“B1G Things to Know” is your weekly gathering of the 10 most important things you’ll want to know about this week’s Ohio State game. These 10 facts will help you be the most knowledgeable fan at your Game Day activity, no matter where you gather across Buckeye Nation to cheer on the Men of the Scarlet & Gray.
This week, Ohio State faces off with Rutgers at 3:30 EST in Columbus. As you are preparing to root on the Buckeyes, here are some game notes and factoids to feast on until kickoff:
— A win verses Rutgers this Saturday will give Ohio State win #900, becoming just the second FBS program to reach 900 (official) total victories. The Buckeyes are 899-324-53 in their 129th season of football.
— Known as “The Birthplace of College Football”, Rutgers is in its 149th season of football, having first fielded a team in 1869.
— Rutgers has played the most games in the history of the sport (1,338). Ohio State has played 1,276 games.
— Saturday’s matchup will be the 5th Big Ten contest between Ohio State and Rutgers. In those 5 meetings, Ohio State has been ranked in the AP Top 13 each time (No. 13, No. 1, No. 2, No. 11 and No. 4 this year).
— Rutgers Freshman Quarterback Artur Sitkowski made his first collegiate start last week, becoming the first Rutgers true freshman to start the season opener since Ryan Cubit in 2001.
— Sitkowski, who played his senior season of high school football at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., was a teammate of Zack Annexstad, who was also named the starter as a true freshman at OSU Week 7 opponent Minnesota.
— Rutgers HC Chris Ash (7-18 career record, in his 3rd season) spent two seasons on Ohio State’s defensive staff, helping the Buckeyes win the National Championship in 2014 and Fiesta Bowl in 2015.
— OSU’s Mike Weber is 92 rushing yards away from becoming the 26th Buckeye to reach 2,000 career rushing yards.
— The Ohio State Offense has the third-most offensive touchdowns from scrimmage – 410 – during the past six seasons. However, Ohio State’s defense checks in at Number 1 with the most defensive scores over the past six years: 25.
— The Buckeyes’ roster has four players from New Jersey –Jordan Fuller (Norwood, N.J. / Old Tappan H.S.), QB Chris Chugunov (Skillman, N.J. / Montgomery H.S.), DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste (Oradell, N.J. / Bergan Catholic) and DE Tyler Friday (Ramsey, N.J. / Don Bosco Prep). Rutgers has one Ohio native on its roster – Brendan Bordner (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley)
And there you have it. You are now officially ready to begin your Game Day activities. You can now lay claim to the title of “Smartest Buckeye Fan at your Tailgate/Watch Party. Go Bucks!
Each week, Mike Meals scours through the Media Guides of Ohio State and that week’s opponent to find you the 10 most fascinating, important, and/or crazy facts to prepare you for that week’s game. You can also catch Mike along with Hayes & Cannon Content Manager/Writer Brandon Zimmerman on the weekly episodes of “The Sons of Schmidt” podcast on the Ozone Radio Network. Follow Mike on twitter (@mmeals)