OHIO STATE
- Ohio State is ranked No. 3 this week. The Buckeyes have been in the Top 5 of the national rankings for every game except two of Ryan Day’s head coaching career, when the team was ranked No. 6.
- The Buckeyes have won 15 consecutive Big Ten games and outscored their opponents 702-285.
- Day’s Buckeyes are a perfect 12-0 vs. the Big Ten.
- Quarterback Justin Fields has completed 87.3 pct. of his passes – 48 of 55 – for 594 yards and six TDs with no interceptions. He is No. 2 nationally in passing efficiency with a rating of 214.0
- Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson – with help from Fields – have become the first pair of Buckeye receivers to record 100-yard receiving games in consecutive games. Olave had 104 vs. Nebraska and 120 vs. Penn State. Wilson had 129 vs. Nebraska and 111 vs. Penn State.
- Justin Fields has accounted for as many TDs (seven) as he has thrown incompletions during a hot start that has seen him go 20-21 vs. Nebraska and 28-34 vs. PSU.
- Ohio State has tied Notre Dame (1941-49) for consecutive road wins over Associated Press ranked teams: 10. Ohio State’s streak started in 2012. (Ed. note: This was previously reported as a new record.)
- Former Ohio State coaches/staffers now at Rutgers, in addition to Greg Schiano, are special team’s coordinator Adam Scheier (Ohio State quality control in 2017), linebacker’s coach Bob Fraser (quality control at Ohio State 2016-18) and offensive assistant Adam Weber (Ohio State defensive assistant from 2014-16).
- New Jersey natives on Ohio State’s 2020 roster are junior DE Tyler Friday (Ramsey, N.J./Don Bosco Prep), redshirt sophomore DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste (Spring Valley, N.J./Bergan Catholic), redshirt freshman safety Ronnie Hickman (Wayne, N.J./DePaul Catholic), freshman OL Luke Wypler (Montvale, N.J./St. Joseph Regional) and freshman LB Cody Simon (Jersey City, N.J./St. Peter’s Prep).
- New Jersey is tied with Florida, Indiana and Missouri as the third-most represented state on this year’s roster. Only Ohio and Texas have more players.
- Ohio State is 62-27 all-time in night games (5 p.m. or later local start time) with a 15-5 mark at home.
Ohio State Buckeyes: 5 takeaways from Ryan Day’s weekly press conference https://t.co/n5wSrEvsTe
— Marcus Hartman (@marcushartman) November 4, 2020
RUTGERS
- Rutgers has scored eight touchdowns so far, surpassing its Big Ten total of six in nine games last season.
- Rutgers ranks first in the Big Ten and second nationally with 9.5 tackles-for-loss per game. The rushing defense (79.5) is second and fourth, respectively.
- Head coach Greg Schiano spent three seasons as the Buckeyes' defensive coordinator (2016- 18), winning two Big Ten championships, the 2017 Cotton Bowl and 2019 Rose Bowl.
- Three Scarlet Knights hail from Ohio: RB Kay’Ron Adams (Warren), OL Brendan Bordner (Columbus) and DB Brendon White (Powell). White started his career at Ohio State, playing in 29 games from 2017-19 and earning 2019 Rose Bowl Defensive MVP.
- Rutgers held Michigan State to 50 rushing yards, least amount surrendered by the team in a Big Ten game since joining the conference, and improved to 48-6 when totaling more rushing yards than an opponent under Schiano.
- Schiano earned his 69th win as the Rutgers head coach, moving to within four wins of tying John Bateman for third in program history.
- The Scarlet Knights collected seven takeaways at Michigan State (five fumble recoveries, two interceptions), the most for the team in a game since seven at Pittsburgh in 2000. It was the first time a Big Ten team recorded seven takeaways in a conference game since 2010 (@BTNStatsGuys).
- Rutgers forced 10 turnovers in 12 games last season, with seven in nine Big Ten games.
- Rutgers scored 21 points off turnovers at Michigan State. The Scarlet Knights had 24 in 12 games last season. The last time with at least 21 in a game was 2008 at USF.
- Rutgers is 48-16 under Schiano when winning the turnover battle in a game.
- Rutgers players by home state: New Jersey (72), New York (13), Pennsylvania (8), Maryland (5), Florida (3), Ohio (3), Connecticut (2), Canada (2), Mississippi (2), Virginia (2), Australia (1), California (1), Delaware (1), Massachusetts (1), Nebraska (1), South Carolina (1), Tennessee (1), Texas (1). Rutgers also has two players from Sweden.
- Rutgers has 48 newcomers on its roster and 74 returners.
Ohio State Buckeyes: 5 things to know about Rutgers https://t.co/M5B1G27Wgb
— Marcus Hartman (@marcushartman) November 3, 2020
BIG TEN
- Saturday’s win against the Nittany Lions marked Ohio State’s 14th straight win by double digits against Big Ten opponents, which continues the longest streak in Big Ten history and is tied for the longest win streak by double digits against conference opponents since Nebraska did so against Big 8 and Big 12 teams in 1995-96. The Buckeyes also tied the FBS record with their 10th straight road win against ranked teams and extended their win streak to 17 straight wins against ranked conference opponents, the longest active streak in FBS.
- Rocky Lombardi threw for 323 yards, including 196 to Ricky White, and three touchdowns to help Michigan State defeat Michigan on Saturday.
- (Former Ohio State assistant) Mel Tucker became the second Michigan State head coach to win his debut against the Wolverines, joining (former Ohio State assistant) Nick Saban in 1995. He is the first Michigan State coach to ever have his first career win come against the Wolverines.
BONUS
- Rutgers has nine wins all time against teams ranked in the AP poll. Ohio State has 152.
- The last time Rutgers beat a ranked team was 31-0 against No. 23 South Florida in 2009. The last time Ohio State beat a ranked team was last week at Penn State.
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