COLUMBUS – It seems like Ohio State faces a “trap” game every other week, but the Buckeyes never get caught.
(1) Ohio State (8-0, 5-0) vs. Rutgers (6-2, 3-2) SHI Stadium, Piscataway, N.J.
Saturday, Nov. 4 (Noon/CBS)
Having followed up marquee wins over Notre Dame and Penn State by brushing aside potentially dangerous teams from Maryland and Wisconsin, Ohio State has earned the No. 1 spot in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season.
They put that on the line Saturday when they visit the fourth-place team in the brutal Big Ten East Division: the surprising Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
The top spot in the rankings put the Buckeyes in the driver’s seat in the race to qualify for the final four teams in the CFP playoffs, but that is not a guarantee that Ohio State will be there at the end. The early CFP rankings are notoriously fickle.
“Ultimately, we have to continue to win and win out, so that’s our focus and we’re just going take it one week at a time and we’ll come up for air at the end of the season,” head coach Ryan Day said before the rankings were released.
Ohio State and Rutgers enter their game in New Jersey as the only teams in the nation to not give up a play of 40 yards or longer. The Buckeyes have held all eight of their opponents to 17 points or fewer and boast the second-ranked scoring defense in the country, allowing 10 points a game. The Scarlet Knights rank 13th, giving up 15.8 points per game.
Ohio State has not lost to Rutgers and holds a 9-0 advantage in the all-time series that started in 2014, including a 4-0 advantage in games played in Piscataway.
Injury report
The Buckeyes are still fighting the injury bug.
Though running back TreyVeon Henderson returned to the lineup after missing three games, Day announced on Tuesday that an injury requiring surgery has ended the season for Henderon’s backfield mate, Miyan Williams (No. 3, right).
Williams was unavailable for last Saturday’s win at Wisconsin after rushing for a season-high 62 yards and a touchdown in the win over Penn State.
The pair have battled injuries in their Ohio State careers and have rarely been healthy together this season.
Receiver Emeka Egbuka (ankle) is practicing this week after missing three games.
Starting safety Lathan Ransom was injured in last week’s game, but Day said it’s not clear yet how long he will be out.
Backup quarterback Devin Brown was expected to return to practice in some capacity this week after suffering an ankle injury in a pile up at the goal line in the Oct. 21 win over Penn State.
“Once you get to November, that’s what’s going to happen,” Day said. “You got to play depth, and guys got work through those types of things.”
2024 season features road trip to Oregon
The Big Ten has released the dates for the 2024 football schedule, the first season for the expanded 18-team league.
Ohio State will face Oregon in Eugene on Oct. 12, the first time the Ducks and Bucks meet as conference opponents.
See future Ohio State football schedules
The eight-game home schedule includes Iowa, Nebraska and Michigan on Nov. 30.
The Buckeyes will also travel to Michigan State, Penn State and Northwestern.
The conference released five years-worth of home and away opponents for all the teams on Oct. 5, but did not specify the dates for the games until yesterday.
Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington join the Big Ten as full-time members next year.
Each of the 18 teams will continue to play nine conference games per season, playing every other conference opponent at least twice, but not more than three times, in a five-year period.