Ohio State Football: Ranking 2021 opponents by toughness

Rutgers and Ohio State have only met on the gridiron since the Scarlet Knights started Big Ten conference play in 2014. The Buckeyes have won all seven meetings. However last year’s 22-point win was the smallest margin of victory in the entire series.

Greg Schiano, in his second stint at Rutgers, is building something. He is lining up a great 2022 recruiting class and there is depth building across all positions. This is not the same Rutgers team that won four Big Ten games from 2015 through 2019.

The Scarlet Knights could possibly be in the running for a bowl appearance this season. However, they cannot count on beating Ohio State.

Tulsa appears to be heading back in the positive direction for the seventh year under head coach Philip Montgomery. The Golden Hurricane broke a three-year bowl skid with a 6-1 regular-season record last year. They lost close games to Cincinnati in the AAC Championship and Mississippi State in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Tulsa has nearly everyone back from last year’s team. Because of the odd COVID-19 year and the NCAA allowing seniors another year of eligibility, 13 Tulsa players took advantage. They could certainly make some noise in the AAC this season and build upon last year’s success.

Ohio State and Tulsa have met only once, a meeting in 2016 resulting in a 48-3 Buckeye victory. Tulsa may be able to keep in closer this time but Ohio State will still win comfortably.