Rutgers at Ohio St – Preview and Prediction
OHIO ST 38.5 RUTGERS (57.5)
Implied Projected Score: Ohio St 48 Rutgers 9.5
MEGALOCKS LINE – Ohio St 33
The Game
The Buckeyes kick off Big 10 play at high noon on Saturday in Columbus as they take on the 2-2 Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Ohio St is fresh off a bye and off to a 3-0 start that includes a big win over Oklahoma on the road. Rutgers is 2-2 with expected losses to Washington and Iowa. The game vs the Hawkeyes was there for the taking.
The Match-Up
Ohio St offense vs Rutgers defense
The Buckeyes have proven to be unstoppable this season. QB JT Barrett is off to a fantastic start to the season (#5 passing efficiency FBS) and RBs Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel have over 600 yards rushing between them in just three games. The Buckeyes are balanced, explosive and efficient. Uh oh.
Rutgers has been better on defense so far this season as they have only given up 30+ points in one game this season (Washington wk 1). They held the Huskies to just 380 yards offense and outgained Iowa 383-355. They will miss starting senior DE Q Lambert who is done for the season, but we feel like the Scarlet Knights can make more than a few stops on defense. The major problem we see for them is that the defense is going to be on the field a long time.
Rutgers offense vs Ohio St defense
Rutgers suffered a major blow when their star offensive and special team player WR Janarion Grant was lost for the season last week. Grant was leading the team in receptions, was 2nd in rushing yards (!) and already had a 69-yard punt return and an 89-yard kickoff return in 2016. We normally refrain from making a big deal out of injuries but this is a really bad one for Rutgers, and more importantly, for senior Janarion Grant. We were impressed by the way that Rutgers laid it on the Hawkeyes physically on offense at times last week but they are going to have a hard time doing that to Ohio St. And now there is even less threat of a passing game. QB Chris Laviano is tough, but is only completing 52% of his passes at 5.7 yards per attempt. It is hard to see Rutgers scoring more than 7-10 points.
MEGA Mini-Bites
Ohio St is fresh off a bye and has Indiana on deck so should have no problems wanting to come out and smash somebody….The last two seasons Ohio St has won the game 49-7 and 56-17…..Rutgers was held to 13 against Washington and 7 against Iowa…..Ohio St has not allowed a rushing TD in three games this season.
Summary
The line looks a bit high but we do not see Rutgers having any success on offense. A healthy Rutgers team could have had a shot at covering even a smaller number. Gotta run for the hills.
Conclusion
Official play: None
Lean: Under any number 57 or better.