The penultimate game of the regular season for the Buckeyes is always interesting.
For the players and coaches, they’re focused on the opponent. This season, that is Rutgers.
For the fans, they are already
turning their attention to next week. No further explanation needed, Your Honor.
With that, let’s look at the Scarlet Knights ahead of Saturday’s game.
Quarterback: Athan Kaliakmanis
Kaliakmanis is a really good quarterback. He’s on the Watchlist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, and he’s thrown for more than 300 yards three times this season, with a season-high of 386 yards at Washington.
A year ago in his second season with Rutgers, Kaliakmanis was the only Big Ten quarterback to attempt all of his team’s passes on the season. He’s thrown more than 35 passes in four games this season, and he has five games with a completion percentage of 65% or higher.
Prior to Rutgers, Kaliakmanis played two seasons at Minnesota, starting 17 games. In 2023, he ranked fifth in the Big Ten with 11.8 yards per completion and 10th with 161 yards of total offense per game.
Four Players to Watch on Rutgers
1. Antwan Raymond (RB)
Already at 1,000 yards on the season, Raymond is one of 10 semifinalists for the Doak Walker National Running Back Award. He was named the Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week on Nov. 11, after rushing for 240 yards on 41 carries in Rutgers’s win over Maryland.
Raymond has three games this season with over 100 rushing yards, and he also has 15 receptions for 163 yards and a touchdown.
2. KJ Duff (WR)
A member of the Fred Biletnikoff Award Watch List, Duff has 53 receptions for 923 yards and six touchdowns on the season. He has at least five receptions in seven of the Scarlet Knights’ first 10 games, including nine at Illinois on Nov. 1. Duff has scored at least one touchdown in six of Rutgers’s 10 games.
3. Eric O’Neill (DL)
O’Neill is in his fifth season of college football, having played his first three seasons at LIU and his 2024 season at James Madison. He was a Second-Team All-American at James Madison, totalling 13 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss.
This season, O’Neill is on the Watch List for the Lott Impact Trophy. He has 2.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss with 32 tackles. In addition, he has six quarterback hurries and two pass breakups.
4. Kaj Sanders (DB)
Sanders has 57 tackles this season, along with two blocked kicks. He has at least five tackles in eight games this season, and he has 16 starts through his first two seasons.
This season, Sanders led the team with 10 tackles in a win at Purdue, and has started each of the first 10 Scarlet Knights’ games.
Head Coach: Greg Schiano (6th Season [2nd Stint], 17th Season Overall — 99-106)
The Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator from 2016-18, Schiano is in his second stint with Rutgers after an eight-year gap from 2011-19. He’s the all-time wins leader in Rutgers history, and has led the Scarlet Knights to nine bowl games in his first 16 seasons.
In 2006, a year in which Rutgers went 11-2, Schiano won five national Coach of the Year Awards, in addition to winning the Big East Coach of the Year.
Schiano came to Rutgers the first time after two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Miami (FL), coaching NFL Pro Bowlers Dan Morgan, Jonathan Vilma, and Ed Reed. After his first stint at Rutgers, Schiano became the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two seasons and went 11-21.
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Rutgers in 1989, eventually becoming a defensive backs coach with Penn State and the Chicago Bears in the 90s.
As a player, Schiano was a three-year letterwinner at Bucknell.
Offensive Coordinator: Kirk Ciarrocca (3rd Season)
Ciarrocca’s offense averaged 29.9 points per game in 2024, the most in a season for Rutgers since 2008 and the most since it joined the Big Ten in 2014. The Scarlet Knights were one of just five Big Ten teams last season with a 2,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher, and two 600-yard receivers.
Coaching since 1990, Ciarrocca has served in an offensive coordinator role since 2012 at Rutgers, Minnesota, Penn State, and Western Michigan. This is his second stint at Rutgers, having served as the co-offensive coordinator from 2008 to 2010.
Defensive Coordinator: Robb Smith (1st Season) / Zach Sparber (1st Season)
Smith is actually in his third stint with Rutgers. He was the Scarlet Knights’ defensive coordinator from 2020 to 2021 and back in 2012. In addition to Rutgers, Smith was an analyst at Penn State for the past two seasons. He’s also been a defensive coordinator at Duke, Minnesota, and Arkansas, and Smith was also Schiano’s linebackers coach in 2013 with the Buccaneers.
Sparber is coming off a 2024 season in which he served as the linebackers coach at James Madison. The Dukes’ defense led the Group of Five and ranked third nationally with 29 turnovers gained, while ranking first in the Sun Belt Conference in total defense (321.8), scoring defense (20.5), rushing defense (115.4), sacks (3.15), first downs defense (227), interceptions (17), and fumbles recovered (12).
Prior to James Madison, Sparber was a defensive graduate assistant at Virginia Tech and Duke, the latter where he eventually served as a linebackers analyst.
Keys to the Game
1. Stop the run
Rutgers can run the ball, which sets up its passing game. Stopping the run will make the Scarlet Knights one-dimensional, which is something they don’t want to be.
2. Limit explosive plays
Keeping Duff from stretching the field will prevent Rutgers’ offense from gaining any momentum. Preventing big plays will keep their offense at bay, and that’s an advantage for the Buckeyes.
3. Run the ball
It feels like the Buckeyes’ running game is coming along. In the event that Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith don’t play, or one of them doesn’t play, the Buckeyes’ running game will be what carries the offense to another high-scoring game.
4. Get out to a lead and put the game away early
Just like they did against Purdue and UCLA, the Buckeyes getting out to an early lead and putting the game away early are crucial to getting past Rutgers and moving on to next week… which is a big one.
Score Prediction: Buckeyes 41 – Scarlet Knights 13
Rutgers does have a good offense, but the Buckeyes’ defense has made a habit of shutting down good offenses this season. That should continue on Saturday, setting the stage for every game the rest of the way to feel like a College Football Playoff game.
