Ohio State moved to 9-0 on the season with a 35-16 win on the road over Rutgers on Saturday.
The Buckeyes went into the halftime break trailing for the first time all season, but outscored the Scarlet Knights 28-7 in the second half to come away with a multiple score victory.
TreVeyon Henderson was the star of the game and showed why he’s one of the best running backs in college football when healthy. After a 207 yard performance last week after returning from injury, Henderson accounted for 208 of the Buckeyes’ 328 total yards on Saturday against Rutgers.
In this article we break down Henderson and the rest of the offense’s performance using Pro Football Focus grades. Though not the ultimate measuring stick, PFF is a good tool because it grades every player on every play.
Quarterbacks
Starter: Kyle McCord
PFF Grade
68.1 (54 snaps)
Stats
19-of-28 (73.1%), 189 Yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
What It Means
McCord didn’t push the ball downfield much in this game as his 7.6 ADOT was the lowest of the season so far.
Running Backs
Starter: TreVeyon Henderson
PFF Grade
87.9 (47 snaps)
Stats
22 attempts for 128 Yards (5.8 avg.), 1 TD, 5 Receptions for 80 Yards
Other: Chip Trayanum
PFF Grade
50.5 (10 snaps)
Stats
2 attempts for 6 Yards (3 avg.), 0 TD
What It Means
Treveyon Henderson was the star of the game, rushing for over 200 total yards for the second consecutive game. He made one of the biggest plays of the game on a third down in the fourth quarter when he turned a checkdown into an electrifying 65-yard completion.
Wide Receivers
Starter: Marvin Harrison Jr.
PFF Grade
69.2 (53 snaps)
Stats
7 targets, 4 receptions, 25 Yards, 2 TD
Starter: Emeka Egbuka
PFF Grade
63.3 (33 snaps)
Stats
5 targets, 4 receptions, 29 Yards, 0 TD, 1 Attempt for 4 Yards
Starter: Julian Fleming
PFF Grade
48.9 (30 snaps)
Stats
1 target, 0 receptions
Other: Carnell Tate
PFF Grade
76.8 (23 snaps)
Stats
2 targets, 2 receptions, 31 Yards
Other: Xavier Johnson
PFF Grade
53.0 (10 snaps)
Stats
1 target, 1 reception, 0 Yards, 1 Attempt for 5 Yards
What It Means
The Buckeyes didn’t utilize the downfield passing attack in this game with McCord attempted just one throw of 20+ yards downfield.
Tight Ends
Starter: Gee Scott Jr.
PFF Grade
59.5 (48 snaps)
Stats
4 targets, 3 receptions, 24 Yards, 1 TD
Other: Patrick Gurd
PFF Grade
51.6 (14 snaps)
Stats
0 targets
What It Means
With Cade Stover out with injury, Gee Scott Jr. was utilized more as a receiver and he got the Buckeyes on the board with an impressive 14-yard touchdown grab.
Offensive Line
Left Tackle: Josh Simmons
PFF Grade
79.1 (54 snaps)
Stats
83.1 run block grade, 58.4 pass block grade, 2 pressures allowed on 27 pass block snaps
Left Guard: Donovan Jackson
PFF Grade
88.1 (54 snaps)
Stats
89.3 run block grade, 86.2 pass block grade, 0 pressures allowed on 27 pass block snaps
Center: Carson Hinzman
PFF Grade
57.1 (54 snaps)
Stats
58.7 run block grade, 42.8 pass block grade, 3 pressures allowed on 27 pass block snaps
Right Guard: Matthew Jones
PFF Grade
67.2 (54 snaps)
Stats
64.7 run block grade, 79.7 pass block grade, 0 pressures allowed on 27 pass block snaps
Right Tackle: Josh Fryar
PFF Grade
71.9 (54 snaps)
Stats
72.0 run block grade, 63.4 pass block grade, 1 pressure allowed on 27 pass block snaps
Other: Luke Montgomery
PFF Grade
60.0 (2 snaps)
Stats
59.5 run block grade
What It Means
Donovan Jackson had his best performance of the season. He allowed zero pressures in pass protection and received an 89.0 run blocking grade.
