The absence of both Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate was palpable for the Buckeyes this week, so much so that the offense’s sluggish start had my father jokingly (and lovingly) singing “Hang On, Sloopy,” rewritten with the lyrics, “Hang On, Sloppy.”
Much has been written by both me and my Land-Grant Holy Land counterparts about how this is OK: OSU still beat a very outmatched Rutgers handily, 42-9, in the Buckeyes’ final home game of the season. As the pair of wide receivers are “day-to-day,” according
to Ryan Day, the hope is that this week off leaves them rested and able to take the field next week against Michigan (If Smith or Tate can’t take the field in Ann Arbor, we’re going to have bigger issues than a slow start against Rutgers, but that’s a column for another day).
Still, without the duo, the game ultimately belonged to the defense. On the day, the Silver Bullets held Rutgers to just 147 yards of total offense, more than half of which occurred after the starters came out of the game. The defensive highlight of the contest was a third-quarter strip sack by senior defensive end Caden Curry. The play set the Buckeyes up for a touchdown to bring the lead to 21-3 (though, indicative of the offensive sloppiness, the touchdown went from an easy one-yarder to an 11-yarder off a holding penalty).
Curry seemed to be everywhere on Saturday, making the most of his Senior Day outing with an outstanding performance, finishing the day with six tackles (four solo), two tackles for loss, and two sacks, along with the forced fumble, against the Scarlet Knights.
How it happened
With 7:40 left to play in the third quarter, Rutgers had the football at its own 12-yard line, trailing the Buckeyes by a manageable 11 points. On 2nd and 9, Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis was sacked by Curry, who stripped the ball and recovered it himself on the Rutgers’ 1-yard line.
After the game, Curry said he thought he had cleared the goal line, though the officials ruled him down just shy of the touchdown. No matter—the Buckeyes would reach the endzone on 3rd-and-goal from the 11 (after the aforementioned holding call) when quarterback Julian Sayin connected with tight end Max Klare.
From there, the offense seemed to find its rhythm. They wouldn’t punt again in the contest, reaching the end zone on every subsequent possession to win, 42-9.
Relive all the highlights from OSU’s beatdown of Rutgers here:
