Ohio State vs Rutgers odds: Early point spread released on Buckeyes, Scarlet Knights

The early odds and point spread was released as Ohio State travels to take on Rutgers in Week 10 of the college football regular season.

Ohio State (8-0) visits Piscataway to take on the Scarlet Knights (6-2), who come off a bye week. Under Greg Schiano, Rutgers became bowl eligible the traditional way for the first time since 2014.

Meanwhile, Ohio State wants to keep pace with Michigan in the Big Ten race to ultimately make the College Football Playoff. Here’s what the oddsmakers have going into Saturday, courtesy of FanDuel.

Ohio State opened as a 18.5 point favorite and the total was set at 41.5. Once again, the Buckeyes were named a huge favorite over the Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers-Ohio State has never been close, since the former joined the Big Ten in 2014. Ohio State beat Rutgers nine straight times and the closest matchup came in 2020, a 49-27 win for the Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes defeated Wisconsin 24-10 on the road to remain undefeated. It wasn’t the best offensive day, but Ohio State’s defense was alive and well.

Plus, the Buckeyes saw the return of running back TreVeyon Henderson. He ran 24 times for 162 yards and a touchdown and will be yet another factor for the Rutgers’ defense to handle.

Not to mention Marvin Harrison Jr. against a good Rutgers secondary. It could very well be a day where the Scarlet Knights’ Max Melton follows him around.

On the flip side, it could be looked as a successful season already for Rutgers. While Schiano coached this team in the Gator Bowl two years ago, Rutgers sneaked in after Texas A&M had to drop out due to COVID-19 issues.

This is definitely a different team compared to year’s past, reminiscent of his first stint. But the team is still a big underdog against a national title contender.

“Well, it’s a step,” Schiano said postgame, following a win over Indiana. “As we did last time, you get to be bowl eligible, and that’s one step on the journey. It’s been well chronicled, we didn’t finish the journey last time. And that’s the goal. It’s going to take time.

“I told you when we got here, it was going to take time. There’s no quick fixes. Not at Rutgers. It’s hard and you just work and work and work. But this is definitely a step.”

Rutgers and Ohio State square off in New Jersey Saturday at 12:00 p.m ET on CBS.