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Five things we learned: Rutgers football battles, falls at No. 3 Ohio State

Kristian Dyer
·3 min read

Ohio State, shaking off a slow start, emerged Saturday evening with a 49-10 win over Rutgers. For the Scarlet Knights, penalties, mistakes and issues on offense continued to plague them against the best team in the Big Ten.

Rutgers made a surprise at the start, rolling out to a 7-0 lead when Evan Simon hit Sean Ryan for a 14-yard touchdown completion.

Ohio State then rolled off 28 unanswered points to take control of the game.

It wasn’t terribly unexpected for Rutgers to get controlled the way they did at Ohio State. The Buckeyes, after all, are the consensus third-highest ranked team in the country and are favorites to make the College Football Playoff.

Five things we learned about Rutgers football in their loss at Ohio State.

Evan Simon has some ups, has some downs

There was some good, some bad from Evan Simon as the Rutgers offense continued to struggle. Simon finished his third collegiate start 10-of-19 for 74 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

For instance, Simon’s interception in the third quarter was a batted ball, hardly his fault. But in-between, Simon made some nice throws.

There was the 14-yard touchdown pass to Sean Ryan in the first quarter, a perfectly touched ball. And then in the third quarter, Ryan threw another one on a rope to Ryan for 26 yards.

Against an unrelenting pass rush, Simon made some plays. There is lots to work on for Simon, but there is plenty to with here as well.

Samuel Brown steps up for Rutgers football

Oct 1, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights running back Samuel Brown V (27) dodges a tackle attempt by Ohio State Buckeyes safety Kye Stokes (37) during the second quarter of the NCAA Division I football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Scheller-The Columbus Dispatch
Ncaa Football Rutgers Scarlet Knights At Ohio State Buckeyes

The freshman from La Salle (Philadelphia, PA) has seen his role grow extensively within the Rutgers offense over the past three weeks. On Saturday, Brown had 15 carries for 79 yards.

Against Wagner, he had 66 rushing yards and two touchdowns, then had 30 rushing yards at Temple and 34 yards last Saturday against Iowa.

Brown’s physical running style between the tackles

Sean Ryan gets his first Rutgers football touchdown

On the opening drive for Rutgers football, Sean Ryan got his first touchdown with the Scarlet Knights, physically winning the ball from Denzel Burke for a 14-yard catch.

Oh, and a 7-0 lead for Rutgers.

It was a strong start for Rutgers. It was also important to get Ryan involved in this offense as it has been a slow go for the transfer from West Virginia to get involved in the offense.

He then had a nice 26-yard catch early in the third quarter. Ryan finished with those catches for 40 yards.

Penalties

This was another sloppy game from Rutgers, who got whistled for 10 penalties for 61 yards. Against an elite team, those drive-sustaining penalties were killers.

Not every team Rutgers faces is of the caliber of Ohio State. But against the Buckeyes, the penalties were costly. They sustained Ohio State drives, even as the defense overall played well.

The penalties will need to be cleaned up quite a bit before Nebraska next week.

Listen, it is Ohio State after all...

This is an Ohio State team that is a juggernaut. Last week, they trounced Wisconsin in a 52-21 win, a game where the Badgers managed just 11 first downs.

Rutgers didn’t discredit themselves at all in this game and they continued to fight throughout the game, even as Ohio State began to pull away.

This is a Buckeyes team that could well be playing for the national championship. They’re that good.

Story originally appeared on Rutgers Wire