Rutgers unloads bag of tricks
Most Big Ten football teams can't go toe-to-toe with Ohio State and expect to beat the Buckeyes.
Certainly, Rutgers can't. Its coach, former Buckeyes defensive coordinator Greg Schiano, knows that. So the Buckeyes prepared for the Scarlet Knights to throw the kitchen sink at them. It felt as if they threw the kitchen table and plenty of utensils, too.
The Scarlet Knights had enough success to keep the Buckeyes off-balance and the final score a respectable 49-27, but Ohio State coach Ryan Day wasn't displeased with how his team handled the trickery overall.
“I thought we did a great job,” he said. “We talk about it all the time, whether it's an onside kick, a fake punt, something like that, they're always going to try to steal possessions against us.”
From the start, Rutgers didn't try to hide its intention. On the opening kickoff, the Scarlet Knights' Avery Young stopped his return to throw the ball across the field to Bo Melton, who returned it to the Rutgers' 36.
“There are certain things that you look at (on video) and think you'll have an opportunity,” Schiano said. “But the reality is those are tough things. (Ohio State is) very athletic. So when you look at the opening kickoff, it looks like it's going to go the distance and it only makes it to the 36-yard line.”
Rutgers had better luck with the same strategy on a fourth-quarter punt. Young caught Drue Chrisman's 52-yard kick and threw to Melton, who weaved 58 yards through the Buckeyes for a touchdown to make it 42-21.
“We were in good position,” Day said. “We just didn't tackle.”
Rutgers' first touchdown, in the third quarter, was set up by a 66-yard run by Isaih Pacheco on a direct snap in which the Scarlet Knights acted as if the ball had been snapped over the head of the quarterback.
By the time the Buckeyes realized who had the ball, Pacheco was racing down the sideline. On the next play, left tackle Raiqwon O'neal scored when he sneaked open and caught a lateral from quarterback Noah Vedral.
Not everything Rutgers tried worked. They were unsuccessful on three onside kicks after trying to confuse the Buckeyes by faking kicks from different angles.
“It was like a New York sidewalk,” Day said. “They were going back and forth and back and forth, and I thought our team did a really good job of handling it.”
Memorable return for Hilliard
Between a series of injuries to an Achilles tendon and biceps, the Ohio State career of linebacker Justin Hilliard has at times seemed stricken by cruel luck.
Then came a recent trip to Penn State.
Looking to make his season debut in the Buckeyes' second game, on Halloween night, Hilliard tested positive for COVID-19 in the hours prior to kickoff.
The test result proved to be a false positive. At a hospital in State College later in the day, Hilliard took a more accurate polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which yielded a negative result. But under the Big Ten's coronavirus protocols, he was unable to play in the game.
As he stepped onto the field for the first time a week later, in the Buckeyes' 49-27 win over Rutgers on Saturday night, Hilliard did not wait long to make an impact.
In the second quarter, he stripped the ball out of the hands of wide receiver Aron Cruickshank, then recovered the fumble.
Hilliard said he was appreciative of the chance to get back on the field.
“This whole offseason, the focus has been to keep getting better, because I know this is my last shot at playing,” Hilliard said. “Being out there today means so much just because I know the last couple of weeks haven't gone exactly how I wanted to go. Obviously, I have a lot to work on, but it was great to be out there.” brabinowitz@dispatch.com jkaufman@dispatch.com