Game Recap: #2 Ohio State vs. Rutgers

The Ohio State Buckeyes took the field on Saturday to begin Big Ten Conference play against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights following a bye week. After convincing wins against Bowling Green, Tulsa, and Oklahoma, the Buckeyes entered the game ranked #2 in the nation behind only defending national champion Alabama. Meanwhile, Rutgers came into Ohio Stadium quite overmatched on both sides of the ball. The Scarlet Knights, who joined the Big Ten in 2014, possessed a pedestrian 2-2 record with a recent loss in their Big Ten opener to Iowa.

After a slow start to the opening quarter, Ohio State quickly began to assert their dominance and quite soon the outcome of the game was no longer in doubt. The Buckeyes rebounded from a sluggish first quarter which included a missed extra point and pounded Rutgers for 24 points in the second quarter, pushing Ohio State to a 30-0 advantage at halftime.

With just a few minutes left in the half, J.T. Barrett found tight end Marcus Baugh in the endzone from 16 yards out for a touchdown. That passing touchdown gave Heisman candidate Barrett the all-time Ohio State record for passing touchdowns in a career.

The Buckeyes and running back Mike Weber continued their dominance in the second half. Weber ripped off a 46 yard run for a touchdown, capping off a 144-yard afternoon. At the end of three, Ohio State possessed a 51-0 lead and many of the backups had already gotten some playing time.
 Johnnie Dixon's 5-yard run in the 4th quarter capped off the scoring, and the Buckeyes cruised to an easy victory 58-0. The Buckeye offense racked up an astounding 669 total yards an 32 first downs.

As impressive as the OSU offense was, the young Buckeye defense once again impressed. Not only did the "Silver Bullet" defense shutout the Scarlet Knight offense, but they held Rutgers to a measly 116 total yards. In addition, they forced Rutgers to punt on each of their first 10 offensive possessions.

The undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes will take on the Indiana Hoosiers next week at home while 2-3 Rutgers will face another difficult opponent in Michigan.

(Video via Big Ten Network, stats via ESPN)