Henderson’s All-Around Effort Leads to 35-16 Ohio State Win at Rutgers

Saturday, November 4

Piscataway, NJ

12:00 PM

Ohio State

9-0 , 6-0

Rutgers

6-3 , 3-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Ohio St.

Rutgers

Henderson’s All-Around Effort Leads to 35-16 Ohio State Win at Rutgers

11/4/2023 3:57:00 PM | Football

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No. 1 Ohio State (9-0, 6-0) needed a second-half surge to overcome a halftime deficit to earn a 35-16 win over Rutgers (6-3, 3-3) Saturday at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

The Buckeyes trailed the Scarlet Knights 9-7 at the half before Ohio State took the lead for good on an interception turned 93 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter by Jordan Hancock.

The Buckeyes then sandwiched touchdowns around a Rutgers score to help secure the win.

Running back TreVeyon Henderson led the Buckeyes both as a rusher and receiver. He carried the ball 22 times for 128 yards and a score while being targeted by quarterback Kyle McCord five times for 80 yards.

Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. finished with two touchdown receptions on four catches for 25 yards.

McCord completed his first 11 passes and finished with 19 completions on 26 attempts for 189 yards and a touchdown.

Tommy Eichenberg paced the Ohio State defense with 12 tackles.

Ohio State is back home next Saturday to take on Michigan State at Ohio Stadium. Gametime is set for 7:30 p.m. with NBC Sports providing the broadcast to a national audience.

First Quarter

No. 1 Ohio State 7, Rutgers 0

Rutgers won the pregame coin toss and deferred to the second half.

Ohio State drove to its 29 on their first possession before Jesse Mirco hit a 38-yard punt to the Rutgers 30. The Buckeyes got the ball right back after an 18-yard punt following a bad snap put Kyle McCord back on the field directing the Buckeyes from the OSU46.

The Buckeyes went to the ground game to open their second possession with TreVeyon Henderson going for 26 yards to the RU28 on three carries out of the gate.

McCord then went back to the air for a 10-yard gain to Emeka Egbuka before Gee Scott Jr. pulled down a McCord offering along the right edge of the Scarlet Knight endzone for a 14-yard touchdown and a 7-0 Ohio State lead.

The drive covered 54 yards on six plays over 2:43 and ended with 8:35 on the clock.

Another Rutgers punt gave the Buckeyes the ball back at their 27 after a 41-yard kick. The Buckeyes punted it right back, this time a 33-yard Mirco effort to the Scarlet Knights 20.

The Buckeyes got the ball back on another Rutgers punt, this time at their 32 following a 40-yard kick.

The quarter ended with Ohio State in possession after a 6-yard Egbuka catch on third down to the OSU41.

Second Quarter

Rutgers 9, No. 1 Ohio State 7

After going for it on fourth-and-short, Henderson just crossed the line to gain for the first down at the OSU42.

Ohio State was not able to put another first down on the board to force a Mirco 44-yard punt that resulted in a touchback.

The Scarlet Knights, behind a 45-yard rush on fourth-and-1 by Kyle Monangai to the OSU12, drove to Ohio State’s 4 before a 22-yard Rutgers field goal made it 7-3 Buckeyes with 7:49 on the clock.

The drive covered 76 yards on 10 plays over 5:24.

The Buckeyes, starting from their 25 after a touchback, drove to the 30 before lining up to punt. Ohio State turned the ball over on downs when Mirco’s rush attempt on a fake was stopped short at the OSU 25.

The Scarlet Knights drove deep into Ohio State territory before facing a fourth-and-3 situation. Rutgers elected to kick a field goal, a 21-yard effort that split the uprights to make it 7-6 Buckeyes with 2:03 remaining in the half. The drive covered 29 yards on eight plays and burned 4:21 off the clock.

The Buckeyes then turned it over after McCord was intercepted by Mohamed Toure. After a 5-yard return, Rutgers took over at the OSU46.

A couple big gains in the passing game put the Scarlet Knights at the OSU15 with a first down and 21 seconds on the clock. After calling timeout, Rutgers hit another pass to the OSU2 with 13 seconds to play facing first-and-goal.

Rutgers then missed on consecutive pass plays before taking the lead on a 20-yard field goal with one second left in the half to make it 9-7 Scarlet Knights at the break.

Third Quarter

No. 1 Ohio State 21, Rutgers 9

The Scarlet Knights got the ball to start the second half.

Rutgers put together a drive to the Ohio State 20 before a Gavin Wimsatt pass over the middle was intercepted after the Buckeyes’ Josh Proctor broke up the pass. Jordan Hancock grabbed the tipped ball and returned it 93 yards for a touchdown to give the Buckeyes 14-9 lead with 9:49 on the clock.

Rutgers was not able to sustain a drive on its next possession and punted it back to the Buckeyes, who started at their 29 after a 31-yard punt.

The Buckeyes got possession for the first time in the half with 6:24 on the clock and went to work.

Ohio State rushed the ball six times and scored on the final attempt, a 9-yard burst around the left side to put the Buckeyes up 21-9. The drive covered 71 yards on eight plays while using 3:49.

Henderson’s 15th carry of the game gave him 84 yards rushing. His overall total reached 99 yards when his four receptions for 15 yards are added.

The quarter ended with the Buckeyes leading 21-9 with Rutgers in possession at their 46.

Fourth Quarter

No. 1 Ohio State 35, Rutgers 16

Rutgers opened the final quarter with a 35-yard completion followed by another for 19 yards that found JaQuae Jackson in the endzone for a touchdown to cut Ohio State’s lead to 21-16.

The scoring drive covered 75 yards on seven plays over 3:32.

Ohio State went right back on top, aided by a 65-yard pass play to Henderson that set up a 4-yard touchdown pass from McCord to Marvin Harrison Jr. in the back left of the endzone. The score put the Buckeyes up by two scores at 28-16. The drive covered 75 yards on six plays, five of which were passes, over 2:05.

Rutgers threatened to cut into the lead once again after driving to the Ohio State 6. Facing a fourth-and-goal, Wimsatt was sacked by Ohio State’s Ty Hamilton at the OSU 13 to turn the ball over to the Buckeyes on downs.

The Buckeyes punted it back to the Scarlet Knights after a drive to the OSU44. Mirco delivered a 41 kick that pinned Rutgers back at their 9.

Ohio State got the ball back on downs at the Rutgers 17 on the next Scarlet Knights possession.

The Buckeyes kept the clock moving with the ground game in moving to the Rutgers 2. McCord then finished the drive with a short touchdown pass to Harrison Jr. to the front left corner of the endzone for the final score in the 35-16 Ohio State victory.