No. 11 Ohio State is back in Big Ten play with something to prove.

The Buckeyes have not lost a regular season game since 2018 before its Week 2 loss to Oregon. However, they still have hope for a trip to Indianapolis for a conference championship.

Here's three things we learned this week, two questions and one question ahead of Ohio State's road matchup with Rutgers Saturday.

1. Ohio State feels it's a better team than the last time it played a Big Ten game.

There's been a lot of inconsistency since Ohio State last took the field against a Big Ten opponent.

The Buckeyes have played 34 different players on offense — eight of which have played more than 200 snaps this season — while playing 46 different players on defense, with only freshman cornerback Denzel Burke, sophomore safeties Ronnie Hickman and Lathan Ransom accumulating more than 200 snaps.

Since Ohio State started its season against Minnesota, the Buckeyes have played 19 freshman, starting a freshman at running back and at quarterback for the first time in the history of the program against Akron.

But head coach Ryan Day has seen progress.

After allowing 269 rushing yards and 7.1 yards per rush, the Ohio State defense has allowed only 2.2 yards per carry by opposing backs, recording nine sacks in its last game against Akron.

After leaning too hard on the pass against Oregon and too hard on the run against Tulsa, Ohio State's offense showed some semblance of balance, reaching more than 225 yards in both the running game and passing game.

“I think you go into a season with a certain expectation of what’s to come and whether it happens or not, you need each individual working and putting in days of work is just critical, grinding through all of that,” Day said. “Here we are back in conference play, and I feel like we were better than we were two weeks ago.”

2. Ohio State's wide receiver room just got a bit deeper.

While Ohio State has been leaning heavily on sophomore Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Junior Garrett Wilson in the passing game — waiting for senior Chris Olave to break out — the Buckeyes saw some freshmen break out for the first time against Akron.

Coming in as the No. 1 receiver in the 2021 class, former five-star Emeka Egbuka has already been making an impact on special teams, taking four kickoffs for a total of 109 yards — his longest being 36 yards.

But Egbuka made his presence known in the passing game against the Zips, turning an 18-yard pass from freshman quarterback Kyle McCord into an 85-yard gain.

"He's someone that once he gets the ball in his hands, he's really electric," Wilson said about Egbuka. "I feel like y'all have seen that on kickoff return, but he does it in practice every day. It might not have done much for him, just for him to do it in environment in the stadium... I'm sure it did something for him. But I feel like Emeka's someone who's ready no matter what. He just puts in the work. He'll be ready either way. "

Ohio State freshman wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. also recorded his first pass: a nine-yard pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Jack Miller III.

"It was great to see Emeka make that big play.. Marvin's been doing a very good job out there," Day said on his Thursday radio show. "We have some good younger guys. We don't have as much depth as we have had in the past — Julian's been banged up, and I hope we get him back soon. But, again, those younger guys have a chance to be very good for us."

Keep this in mind. With Miller and McCord behind center, the wide receivers did a lot of the work on the outside. 55.1% of the total passing yards came from receivers' yards after catch. Compare this to redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud's first start of his college career against Minnesota, where 203 of his 294 passing yards came after catches — 69%.

3. Ohio State is still trying to find the perfect fit for its defensive coaches

After allowing 505 yards of total offense and 35 points in their loss to Oregon, the Buckeyes knew it needed to make a change in the alignment of the defensive coaching staff.

So it did: defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs was moved up to the coaching box, while secondary coach Matt Barnes was handed the clip board and charged with making the defensive play calling decisions from the field.

"I think it was a humbling time and still is for all of us," Barnes said. "Very high expectations here at Ohio State and rightfully so. It was a change and it continues to be a change for all of us.

"At the end of the day, we are in a relentless pursuit of how to get it right and how to improve."

Over the past two weeks, Ohio State's defense has allowed 27 combined points to Tulsa and Akron, allowing opposing backs to average just 2.2 yards per carry.

But Barnes made clear that he's not the sole coordinator. It's a group effort. Barnes said he's getting great information from the box from Coombs, while defensive line coach Larry Johnson helps him with the game plan for stopping the run up front

However, the challenges will continue for the Ohio State defense as it heads into Big Ten play. Day knows that the unit is still a work in progress, despite the success its seen over the past two weeks.

"I think we made some strides. I think this week will be another big test for us," Day said. "I think we just overall changed some things up, played with great aggression. But, again, we'll know that more in a couple of weeks, figure out where we are at. Again, we have a great challenge this week and as it continues to grow, I don't think the answer is here yet. We have to see where we are at."

1. Is C.J. Stroud completely healthy?

After sitting his redshirt freshman quarterback out to rest his shoulder after an injury had lingered through his first three starts of the season, Day said from the moment Stroud started throwing against Sunday, he was encouraged that the quarterback would be back against Rutgers.

Wilson thinks so too, saying Wednesday that it was the best Stroud had spun it this season.

So what would a healthy Stroud mean for the Ohio State offense heading into Big Ten play for the remainder of the 2021 regular season? We may not actually know yet.

Over his first three games, Stroud has shown promise, completing 62.4% of his passes for 963 yards and eight touchdowns. But his misses have been erratic, overthrowing receivers leading toward three interceptions, while also recording four sacks.

With a healthy shoulder and the confidence of his head coach, Stroud could have an opportunity to showcase what won him the Ohio State starting quarterback job in the first place.

This season, the Rutgers pass defense has done its job to stop opposing quarterbacks, allowing a completion percentage at a measly 48%, averaging 150 passing yards per game and 0.3 passing touchdowns.

2. Will the defensive line continue to put pressure on the quarterback?

This changed the game for Ohio State against Akron.

The Ohio State defensive line — more specifically the defensive tackles — dominated the Zips offensive line, recording nine sacks, adding to the entire unit's of five in the first three games of the season combined.

Talking to Barnes, that's where the disruption starts, setting the tone for what an opponent's passing game turns into, forcing it to become "left-handed."

Through the first four games of the 2021 season, Rutgers QB Noah Vedral has seen his fair share of sacks, recording five — four of which came against Syracuse in Week 3.

C.J. Stroud will throw for more than 250 yards against Rutgers

This may be a bit of a weak prediction, but this is where the game's going to be won for Ohio State.

Based on the Scarlet Knights' defensive stats, it has been hard for any passing offense to get going. Rutgers has recorded three interceptions in each of the first four games, limiting opposing passing offenses to 150 yards per game with a completion percentage below 50%.

If anything, this game is Stroud's chance to prove he's the man behind center. And while Rutgers' defense has been stout, it has not faced the talent on the outside that Ohio State has at its disposal.