Rutgers blown out by #1 Ohio State // Game Recap

J.T. Barrett didn't take long to prove why he deserves to be Ohio State's QB for the rest of the season. As he ripped off a 39-yard run on their first drive, it seemed like he was primed for a big day. He proceeded to torch the Rutgers defense for 324 total yards and 5 total touchdowns.

When it was over

Chris Laviano threw an interception to Gareon Conley on an underthrown pass. Barrett proceeded to drive Ohio State to the goal line where he threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jalin Marshall.

3 Good and 3 Bad

Good

Paul James: James put forth a solid effort, rushing for 56 yards on 10 carries. He had a great rush on the first drive and was consistently finding the hole

Robert Martin III: Martin was great when he had the ball in his hands. However, at halftime, he only had one rush. He had more touches in the second half, and finished with 43 yards on only 6 carries.

Rutgers dance team: They were strong, as usual, and gave up no points when they were on the field

Bad

Rutgers fans: The game was not "sold out," as Rutgers can never figure out how to get people in the corner sections in the south endzone. In addition, the "fans" failed to show up. If you were to tell me the crowd was 50% Ohio State, I'd believe you. If you blindfolded me and sat me down and asked me who I thought the home team was, I'd say Ohio State. Similar to the team, the fans were never "in it" and were outclassed and dominated by Ohio State.

Rutgers pass protection: Simply put, they got dominated. Ohio State was in the backfield every play, regardless of how many players they rushed. Poor Chris Laviano had no time to throw and this game cannot be blamed on him.  Laviano was on the ground way too much. Derrick Nelson also had a horrendous snap on a third down that Chris Laviano was lucky to scoop up and throw away. After a great game against Indiana, this unit was simply overmatched.

Kyle Flood: If anyone didn't notice, this Rutgers team did not look like they were playing inspired. The team WAS juiced after recovering a J.T. Barrett fumble on tOSU's first drive, but when Ohio State went up, the team lost all of their energy. There was a lack of motivation and that falls on the shoulders of HC Kyle Flood.

Other Notes

• Jarius Adams made his first career start and forced a fumble
• Robert Martin only had one carry at halftime, a number way too low
• Josh Hicks barely saw the field until garbage time
• Hayden Rettig got into the game and completed a beautiful 58-yard pass to Carlton Agudosi and a TD to Andre Patton
• J.T. Barrett is good at football
• Ohio State has an insane kickoff specialist, something Rutgers really, really, really needs
• Rutgers held Ezekiel Elliiot to 16 yards on 9 carries at halftime, before he exploded
• Ohio State fans were incredibly loud and travelled better than any other fan base Rutgers has hosted
• The cannon guys got a ridiculous amount of screen time
• Steve Longa had 19(!!!) tackles
• Quentin Gause had 15 tackles as well as 2 TFLs

Up Next

Rutgers @ Wisconsin | Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, WI | 12pm | BTN