Minus its top two receivers, No. 1 Ohio State relied on two rushing touchdowns by Bo Jackson and a pair of Julian Sayin scoring passes in a 42-9 win against Rutgers in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday.
Ohio State (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) was without Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate due to undisclosed injuries. Tate missed his third straight game. Smith played three first-half series against UCLA last Saturday before being pulled after making four catches for 40 yards.
Against Rutgers, Sayin was 13 of 19 for 157 yards, with tight end Max Klare making seven catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.
For Rutgers (5-6, 2-6), quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis completed 10 of 20 passes for 81 yards.
The Buckeyes, who finished with 254 yards rushing, seemed to not miss a beat on their first possession of the game when they went 74 yards in 10 plays before Jackson fumbled at the 1-yard line into the end zone, and Rutgers recovered for a touchback.
Ohio State then took advantage of Rutgers being stopped for no gain at its own 29 on fourth-and-1. Three plays later, Jackson ran for a 15-yard score to make it 7-0.
After a Scarlet Knights field goal, a roughing-the-passer penalty deep in Rutgers territory kept a drive alive for Ohio State, and Sayin threw a 7-yard TD pass to Brandon Inniss for a 14-3 halftime lead.
Another miscue led to a 21-3 lead midway through the third quarter when Caden Curry sacked Kaliakmanis, whose fumble was recovered by Curry at the Rutgers 1. Klare, after a holding penalty, grabbed an 11-yard TD reception.
Jackson late in the third quarter and CJ Donaldson Jr. early in the fourth scored from 10 and 5 yards, respectively, for a 35-3 lead.
Antwan Raymond finally found the end zone for Rutgers with 6:43 left on a 1-yard run to cap an eight-play, 71-yard drive.
The Buckeyes will play at No. 18 Michigan next Saturday looking to end a four-game losing streak to the rival Wolverines and earn a spot in the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis on Dec. 6.
Rutgers needs a win against Penn State next Saturday to become bowl eligible for the fourth time in five seasons.
–Field Level Media
