Ohio State Football will play in the biggest game in New Jersey since 2006

The Ohio State football team will be playing in the biggest game in the state of New Jersey since Rutgers defeated #3 Louisville in 2006 by a score of 28-25. The last time Rutgers had six wins after only eight games was 2012 when under first-year head coach Kyle Flood Rutgers started 7-0 in what was the last year of the defunct Big East Conference. The Scarlet Knights finished 9-4 that season and in a four-way tie for first place in the conference.

Since Greg Schiano’s return to Piscataway, New Jersey, Rutgers has been slowly building back to a respectable program. The only other season Rutgers has had, that can even be compared to what they have already accomplished this season, was in their first year in the Big 10 Conference in 2014. That season Rutgers went 7-5 overall and 3-5 in the conference during the regular season before defeating North Carolina 40-21 in the Quick Lane Bowl.

Under Schiano, Rutgers has gone 12-22 overall and 6-21 in the Big Ten since his return before this season. The Scarlet Knights, however, have seemed to have finally turned the corner as a program despite playing in one of the most difficult divisions in all of college football. Rutgers has gone 6-2 overall this season with conference wins over Northwestern, Michigan State, and Indiana.

They also defeated non-conference foes Temple, Virginia Tech, and Wagner on their way to six victories and bowl eligibility. Their only two losses this season have come at the hands of undefeated Michigan and West Division-leading Wisconsin.

Schiano is clearly focused on the Ohio State football team and Ohio State only as he met with the media for a press conference earlier in the week. He avoided answering questions about any other game other than the one that will be played this Saturday in New Jersey.

"“We’re trying to be 1-0 at the end of the Ohio State season. We have to have a great week of preparation to do that, and then we have to go play our best game and see where that stacks up against theirs. And I can’t control anything about them but I certainly can us. And that’s going to be my focus; that we have a great, consistent week of practice, and then go play our best game of the season.”"

Rutgers fans are excited about this game and believe that they have a puncher’s chance at defeating the Buckeyes for the first time in school history. Ohio State is 9-0 all-time against the Scarlet Knights with an average score of 53-11. But this is a different Ohio State, especially offensively. The Buckeyes have only scored 50-plus points once all season, a  63-10 win over Western Kentucky.

This appears to be Rutgers’ best chance they have had against the Ohio State football team during their 10-game series. If they are going to storm the field and tear down the goalposts on Saturday, they are going to need to find a way to score against the 4th ranked defense in the nation.

Ohio State might find it harder to score in Piscataway than in times past as well. Ruthers has the 9th-ranked defense themselves heading into this important Big Ten Easy Division matchup.

Ohio State and Rutgers kick off at 12 noon this Saturday on CBS.