Ohio State football vs. Rutgers: Early storylines

The #3 Ohio State Buckeyes (2-0) host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-1) on Saturday night, let’s dive into some of the early week storylines.

Greg Schiano returns to Columbus.

Former Ohio State Defensive Coordinator, and current Rutgers Head Coach, Greg Schiano returns to Columbus to take on his former employer. Schiano was on the OSU sidelines for three seasons and described them as “a great experience.” He also offered kind words for Ryan Day, saying that he is “a standup guy” and an “excellent coach.”

Ryan Day returned the kind words, saying Schiano was a “great resource” when he filled in as head coach in 2018 during Urban Meyer’s three-game suspension. “You can see how well things are going at Rutgers. I think he’s going to build something really good there” added Day at Tuesday’s press conference.

Don’t worry about Shaun Wade or Sevyn Banks.

The cornerbacks didn’t have a great game last weekend against Penn State, but Ryan Day nor Defensive Coordinator Kerry Coombs are worried. “Overall I thought the first two games they played well,” said Day, and Coombs reiterated the point “I have no worries about Shaun Wade.” Wade and Banks should have a much better game this week, as Rutgers does not yet have a single receiver with over 100 yards this season.

Who will be Ohio State’s kicker?

Blake Haubeil started the Penn State game but was pulled after missing a 20-yard field goal. Walk-on Dominic DiMaccio assumed all kicking duties from that point on. After the game, we learned that Haubeil was playing with a groin injury.

Ryan Day says Haubeil is day-to-day, if he is unable to play DiMaccio, who went 1/2 on field goal attempts last week, could be the starting kicker, or the Buckeyes could turn to freshman Jake Seibert. Seibert was 247Sports #2 kicker in the class of 2019 and is likely the future starter for the Buckeyes once Haubeil’s college career concludes.

Will this game actually be competitive?

Rutgers appears to have their best team since joining the Big Ten in 2014. After a 1-1 start and a win over Michigan State, there is quite a bit of optimism coming out of New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights are just one win away from matching their 2019 total of two wins, but it probably won’t come against Ohio State.

Ohio State has absolutely dominated Rutgers since they have been Big Ten foes. Ohio State has gone 6-0 and has outscored Rutgers 327-48 in those six match-ups. In fact, Ohio State has scored more in each of those six games than Rutgers has scored in those six games combined. The closest game of the series came last year, when the Buckeyes won 56-21, a 35-point victory.

Rutgers has looked much better to start 2020 than they have in years past and enter this weekend’s game with the fourth-best rush defense in the nation, allowing just 79.5 yards-per-game. Ohio State should be able to do whatever they want through the air, though, as the Scarlet Knights allow an average of 278.5 passing yards-per-game.

The Bucks currently sit as 37.5 point favorites, according to ESPN. While the Scarlet Knights may be improved, they are still lightyears away from being competitive with the Scarlet and Gray.

While it may not be a close nor competitive game, there will still be a fair amount of things to watch on Saturday night. How certain players will be used, who will come in to replace Justin Fields if and when the game gets out-of-hand, and who will fill in at CB with the injury to Cameron Brown?

Kickoff will be at 7:30 PM ET and the game will be televised on Big Ten Network.