An annual tradition, Greg Schiano's carnival program rolled out a host of gadget plays and goofy decisions in another lopsided loss to Ohio State.
After back-to-back dialed-in performances against Toledo and Wisconsin, Ryan Day's squad didn't bring the same consistent execution and energy but it was more than enough to record a 49-10 win over the perennially overmatched Scarlet knights.
The game's tempo flatlined at points though passions certainly ran high late after Ohio State punter Jesse Mirco decided on his own to run for 22 yards on 4th-and-3 from the OSU 39. He took a late hit out of bounds prompting some pushing and shoving between players and a shouting match between Day and Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano.
While Mirco wasn't hurt on the play, injuries were again a storyline for Ohio State as TreVeyon Henderson was scratched just before kickoff, Tanner McCalister suffered an injury in the first quarter and Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cameron Brown, among others, missed the game entirely.
The win improved Ohio State to 5-0 with a trip to East Lansing set for next Saturday at 4:00 p.m. Before we turn our focus to Michigan State however, here are Five Things from yesterday's 39-point victory over the Scarlet Knights.
C.J. SLIGHTLY ASTRAY
I wrote last week how quarterback C.J. Stroud looked "off" compared to his standard after connecting on 17-of-27 for 281 yards and five touchdowns with one interception. Truth be told, he was indeed high and wide with more throws than we typically see and a few hung his receivers out to dry.
Yesterday, Stroud was much further from his standard as he completed 13-of-22 passes for just 154 yards with two touchdown tosses against one very poor interception. His 59% completion rate tied for the worst of his Ohio State career, lining up exactly to a 13-of-22 night versus Minnesota last year in his first career start.
Look, nobody is worried about Stroud - I'm sure not - but there's no doubt he hasn't been his pinpoint-accurate self the last two weeks.
He's surely missing JSN to some degree. Interestingly, he's had a tough time connecting with Marvin Harrison Jr. the last two weeks after the duo lit it up the two games prior. Harrison's caught just three passes in each of the last two games and yesterday, those three catches came on 10 targets. Last week, I think it was something like eight targets. That's a pretty shaky catch-to-target ratio Stroud and Harrison need to address.
MIYAN F. WILLIAM5
Everybody with a keyboard is going to write about Miyan - how could you not - after the dude ripped off five touchdown runs to tie Ohio State's single-game record (Keith Byars, Pete Johnson) while cranking out 189 yards on a cool nine yards a pop.
His 70-yard touchdown burst was the most notable as he's not the home run hitter in Ohio State's backfield. The big play threat, Henderson, wasn't able to go yesterday continuing an issue of him being nicked up. That's not a shot at Henderson, but the fact remains the best ability is availability and with his ongoing injuries, it's a damn good thing Day has Williams in his stable.
On the season, Williams is averaging 99 rushing yards per game on 7.8 per attempt which slots No. 12 in the land among qualified ball carriers. And with Dallan Hayden has shown, I don't see a real reason to rush Henderson back. Ohio State will be perfectly fine with Williams as TB1 especially if the offensive line's run blocking generally continues to shine.
Yeah it was Rutgers but it's important for the coaches and players to see the run game take control when the passing attack isn't firing on all cylinders.
DOWN ON THE CORNER
What the heck should we make of Denzel Burke's ongoing struggles?
He missed last week with a hand injury but in the weeks before that, it's been nothing short of a struggle for a kid that exploded onto the scene last year as a true freshman starter.
This season, he's been cooked repeatedly and yesterday, against a laughable Rutgers passing game, he gave up two crucial catches when he was in the neighborhood but seemed to lack technique and have no idea the ball was coming his way.
The first came after Ohio State had forced a 3-and-out but Emeka Egbuka muffed the ensuing punt giving possession right back to the Scarlet Knights. Facing a 3rd-and-6 from the OSU 14-yard line, Burke had solid coverage on Sean Ryan down the right sideline but never turned around as Ryan hauled in a touchdown pass giving Rutgers a short-lived 7-0 lead.
On Rutgers' first possession of the second half, facing a 2nd-and-7, Burke again had decent coverage on Ryan but again seemed unaware the football was in the air as he gave up a 26-yard connection to the OSU 30. Rutgers kicked a field goal a few plays later cutting Ohio State's lead to 28-10.
Ryan's two catches on Burke accounted for 50% of Rutgers' total passing yards on the day.
I feel like most of the time he's been beat, it has been straight man-to-man coverage but I'm no DB coach. Interestingly, our film study guru, Kyle Jones, surmised in Slack during the game that maybe Burke is having some difficulty picking up Jim Knowles' complicated system as a possible/partial reason for his performance decline.
Regardless of reason, Ohio State needs Burke to tighten things up by the time it faces a legit passing attack.
ZACH ATTACK
Through his first four games this season, Zach Harrison tallied five tackles and two quarterback hurries in 92 snaps, the fourth-most among Ohio State's defensive linemen.
Yesterday against Rutgers, Harrison had his best game so far this year with two tackles and pass breakup and a forced fumble in a solid performance.
His first stop held Rutgers quarterback Noah Vedral to no gain on a 2nd-and-7 snap. His second was even more impactful as he again found the quarterback, this time Evan Simon, and not only tackled him but forced a fumble Mike Hall Jr. promptly pounced on. Three plays later and Ohio State's offense found the end zone to take a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter.
His final act came on a 3rd-and-4 play from the Rutgers 30 as he rushed up the middle and tipped a Simon pass, deflecting it into the arms of Steele Chambers who returned the pick 12 yards to the Rutgers 20-yard line. A few plays later, Miyan Williams was in the end zone for touchdown number five giving OSU a 49-10 cushion early in the fourth quarter.
As our Dan Hope captured, Harrison's two turnover-forcing plays came as he lined up at defensive tackle, using his length and speed, increasing the versatility of Ohio State's front four pending down and distance.
SNAP INTO IT
For all the consternation over Jesse Mirco going rogue and converting a first down after Rutgers refused to account for him on their punt defense, I'd be much happier if opposing coaches were salty over Ryan Day letting his backup quarterback(s) throw the ball and gain some useful experience in blowouts.
Yesterday marked the fourth-straight contest the Buckeyes won by at least 31 points - their average margin of victory over that span is closer to 40 points - but we've barely seen Kyle McCord or Devin Brown.
I want Stroud to win the Heisman too but knowing he's gone after this season, it seems like testing McCord and Brown could be a higher priority at times. Sure, Stroud entered last season with zero pass attempts and virtually zero game experience and that worked out pretty damn good but I don't know if that's a recipe you want to repeat especially if you don't have to.
Over these four consecutive blowouts, McCord's played 31 snaps. He's thrown it 14 times (completing 10) so he's actually been allowed to throw it a higher percentage of plays than I would've guessed but it feels like he's missed out on logging even more possessions. Brown's played just nine snaps so far and has yet to throw a pass.
Hey, I'm just nit-picking here, Day obviously knows what he's doing especially when it comes to quarterbacks but it just felt like yesterday was a great opportunity to let McCord throw it more than three times. There's still a long way to go and likely more lopsided victories to come. First world problems, I get it.
- #3 Ohio State 49, Rutgers 10
- • Buckeyes Beat Rutgers With Ease, 49-10
- • My Oh Miyan: Williams Chops Down Knights
- • Chambers, Eichenberg Making LB a Strength
- • Williams Ties Single-Game Rush TD Record
- • Ohio State Postgame• Notebook • Quotebook • Photos
- • 3 Key Stats • Five Things • Social Reactions • Rutgers Postgame
