Tale of the Tape: Rutgers

Ohio State's passing game is behind its running game but that is really nothing new for the Buckeyes. Ohio State has always had a tremendous run game and no matter how much the desire is to get closer to a 50/50 split in run/pass balance, the scales are going to be tilted towards the run, especially with a quarterback like J.T. Barrett who is as dangerous of a runner as there is from the position in all of college football. But getting away from that, the passing game has not been bad, just ask Noah Brown who had four touchdowns against Oklahoma last week. The Buckeyes still have a deep rotation of receivers but with K.J. Hill being hurt and out of the mix for close to a month the numbers are starting to tighten up. Brown and Curtis Samuel really will be top options for Barrett in terms of throwing the ball around but look for Dontre Wilson to try and stake a claim to his share of throws as well after a quiet game against Oklahoma. The effectiveness of Corey Smith is still up in the air after an open week procedure to clean up a practice injury that had the 5th-year senior in a cast for the Oklahoma game. Marcus Baugh was a big target in the first two games but really was just in for blocking in game three. Will the Buckeyes look to go back to earlier patterns and look for their junior tight end more in this game? Ohio State is going to need a couple of more pass catchers to emerge in the next two weeks before heading to Wisconsin and their biggest defensive test yet of the season.

Rutgers is young in a lot of places as Chris Ash looks to start something new with the Scarlet Knights. Three in the secondary are sophomores and Anthony Cioffi is the lone senior and the best known player out of the group at strong safety. Kiy Hester is a name Ohio State recruiting fans know well as he ended up staying close to home with Rutgers. Both corners have good size at a reported 6-foot-1 and each being close or at 200 pounds a piece. Rutgers has three interceptions on the year, spread amongst three players so it is not a case of where Ohio State can try and stay away from one player like they may have against the Sooners. Iowa was held to 162 yards and one touchdown in the game last week but was that a case of Rutgers taking away the pass or Iowa just not having a robust passing game this season?

Advantage: Ohio State