // 8 TD	RECEIVING	CHRISTIAN DREMEL	294 YDS // 3 TD
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
TOMMY EICHENBERG	61	TACKLES	TYREEM POWELL	52
JT TUIMOLOAU	4.0	SACKS	WESLEY BAILEY AARON LEWIS	3.0
JOSH PROCTOR 4 OTHERS	1	INTERCEPTIONS	FLIP DIXON 4 OTHERS	1
SPECIAL TEAMS
JAYDEN BALLARD	5.1 YPR	PUNT RETURNER	RASHAD ROCHELLE	2.0
XAVIER JOHNSON	23.1 YPR	KICKOFF RETURN	RASHAD ROCHELLE	55.0
JESSE MIRCO	43.6	PUNTING	ADAM KORSAK	41.8
7		EDGE	3

CLIFF CLAVEN'S LITTLE KNOWN FACTS CORNER

• 0.......wins for Rutgers against Ohio State.
• 1.......The Silver Bullets are ranked first in the nation in pass efficiency defense (94.6).
• 2.......number of 100-yard rushing games for Ohio State running backs this season.
• 6.......times Marvin Harrison has finished a game with 160+ receiving yards, an Ohio State record.
• 9.......times an Ohio State player has finished a season with 1,000 yards receiving.
• 10.....times Ohio State has hosted Big Noon Kickoff.
• 13.....Big Noon Kickoff wins for the Buckeyes.
• 16.....number of returning starters for Ohio State. 
• 19.....times Ohio State has scored 50+ points since 2019.
• 20.....times Ohio State has finished a season with at least 11 wins.
• 21.....times Ohio State has finished a season with at least 11 wins, including the 2010 season.
• 21.....number of letter winners lost from last season.
• 23.....home night games* won by the Buckeyes.
• 23.....times Ohio State has hosted GameDay.
• 24.....consecutive season-opening victories for Ohio State.
• 27.....bowl wins for Ohio State*.
• 30.....the Buckeyes' average margin of victory against B1G opponents with Day as head coach. 
• 33.....games of 500+ yards of total offense with Day as head coach. 
• 35.....consecutive wins for Ryan Day against unranked opponents.
• 36.....straight seasons ranked in the AP preseason Top 25. 
• 38.....conference wins for Ryan Day.
• 40.....GameDay wins* for the Buckeyes.
• 46.....returning letter winners for Ohio State.
• 57.....times Ohio State has played when GameDay has been on site.
• 74.....home victories for Ohio State since 2012.
• 81.....night games* won by the Buckeyes.
• 83.....rushing yards by Desmon Peoples in 2014, most by a Rutgers player against Ohio State.
• 90.....Consensus and unanimous All-Americans to play for the Buckeyes.
• 100...homecoming games for Ohio State.
• 102...this is the 102nd season the Scarlet and Gray have played in Ohio Stadium.
• 119...times Ohio State has scored 50+ points, undefeated in those games.
• 134....number of years for Buckeye football.
• 154...the number of years The Ohio State University has been in the education business.
• 192...passing yards by Gary Nova in 2014, most by a Rutgers player against Ohio State.
• 215...All-Americans in program history.
• 219...times a Buckeye player has gone for 100+ receiving yards.
• 264...number of passing touchdowns since 2017 (Ryan Day's arrival).
• 470...official victories for the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium.
• 478...Ohio Stadium victories for the Buckeyes, including the 2010 season.
• 544...number of Big Ten wins for Ohio State (we know it's actually 551).
• 961...number of official wins for the program (we know it's actually 973).
• 975...times Ohio State has been ranked in the AP poll, the most for any school.

*NCAA sanctions be damned.

2023 Statistical Comparison

OFFENSE
32.5	38th	POINTS FOR	28.1	64th
133.8	91st	RUSHING OFFENSE	178.8	39th
295.0	15th	PASSING OFFENSE	148.4	123rd
428.8	40th	TOTAL OFFENSE	327.1	105th
.437	37th	3rd DOWNS	.386	79th
.812	82nd	RED ZONE	.862	61st
DEFENSE
10.0	2nd	POINTS ALLOWED	15.8	13th
99.8	16th	RUSH DEFENSE	120.5	35th
160.2	4th	PASS DEFENSE	156.2	2nd
94.6	1st	PASS EFFICIENCY DEFENSE	106.0	7th
260.0	4th	TOTAL DEFENSE	276.8	9th
.311	17th	3rd DOWNS	.361	43rd
.750	19th	RED ZONE	.682	6th
SPECIAL TEAMS
4.1	106th	PUNT RETURN	2.0	124th
22.2	40th	KICKOFF RETURN	36.7	1st
38.8	73rd	NET PUNTING	40.4	42nd
MISCELLANEOUS
-0.3	82nd	TURNOVER MARGIN	+0.6	23rd
6.5	85th	PENALTIES	4.5	16th
10		EDGE	8

TODAY'S TRIVIA ANSWERS

Ohio State has started 9-0 against three teams, with Rutgers being one of the three. Can you name the other two? Hints: one is currently in the Big Ten and the other will be a conference foe in the near future. 

Answer: Maryland and Oregon. With a win on Saturday, Rutgers will become the first team for Ohio State to start a perfect 10-0 against. Next year, the Buckeyes can do the same to Maryland. In 2021, the Buckeyes had a chance to go 10-0 against Oregon, but the Ducks left Columbus with the win.

Which Ohio State defensive back, who transferred to the Buckeyes this year, has a brother player who plays for Rutgers?

Answer: Davison Igbinosun's brother, Desmond, plays for the Scarlet Knights.

Can you name the first Big Ten team Rutgers defeated as a member of the conference? 

Answer: The Scarlet Knights defeated Michigan, 26-24, on October 4, 2014.