Ohio Just Gave WVU a Big Warning Sign in Their Thriller vs Rutgers

Thursday evening, we were treated to a fairly heavy slate of college football, and among the games being played was Ohio at Rutgers. West Virginia will face the Bobcats next Saturday in Athens, so I jotted down a few takeaways that I had from last night's nail-biter (Rutgers 34-31) for WVU fans to know what to expect from the Mountaineers' opponent in Week 2.

Resilient bunch

Ohio did a pretty good job of keeping things within reach for much of the first half, but gave up a touchdown and then had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown to balloon the Rutgers lead to 17. They didn't let that bother them whatsoever. They could have felt the game start to slip away, but they just kept chipping away, beginning with a 13-play drive that led to a 30-yard field goal just before the half to make it a two-score game.

The Bobcats came out of the break dominating the line of scrimmage and scored two touchdowns in seven minutes to tie the game up at 31 apiece. The Scarlet Knights settled for a field goal with 11 minutes to go and hung on the rest of the way, but it truly came down to the last possession. Greg Schiano rolled the dice on fourth down rather than kicking it and was able to convert, allowing Rutgers to run out the final two minutes.

Parker Navarro is a problem

This isn't new news, by any means. The Bobcats quarterback rushed for 1,000 yards last season while throwing for over 2,400. He's a legit dual-threat quarterback who is a tough tackle. He's quick, he's slippery, and he has the ability to make defenders miss in space.

Defense struggled to finish getting stops

Getting to fourth down is no easy task, especially when playing a Power Four opponent. But Ohio did a really good job keeping things in front of the sticks on third down, holding Rutgers to 1/9 on third downs for the game. The problem? Rutgers went a perfect 5-for-5 on fourth down, including 4th & 7 to end it. There weren't a ton of 4th and inches or 4th and 1s either. Schiano just felt comfortable going for it if they could get in a manageable spot.

My takeaway from this? Expect Rich Rod to do the same thing next week. The tempo is something that can really affect Ohio, and considering they didn't see that against Rutgers, they should like their chances to snap it four times quickly and move the sticks.

A slight sigh of relief

West Virginia's bread and butter in 2025, you would assume, would be running the football. Last year, Ohio ranked 5th nationally in run defense, allowing just 94.8 yards per game. They really had a difficult time last night firing off the ball and getting much push. Some of those 4th-and-mediums, Rutgers chose to run the ball because they knew they could get a push. Ohio allowed 171 yards on 32 carries, which has to be pleasing for Rich Rod to see.

Ohio put it all out there

This weekend, we'll likely see a pretty vanilla approach by WVU. Why show more than you have to? Ohio, on the other hand, whew, they pretty much put everything on tape offensively. They threw it 31 times and ran it 31 times, and they burned through much of their call sheet to try and spring the upset, as they should. My point here is that nothing should catch defensive coordinator Zac Alley by surprise next Saturday, and he should be able to craft a solid game plan for how to handle Navarro and Co.

Resilient bunch

Parker Navarro is a problem

Defense struggled to finish getting stops

A slight sigh of relief

Ohio put it all out there

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