The 2023 Ohio State Buckeyes are the most interesting football team to roll through Columbus in a number of years.
Ryan Day’s outfit doesn’t put up dynamite passing numbers, like its immediate predecessors.
It doesn’t routinely blow out vastly inferior foes, like its immediate predecessors.
But finding a unique way to win each week is a skillset, too, and maybe it can find a way to finish the deal this year, unlike its immediate predecessors.
On Saturday the No. 1-ranked Buckeyes (9-0 overall, 6-0 in the Big Ten) trailed at halftime for the first time all season. Yet a horrendous second quarter wasn’t enough to sidetrack them in a 35-16 victory at Rutgers.
On this occasion, the Scarlet Knights (not the Scarlet and Gray) got the better of it statistically in first downs (22 to 15), rushing yards (232 to 139), total yards (361 to 328), and especially time of possession (35:36 to 24:24).
Rutgers’ running back Kyle Monangai gained 159 yards and was the player of the game.
Yet he didn’t make the play of the game.
That honor was reserved for Ohio State defensive back Jordan Hancock, who authored the game-changing play on the first drive of the second half.
With just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter and the Scarlet Knights driving deep, Hancock collected a tipped ball at the OSU 7, raced to the near sideline and streaked 93 yards for a stunning score that gave the Buckeyes a 14-9 lead they would never relinquish.
“I said before the first possession of the second half we needed a turnover — and we got it,” Hancock said.
Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. tacked on two short TD catches and tailback TreVeyon Henderson had another 200-plus yards in total offense to compensate for a so-so defensive performance and a ho-hum effort from first-year quarterback Kyle McCord.
Despite what the OSU websites insist, McCord didn’t play badly. He was 19-of-26 passing for 189 yards, 3 TDs and saw his receivers drop numerous passes.
He did, however, toss a bad interception just before intermission. That pick turned into a field goal that gave Rutgers a 9-7 halftime lead.
“We were not worried. we have been a second-half team all year,” Harrison said. “It’s unfortunate we haven’t gotten off to the start we would like, but we weren’t worried.”
The defense showed the chinks that Notre Dame first exposed, and Penn State wasn’t good enough to exploit. A power running game right at Ohio State makes the Buckeyes vulnerable by keeping playmakers like Henderson and Harrison on the sideline.
While Rutgers (6-3, 3-3) was able to control the ball, the clock, and the tempo of the game, it settled for three short field goals (22, 21 and 20 yards) in the first half.
Putting those drives in the end zone could’ve put the Buckeyes in a bind. But the Scarlet Knights sputtered when it mattered most.
In addition to coming up short on those three marches that reached the red zone, the second half was even worse. Rutgers suffered the aforementioned interception at the OSU 7, and turned the ball over on downs inside the OSU 10 in the fourth quarter, leading to zero points on two more red-zone trips.
“The margin of error is real slim and when we made errors, they cashed in. We had opportunities,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. “We had the ball 10 times inside the 10-yard line.
“They are good. They are the No. 1 team in the country for a reason. They don’t hand that, you know, that ranking out to just anybody.”
The Buckeyes’ defense found itself in bend-but-don’t-break mode. As has become the habit so far this season, the unit didn’t break.
“It was a point there in the second half we put the defense in a tough spot, Rutgers got the ball in our territory and the defense hung in there,” Day said. “The pick-six certainly opened things up.”
Winning without its A Game is an impressive trait, too, one previous OSU teams struggled to acquire.
“Our goal is to be No. 1 one at the end,” Day said. “All it means is we are off to a good start and we’ve beaten some good teams. It doesn’t mean anything to us. It’s good for the fans.
“We know we’re going to take everyone’s best shot and we did today.”
(Photos below are courtesy of The Ohio State University.)
