TreVeyon Henderson racked up 208 yards from scrimmage and helped No. 1 Ohio State defuse an upset bid from host Rutgers, winning 35-16 Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.
Ohio State (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) trailed 9-7 at halftime but Henderson ran for one touchdown and set up another after a long reception to guide the Buckeyes’ rally. Henderson gained 128 yards rushing and had five catches for 80 yards.
Kyle McCord went 19-of-26 passing for 189 yards and three touchdowns for Ohio State, including two short scoring passes to Marvin Harrison Jr. The Buckeyes improved to 10-0 all-time against Rutgers (6-3, 3-3).
Christian Dremel’s 35-yard catch-and-run for Rutgers to open the fourth quarter led to JaQuae Jackson’s 19-yard touchdown reception with 14:07 left, cutting the deficit to 21-16.
But Henderson weaved through defenders to take a third-down catch 65 yards, setting up Harrison’s 4-yard touchdown catch in the corner for a 28-16 lead with 12:02 to go. Rutgers reached the Ohio State 6-yard line on its next possession but could not convert.
Kyle Monangai rushed 24 times for 159 yards for Rutgers, and Gavin Wimsatt completed 10 of 25 passes for 129 yards, a touchdown and a crushing pick-6.
Rutgers outgained Ohio State 361-328. The Scarlet Knights reached the red zone six times but scored just one touchdown.
The Buckeyes opened the scoring at the 8:35 mark of the first quarter when tight end Gee Scott Jr. pulled in a 14-yard touchdown catch mostly one-handed.
Rutgers’ offense awoke in the second quarter thanks to a fumblerooski-style trick play. On fourth-and-1, Wimsatt handed Monangai the ball between his legs while pretending he dropped the snap. Monangai ripped off a 45-yard gain, setting up Jai Patel’s first field goal, a 22-yarder.
Ohio State was short on a fake punt run from its own 30, and Rutgers took advantage when Patel connected from 21 yards to make it 7-6 with 2:03 left before halftime.
McCord then threw a soft pass and Mohamed Toure leapt up to grab the interception. Again, the Scarlet Knights couldn’t convert inside the 10, but Patel’s 20-yarder with 1 second gave them the halftime lead.
Ohio State stopped Rutgers’ first drive of the second half when a pass was deflected into the hands of Jordan Hancock, who sprinted 93 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-9. Henderson’s 9-yard TD run made it 21-9 late in the third.
Harrison added a 2-yard touchdown catch with 2:07 left in the game.
–Field Level Media