Ten important numbers from Ohio State’s win over Rutgers
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Ohio State continued its quest for a perfect season on Saturday when it closed out its home schedule with a 42-9 win over Rutgers. Normally, we would take 10 interesting numbers from the game to look at, but since we all have our eyes on next week’s date with That Team Up North, the second half of this week’s article will look at some numbers pertaining to The Game.
17
With their defensive effort against Rutgers today, Ohio State’s defense became the first since Oklahoma’s in 1987 to hold each of its first 11 opponents of the season to less than 17 points. Through their first 11 games this year, the Buckeyes have only given up 84 points.
By missing on their two-point conversion attempt after Antwan Raymond’s touchdown in the second half, Rutgers became the seventh team this year who have failed to score at least 10 points against the vaunted Ohio State defense.
105
Since both Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith were sidelined because of injuries, the focal point of the Ohio State passing attack became tight end Max Klare. The Purdue transfer had his best game as a Buckeye, hauling in seven catches for 105 yards.
Klare not only accounted for half of the completions for Ohio State on Saturday, but the rest of his teammates had just 71 yards receiving. The previous high mark in a game for Klare as a Buckeye came against Minnesota when he finished with 63 yards receiving.
23
As much as Ohio State would have loved to have Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith on the field against Rutgers, it gave some other receivers a chance to get some shine on Saturday. Since it was Senior Day at Ohio Stadium, one player who was recognized was David Adolph.
The Dublin native started the game and finished the game with two catches for 23 yards. Entering Saturday’s game, Adolph had just two career catches for 18 yards.
254
Since the Buckeyes were down a couple of receivers, it made sense for the running game to be featured more on Saturday against the Scarlet Knights. Ohio State’s running backs made the most of the opportunity, totaling 254 yards on the ground in the victory.
The output was the fourth 200-yard rushing game of the season by the Buckeyes, and their second straight game reaching that mark. The only other game where Ohio State rushed for more yards this season came against Grambling State when they rolled up 274 yards rushing.
2
Caden Curry made the most of Senior Day, registering two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Curry nearly found the end zone on his fumble recovery but was ruled down at the one, even though it looked like he might have gotten in had the play been reviewed.
Curry now has nine sacks on the season, which leads the team. The sacks were the first for Curry since the Wisconsin game.
333
By beating the Scarlet Knights by 33 points on Saturday, Ohio State has now outscored its 11 opponents this year by 333 points. The only game that has been decided by single digits the Buckeyes have been involved this season was the season opener when they defeated Texas 14-7.
Since then, Ohio State has defeated every opponent by at least 18 points. Washington and Illinois were the only other opponents this year to stay within 20 points of the Buckeyes.
121
Now that the Rutgers game is behind them, Ohio State can turn its attention to the 121st edition of The Game. The Buckeyes and Wolverines will meet on Saturday in Ann Arbor with a lot on the line. Ohio State will be looking to complete an undefeated regular season, while Michigan is hoping to tear the hearts out of Buckeye Nation for a fifth straight meeting.
The Wolverines would be hard to keep out of the College Football Playoff if they were able to defeat Ryan Day’s team.
2,191
When Ohio State and Michigan meet on the field on Saturday, it will be the 2,191st day since the Buckeyes last beat Michigan. The last time Ohio State was victorious over the Wolverines was back in 2019. The 2020 clash ended up being scrapped because of COVID-19, but it likely would have ended with an Ohio State victory since it was a really down season for Jim Harbaugh’s team.
Since then, Michigan has been living rent-free in Ryan Day’s head. Saturday will be a chance for Day to atone for the last four years and earn the victory that has been eating away at him.
1973
Not only will Ohio State head into Michigan Stadium undefeated on Saturday, but they’ll also be ranked number one in the country. It will mark the first time since 1973 that the Buckeyes have entered Ann Arbor with a spotless record and the top-ranked team in college football. There certainly is no way this year’s game can end like it did in 1973, when the final score was a 10-10 tie.
7
If Ohio State is able to beat Michigan next week, it’ll secure a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game for the seventh time in school history. The last time the Buckeyes were able to play in Indianapolis for the conference crown came in 2020 when they beat Northwestern 22-10. In their previous six trips to the conference title game, Ohio State is 5-1, with their only loss coming to Michigan State in 2013.
All five of Ohio State’s previous wins in the Big Ten Championship Game have come against either Northwestern or Wisconsin, who both won’t qualify for the conference title game this year.
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