Ohio State
Rutgers
Ohio State Closes Out Regular Season Home Schedule Saturday vs. Rutgers
11/18/2025 7:35:00 AM | Football
FIRST AND TEN
- Ohio State, with at least 10 wins in a season for the 13th consecutive year (not counting the 2020 COVID season), hosts the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-5 overall and 2-5 Big Ten Conference) in a noon game Saturday that FOX will televise to a national audience.
- The Buckeyes come into the game with a nation's best 14-game winning streak and with records of 10-0 overall and 7-0 in the Big Ten.
- Last week's win over UCLA secured the 32nd season for Ohio State with 10-or-more wins, which is good for a third-place tie nationally behind only Alabama (44) and Oklahoma (42).
- Rutgers coach Greg Schiano was assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Ohio State for three seasons, from 2016-18.
- Ohio State has six players from the state of New Jersey on its roster, including three-year starting CB Davison Igbinosun (Union), starting DT Tywone Malone (Jamesburg) and starting SAF Jaylen McClain (Rahway).
- The two teams did not play in 2024, snapping a string of 10 consecutive years the two had played from 2014-23.
- Ohio State leads the series, 10-0, with an even split of games in Columbus and Piscataway, N.J.
BY THE NUMBERS
#1: Ohio State's defense is Top 5 in no less than 14 different categories, including the big four of scoring (No. 1 at 7.5), total defense (No. 1 at 212.6), passing (No. 2 at 131.2) and rushing (No. 2 at 81.4).
.888: Ninety games into his head coaching career and Ryan Day has the best winning percentage among all Football Bowl Subdivision coaches – current and retired – with an 80-10 record and an .888 winning pct.
7.0+: Three RBs each averaged at least 7.0 yards per carry vs. UCLA and all three scored TDs. Bo Jackson had 112 yards and averaged 7.5 ypc; Isaiah West averaged 7.6 ypc; and James Peoples averaged 7.0 ypc.
8!: DE Caden Curry, SAF Caleb Downs, DT Kayden McDonald, LB Sonny Styles, LB Arvell Reese, QB Julian Sayin, WR Jeremiah Smith and WR Carnell Tate have all been named a semifinalist for a major award.
OHIO STATE VS. RUTGERS
- The two teams history began in the 2014 season, Rutgers' first year as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
- Ohio State has won all 10 games between the two, going 5-0 at Ohio Stadium and 5-0 in games played in Piscataway, N.J.
- The 19-point win for Ohio State the last time the teams played in 2023 (35-16) was the smallest margin of victory in the series.
BUCKEYES FROM NEW JERSEY
- Ohio State has six players on its roster from the state of New Jersey.
- CB Davison Igbinosun (Union) has been a star in the secondary since arriving from Ole Miss with 39 starts and 24 passes defended, including two interceptions.
- SAF Jaylin McClain (Rahway) has started all 10 games as a sophomore and ranks seventh among the Buckeyes with 35 tackles this year.
- DT Tywone Malone (Jamesburg) has started six times this season and has 17 tackles and two PBUs.
- WR De'Zie Jones (Wayne), WR Quincy Porter (New Milford) and SAF DeShawn Stewart (Wayne) are all true freshman with Porter seeing action in five games.
32 10-WIN SEASONS
- Ohio State now has 32 10-win seasons in school history, a total that does not include the 2010 season's 12 vacated wins.
- This year is the 13th consecutive season for 10-or-more wins for Ohio State, a streak that started in 2012 but excludes the 2020 COVID-19 season when Ohio State advanced to the CFP national championship but only played eight games on the season.
- The schools with the most 10-plus win seasons: 1. Alabama (44); 2. Oklahoma (42); 3. Ohio State (32) and Michigan (32); 5. Georgia (29).
DAY: FIRST WITH FOUR 10-0 STARTS
- Ryan Day is the first Ohio State coach to start a season 10-0 four different times. In addition to this year, he's done so in 2019, 2022 and 2023.
- In terms of 10-or-more-win seasons, Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel lead the 25 Ohio State head football coaches with seven such seasons. Then comes Day with six.
- Woody Hayes and John Cooper had five apiece, and Earle Bruce coached two.
OHIO STATE'S LAST 100
- Ohio State is 89-11 over its last 100 games, the best record in the nation.
- Next bests: Georgia (87-13), Alabama (86-14), Notre Dame (83-17) and Oregon (79-21).
- Ohio State is also 91-9 in its last 100 Big Ten Conference games dating to the end of the 2013 season.
