Ohio State vs. Rutgers Prediction: Back the Buckeyes to get going
As all Ohio State fans will know, an out-of-conference loss in Week 2 doesn't crush your hopes of a National Title. Yet many are worrying that things just aren't falling into place this season.
Neil Monnery has a look at how they may fare against Rutgers on Saturday afternoon...
A month ago had you told me that when considering which games to write about this week that I’d see Ohio State’s trip to Rutgers as one of the more intriguing games on the slate then I’d probably ask you what you’d been smoking. Yet here we are. Ohio State aren’t exactly in free fall and if they win out they would take the BigTen and probably a spot in the CFP but things just do not feel that rosey in the Buckeyes garden.
Piling on and thrashing Akron will make fans feel a little bit easier but everyone knows that Buckeyes D has issues. They have plenty of talent but for whatever reason they aren’t performing - or being put in the right situations - to perform to the best of their abilities.
That Oregon game might have been coming up to three weeks ago but when an armchair fan like me can see at every big moment, Oregon are running outside zone to the left then you just have to wonder what the players and coaches were doing.
On offense CJ Stroud is expected back at practice this week and looks likely to get his starting job back after Kyle McCord stepped in last week. The 19 year-old RS Freshman has played well so far but it is evident that he’s still a work in progress. The emergence of TreVeyon Henderson in the backfield however is certainly a massive plus. The true Freshman already looks like the best back in the conference - and it doesn’t look all that close. I'm looking for a big stat line for him against the Scarlet Knights.
As for the home team, they went to Michigan on Saturday and kept the 20.5pt favorites more than honest - coming back to only lose by seven. They aren’t built to score a tonne of points and they don’t have anywhere near the talent that the Buckeyes have on their stacked roster.
Spread:
I’d be stunned if Ohio State didn’t score 42+ so with Rutgers being a 15.5pt underdog, I need them to score more than 26 to feel comfortable taking Ohio State-15.5. I do think this is a decent match-up for the visitors so I’ll take Ohio State for a big afternoon.
Straight-up/Moneyline:
No value here.
Over/Under Points Totals:
56.5pts is the number and I got the Buckeyes Offense having a big night so I like the over.
