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The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are 0-5 against the Ohio State Buckeyes since September of 2017, but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Scarlet Knights and OSU will face off in a Big Ten battle at 3:30 p.m. ET at Ohio Stadium. OSU will be strutting in after a win while RU will be stumbling in from a loss.
Last week, RU lost to the Iowa Hawkeyes at home by a decisive 27-10 margin. RU was down 24-3 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from. One thing holding RU back was the mediocre play of QB Evan Simon, who did not have his best game: despite one touchdown, he threw two interceptions. That was the first 300+ yard effort for Simon this season.
Meanwhile, when you finish with 243 more yards than your opponent like the Buckeyes did last week, a favorable outcome is almost sure to follow. They took their matchup against the Wisconsin Badgers by a conclusive 52-21 score. With OSU ahead 31-7 at the half, the contest was all but over already. OSU QB C.J. Stroud was slinging it as he passed for five TDs and 281 yards on 27 attempts.
RU have to know they'll be fighting an uphill battle given the 40.5-point spread they are up against. They have failed bettors playing the spread in their past two games, so buyers beware.
RU is now 3-1 while OSU sits at 4-0. Two stats to keep an eye on: The Scarlet Knights enter the game with only 241 yards allowed per game on average, good for seventh best in the nation. But the Buckeyes rank second in the nation when it comes to yards per game, with 558.8 on average. These opposing strengths should make for an exciting matchup.
