Rutgers Football Shows Grit, Falls 42-9 at Ohio State
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On a sunplashed, mild November afternoon in Columbus, Rutgers football (5-6, 2-6) lost at No. 1 Ohio State (11-0, 8-0), 42-9, on Saturday at Ohio Stadium. Coming off the bye week, the Scarlet Knights put in one of their better defensive efforts of the year against the nation’s No. 1 team.
Star Ohio State receivers Carnell Tate and Jermiah Smith, both banged up, sat out the game, but on a team loaded with four and five-star talent, the Buckeyes leaned on running back Bo Jackson and tight end Max Klare to move the football and open up the offense.
For Rutgers, Antwan Raymond ran for 53 yards and a touchdown and Kenny Fletcher caught four passes for 20 yards, as the Knights struggled to move the ball against a fierce Buckeyes defense.
A Surprisingly Tight Game in First Half
After Rutgers went three-and-out on its first drive and punted, Ohio State started from its own 27-yard line and had little difficulty driving down the field. The Buckeyes drove the ball down the field with ease, but on a first and goal at the one-yard line, Scarlet Knights linebacker Abram Wright forced a fumble that was recovered by DJ Djabome in the end zone for a touchback.
End of 1. pic.twitter.com/aQTKotRmp8
— Rutgers Football 🪓 (@RFootball) November 22, 2025
Jackson would atone for his fumble on a 15-yard touchdown run with 1:46 remaining in the first quarter to put the Buckeyes up, 7-0. Rutgers drove 49 yards on 15 plays against a stifling Buckeyes defense, with Jai Patel drilling a 44-yard field goal to get the Knights on the board early in the second quarter.
Midway through the second quarter, Rutgers appeared to get off the field on a crucial fourth and two when Buckeyes quarterback Lincoln Kienholz’s pass to Christian Bennett was broken up by Knights safety Kaj Sanders, but an inexcusable roughing the passer penalty on Bradley Weaver, kept the Buckeyes' drive alive.
This eventually led to a 7-yard touchdown pass from Heisman frontrunner Julian Sayin to Brandon Inniss, giving the Buckeyes a 14-3 advantage, and completing an 11-play, 98-yard drive. Rutgers. The seven-point swing and eleven-point deficit at halftime, while pleasantly surprising for Scarlet Knight fans, felt insurmountable considering how stifling the Buckeyes’ defense was playing.
Perfect punt 👀
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 22, 2025
Jakob Anderson boots it 66 yards to pin No. 1 Ohio State at the 2-yard line.
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/ERCar1O5JE
The Buckeyes take Control in the Third Quarter
The Rutgers defense forced an Ohio State punt on their first drive of the third quarter, but disaster struck for the Knights when Athan Kaliamanis was stripped-sacked by Caden Curry, who recovered the ball at the one-yard line for Ohio State. A holding penalty pushed the Buckeyes back, but Sayin found Max Kalre off a pick for an 11-yard touchdown to put the Ohio State up, 21-3, essentially putting the game out of reach.
The lead would grow to 35-3 before Rutgers finally found the endzone in the fourth quarter on an Antwan Raymond 1-yard touchdown run off a nice 8-play, 71-yard drive. Raymond’s touchdown was only the sixth the Ohio State defense has yielded this season - a remarkable stat for a historically elite defensive unit.
Ohio State would add one more score, defeating Rutgers 42-9, as they gear up for “The Game” next Saturday against the Michigan Wolverines, whom the Buckeyes haven’t defeated since prior to the pandemic.
Penn State Looms
For Rutgers, the season hinges on a matchup against Penn State, whom they haven’t defeated since 1988. After the Nittany Lions blew out Nebraska last evening, one has to imagine Rutgers will be heavy underdogs in Piscataway next Saturday, but if they want to guarantee a ticket to a bowl game, they will need to regroup and find a way to win.
Head Coach Schiano was asked during the post-game press conference if he was encouraged with his team being down only 14-3 midway through the third quarter.
“Yeah, but that’s not – yes, they did some good things, but we made mistakes that I think we need to stop making them if we’re going to have a chance to compete with a team like that. And it’s not just players, it’s not just coaches, it’s everybody, starting with me. So we’ve got to get better, incremental improvement. The 24-hour rule, we’ll get back home, get to work on it and move forward. We’ve got a big game next week.”
Looking Ahead
Rutgers wraps the regular season hosting Penn State Nov. 29 at SHI Stadium for Senior Day/Thank You Fans. Kickoff is set for .
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John Catapano graduated from Rutgers in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, covering the women’s field hockey and soccer teams for the campus paper, The Daily Targum. After college, he moved to Los Angeles, got a job at Walt Disney Television, and has worked in media ever since. John currently works with the Wasserman Media Group in their Brooklyn, NY office, collaborating with brands, influencers, and athletes across the globe. When the pandemic struck in 2020 and Catapano began working remotely, he resumed writing by contributing to a Rutgers fan blog. He covered various sports, highlighted human interest stories, and focused on topics that Scarlet Nation wanted to discuss. It’s never easy being a Rutgers fan, but with over 500,000 alumni living worldwide and a passionate fanbase, covering the Scarlet Knights is always engaging.