Week 13 of the college football season has already arrived, with Bowl season right around the corner. Kicking off in the noon slate for this weekend’s action, the Rutgers Scarlett Knights will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Looking at the odds, Ohio State enters as a 32.5-point favorite and holds -10,000 odds on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook of winning outright. Rutgers holds +3000 odds of pulling off the upset, with the game total set at 55.5 points.
This article provides a preview of both teams and offers a pick for the Week 13 matchup.
Rutgers vs. Ohio State prediction, preview
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
The Scarlet Knights are coming off a big win over Maryland last week to improve to 5-5 and keep their bowl eligibility alive. They had lost five of their previous six games before this, following a 3-0 start to the season. Their remaining matchups are coming against Ohio State and Penn State to close the year, so the above .500 finishing record is still far from a sure thing. Rutgers is 2-5 in Big Ten play, with their wins coming against Ohio, Miami (Ohio), Norfolk State, Purdue, and Maryland this year. They are 5-5 against the spread, and the over has cashed in six of the 10 games.
Athan Kaliakmanis stands in at quarterback for Rutgers. The Minnesota transfer has completed 62.3% of his pass attempts for 2,705 yards, 17 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. KJ Duff is the team’s leading receiver with 53 catches for 923 yards and six scores. Ian Strong adds 716 receiving yards and five touchdowns while DT Sheffield has 532 yards through the air and four trips to pay-dirt. Antwan Raymond is the team’s leading rusher with exactly 200 carries for 1,000 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.
As a team, Rutgers ranks 57th in the country in scoring at 29.9 points per game. They are averaging 420.5 total yards per game, with 277.4 of these coming through the air. Defensively, opponents are scoring 30.0 points per game, which ranks 108th out of the 136 D1 teams, along with 425.5 total yards of offense. The Scarlet Knights have struggled to generate pressure all season, with just 10 total sacks and 10 turnovers forced on the season.
Ohio State Buckeyes
It has been about as perfect a season as Ohio State could hope for thus far. They remain ranked number one in the country with a 10-0 record and have been dominant on both sides of the ball. They are 8-1-1 against the spread, and the game total has stayed under the number in six of the 10 games. The Buckeyes’ +25.6 average margin of victory ranks third in the country, with their opening week 14-7 win over Texas marking the only time they have won by fewer than 18 points.
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin is second in the country in Heisman odds at +175 on DraftKings Sportsbook. Sayin has completed an FBS-best 80.1% of his pass attempts for 2,675 yards, 25 touchdowns, and four interceptions. Jeremiah Smith has not reached his Heisman hopes, but has pulled in 69 receptions for 902 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Carnell Tate adds 711 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, while leading the Big Ten at 18.2 yards per reception. Bo Jackson leads the team with 725 rushing yards and three scores, while CJ Donaldson has a team-high nine rushing touchdowns along with 278 yards on the ground.
Ohio State is averaging 37.5 points per game, which ranks 11th in the country, and generating 441.3 total yards of offense. They lead the country in opponents points per game at just 7.5 points per contest. The Buckeyes are allowing just 212.6 total yards of offense, and have given up just eight touchdowns all season. They have generated 25.0 sacks and forced 11 turnovers.
Rutgers vs. Ohio State pick, best bet
It was an encouraging performance by Rutgers last week, but this is an entirely different level of competition. Their offense has a pulse, and my lean is toward the over, but this will be the toughest defense they have faced all year and really as good as it gets in college football.
32.5 is a monstrous spread, but a margin of victory that Ohio State has surpassed in four games already this season. The Buckeyes are a perfect 10-0 against Rutgers in program history, and this is a team that is shaping up to be in the conversation for their best of all time. They last faced off in 2023, which resulted in a 19-point Buckeyes’ victory, but outscored Rutgers by exactly 39 points in back to back matchups before this and by 33+ points in eight of the 10 matchups all time.
Ohio State has done an excellent job keeping their foot on the gas all season and never having a let-up game. Don’t expect this to be the week where this occurs. Rutgers will find it just about impossible to generate pressure, and Ohio State should dominate in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Expect this to create a huge opportunity for Julian Sayin to add to his Heisman resume and put forth an impressive scoring effort. Rutgers has allowed 30+ points in six games this season while facing much inferior competition.
Count on the Buckeyes pushing the scoring to the level that the Scarlet Knights cannot match, and for this to turn into an Ohio State route. The National Championship favorites are well aware of the gravity of the moment with the season winding down, and expect them to keep their foot on the gas and cover the -33.5 spread in this Week 13 matchup.
