Ranking Ohio State’s 2021 opponents by difficulty: No. 10 – Rutgers

An early look at each upcoming adversary on the Buckeyes’ 2021 schedule, and an attempt at putting them in order from least to most challenging for Ohio State.

RELATED: Ranking Ohio State’s 2021 opponents by difficulty: No. 12 – Akron

RELATED: Ranking Ohio State’s 2021 opponents by difficulty: No. 11 – Tulsa

2021 Ohio State Football Schedule

Sept. 2 – at Minnesota

Sept. 11 – Oregon

Sept. 18 – Tulsa

Sept. 25 – Akron

Oct. 2 – at Rutgers

Oct. 9 – Maryland

Oct. 23 – at Indiana

Oct. 30 – Penn State

Nov. 6 – at Nebraska

Nov. 13 – Purdue

Nov. 20 – Michigan State

Nov. 27 – at Michigan

As anyone reading this well knows, the bar was set low for Rutgers ahead of 2020, even with the return of head coach Greg Schiano to the program.

Perhaps that’s why a season in which the Scarlet Knights won three games –– as many as the previous two seasons combined –– felt like a significant step up for the program last year.

But even if Rutgers has taken steps toward a better tomorrow, it still has plenty of work to do on the field before it can get off the schneid as a presumptive cellar dweller in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights can climb no higher than No. 10 on our countdown, as the third-least threatening program to the Buckeyes out of their 12 scheduled 2021 opponents.