Ohio State was favored by just more than two touchdowns over host Rutgers on Saturday. That's a far cry from the average 43-point margin by which the Buckeyes had outscored the Scarlet Knights in their previous seven meetings.
It turned out that not much has changed. Former OSU defensive coordinator Greg Schiano has returned the Scarlet Knights to respectability in his second tour of duty. But Ohio State is still Ohio State, and Rutgers is still Rutgers.
The Buckeyes jumped on the Scarlet Knights early and crushed Rutgers 52-13 in front of 51,006 at SHI Stadium.
No. 11 Ohio State (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) led 45-6 at halftime after outgaining Rutgers 395-142, making the second half a formality.
"Overall, I thought our team played with more toughness than we have in the past," Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. "This was an important game for us because I felt like Sept. 2, a month ago when we played Minnesota, we were a much different team. And I felt like that going into this week, but we hadn't shown it yet. I felt like we saw some glimpses of that tonight."
Quarterback C.J. Stroud showed more than glimpses. He was held out of last week's win against Akron after struggling with a sore shoulder against Tulsa. Stroud looked fully healthy while completing 17 of 23 passes for 330 yards and five touchdowns before resting most of the second half.
"I had a good week of practice and I definitely felt way better coming into this game with my shoulder," Stroud said. "That Tulsa game, I wasn't feeling right at all. But this week I could actually step into my throws and really put something into my throws without feeling like my shoulder's going to fall off, so it's definitely a blessing to be able to be healthy."
