by Amedeus Mastrangelo
Thursday, Sep 30, 2021
Game Time: 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, October 2, 2021
Venue: SHI Stadium, Piscataway, NJ
Where to Watch: Big Ten Network
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Point Spread: OSU NL, Rutgers NL; Over/Under: NL points
Bet365: Point Spread: OSU -15, Rutgers +15; Over/Under: 58.5 points
BetMGM: Point Spread: OSU NL, Rutgers NL; Over/Under: NL points
Season Record
Ohio State Buckeyes: 3-1 (5th place, Big Ten East)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights: 3-1 (7th place, Big Ten East)
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Ohio State Buckeyes vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Preview and Analysis
Recent Form
Ohio State Buckeyes: won at home on Sep. 25 against the Akron Zips 59-7.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights: lost on the road on Sep. 25 against the Michigan Wolverines 20-13.
Ohio State Buckeyes Analysis
OSU is coming into this game with a 3-1 record overall and they are 1-0 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 2nd conference matchup of the season and they are already 1-0 in their conference games this year. Their 1 loss came against the Oregon Ducks while their 3 wins came against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, and the Akron Zips in their last game. Kyle McCord got the start in that game and he was alright as he completed 13/18 passes for 319 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. CJ Stroud got that game off for rest but he played last in their game against Tulsa where he completed 15/25 passes for 185 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. They had a good run game in their last one against Akron as TreVeyon Henderson led the team in rushing with 93 yards and 2 touchdowns on 8 carries. Master Teague also played well as he had 71 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 8 carries as well. Garrett Wilson had a big day for the receiving corps as he led them with 124 yards receiving on 4 receptions. Jaxon Smith-Njigba also had 93 receiving yards and 1 touchdown on 5 receptions while Emeka Egbuka had 1 catch for 85 yards. Haskell Garrett led the defense with 4 solo tackles, 3 assisted ones, and 3 sacks in that game while Tyleik Williams was right behind him with 4 solo tackles, 2 assisted ones, and 2 sacks. Multiple players on the pass rush were able to get to the quarterback in this game recording sacks for their team. Ronnie Hickman and Cody Simon both came up with 1 interception each in that game as well. They have scored 173 points in their first 4 games and they have allowed their opponents to score 93 points against them. Their offense is averaging 559.3 YPG while their defense is allowing 410.8 YPG.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights Analysis
Rutgers is coming into this game with a 3-1 record overall and they are 2-0 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 2nd conference matchup of the season and they are already 0-1 in their conference games this year after suffering their first loss of the season to Michigan in their last game. They started their year off strong with 3 straight wins against the Temple Owls, the Syracuse Orange, and the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens before losing last week. Noah Vedral played a decent game in their last one as he completed 18/31 passes for 156 yards and 1 touchdown. Isaih Pacheco led the team in rushing with 107 yards on 20 carries. Their receiving corps had a very quiet day though as Aaron Young led the team in receiving with 35 yards and 1 touchdown on 3 receptions in that one. Tyreek Maddox-Williams led the defense with 5 solo tackles while Drew Singleton and Olakunle Fatukasi were both right behind him with 4 solo tackles and 1 assisted one each. Christian Izien also had 4 solo tackles himself in that one but no one on the defense was able to record a sack or an interception. They have scored 136 points in their first 4 games and they have allowed their opponents to score 54 points against them. Their offense is averaging 351.3 YPG while their defense is allowing 265 YPG.
Ohio State vs Rutgers Prediction
OSU has not looked like a good team in their games so far. They lost at home to Oregon and were trailing at the half against Minnesota in their earlier games this season. They also allowed all of their opponents except for Akron to score at least 20 points on their defense. Rutgers is coming off of a good game where they kept it close with Michigan losing 20-13 but did not let that game get out of hand. OSU is not the same team that it used to be and Rutgers has been getting back on track with their new coach recently. The best bet to make in this game is on Rutgers to cover the spread here at home.
Ohio State Rutgers Prediction: Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 2, 2021 (3:30 pm ET start time) is OSU 27 Rutgers 17.
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NCAAF Betting Trends
Ohio State Buckeyes: 205-158 ATS in all games. 65-40 ATS as a road favorite. 82-52 ATS in road games.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights: 77-93 ATS in home games. 96-118 ATS against conference opponents.
Key Injuries
Ohio State Buckeyes: C. Stroud (QB) Prob Sat - Shoulder injury. H. Miller (OL) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. M. Crowley (RB) Ques Sat - Nose injury.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights: C. Long (DB) Out indefinitely - Suspension. M. Melton (DB) Out indefinitely - Suspension.
Players to Watch
Ohio State Buckeyes: TreVeyon Henderson is one player to watch here. He leads his team in rushing and in touchdowns scored and he is a big part of this offense. With CJ Stroud coming back from injury they will likely lean on him even more so look for him to carry this offense as he has been all season long already.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights: Isaiah Pacheco is one player to watch in this game. He leads his team in rushing yards and in touchdowns. This game will have to be won on the ground so it is up to him to wear down this defense and help his offense run longer extended drives as they will have to win the ground game to win this game at all.
Notable Quotes
"You can certainly see there's a lot of guys out there who desperately need these snaps and this experience to keep building." - Ryan Day after their win against Akron.
"We're going to be aggressive. We're not here to be close." - Greg Schiano on losing a close game to Michigan in their last game.
Starting Lineups
Ohio State Buckeyes
WR Wilson, Garrett
WR Olave, Chris
WR Smith-Njigba, Jaxon
TE Ruckert, Jeremy
QB Stroud, C.J.
RB Henderson, TreVeyon
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
WR Cruickshank, Aron
WR Melton, Bo
WR Jones, Shameen
TE Haskins, Jovani
QB Vedral, Noah
RB Pacheco, Isaih
Statistical Leaders
Ohio State Buckeyes
Passing: C. Stroud (963)
Rushing: T. Henderson (439)
Receiving: G. Wilson (391)
Touchdowns: T. Henderson (6)
Sacks: C. Simon (1)
Tackles: R. Hickman (20)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Passing: N. Vedral (762)
Rushing: I. Pacheco (272)
Receiving: B. Melton (253)
Touchdowns: I. Pacheco (3)
Sacks: J. Turner (3)
Tackles: O. Fatukasi (23)
Coaches:
Ohio State Buckeyes: Ryan Day (4th season)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights: Greg Schiano (13th season)
Weather Forecast
75 degrees F mostly sunny, 58% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 7 mph wind speeds W.
Amedeus Mastrangelo
About the Author:
Amedeus Mastrangelo has been heavily wagering on all sports for years and plays just about everything, including sides, totals, favorites, underdogs, against the spread, alternative spreads, first half, second half, player props, and futures. The bottom line is, if Mastrangelo can see an edge in any way shape or form, then he's going to take advantage.
