Ohio State linebacker commitment Payton Pierce came up big in his team’s big win on Thursday night.

Payton Pierce (@payton_pierce26) / X

Ohio State linebacker commitment Payton Pierce had led Lucas (Texas) Lovejoy to an 8-1 record going into a Thursday night game against a Melissa (Texas) team that went into the game with a 9-0 record and featured defensive lineman Nigel Smith who made an official visit to Ohio State in June before committing to Oklahoma.

Over/unders: Ohio State at Rutgers

Our staff gives their thoughts on some Buckeye prop bets for this week’s game

No. 1 Ohio State continues to roll through the 2023 season. It hasn’t always been pretty for the Buckeyes, but wins are wins, and the Scarlet and Gray continue to be victorious.

Last week, Ohio State marched to a 24-10 win against Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium. The Buckeyes were able to manage three first half turnovers thanks to the continued strong play of the defense before Marvin Harrison Jr. and TreVeyon Henderson each scored second half touchdown to pull away on the road.

This week, the Scarlet and Gray head to Rutgers to face Greg Schiano and the Scarlet Knights. The former Ohio State defensive coordinator has his team playing well this season, so the Buckeyes will have to be ready for another fight.

As Scarlet and Gray fans in Ohio get to enjoy betting on their team for the first time this year, we decided to get in on the action. Each week, we’ve asked our team writers to make their picks on certain over/unders for the Ohio State game and we’ve kept track of how Dave Biddle, Steve Helwagen and Patrick Murphy have done.

Here are the results so far:

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	Biddle	Helwagen	Murphy
Week 1 record	3-2	3-2	1-4
Week 2 record	3-3	3-3	3-3
Week 3 record	5-2	4-3	1-6
Week 4 record	4-2	4-2	3-3
Week 5 record	4-3	7-0	5-2
Week 6 record	4-3-1	6-1-1	4-3-1
Week 7 record	5-3	5-3	7-1
Week 8 record	6-2	4-4	5-2
Overall record	34-20-1	36-18-1	29-24-1

A relatively poor week for Helwagen has allowed Biddle to climb back into this overall race. Murphy had another strong week but his slow start is holding him back.

Let’s get into this week’s prop bets.

KYLE MCCORD PASSING YARDS – 244.5

Biddle: Under

Barely under, but under. Playing in his home state — against the program his father played for — is going

to be a big deal for Kyle McCord, so I’m sure he will be locked in. I could definitely see him go over this number, but I think Rutgers will muddy up this game enough where he falls just short.

Helwagen: Over

Yes, I know Rutgers has the nation’s No. 2-ranked pass defense. But I think Ohio State will be able to use this game to get some of the kinks out and Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka (provided he’s available) will be able to make some plays.

Murphy: Over

While there is quite the discontent over Kyle McCord among the Buckeye faithful, he is still throwing for 270.4 yards per game, second in the Big Ten, and had 226 passing yards in a “bad” performance last week. I know Rutgers has a strong pass defense but I believe Emeka Egbuka will be back in this game and things will start to click more for McCord on Saturday.

GAVIN WIMSATT PASSING TOUCHDOWNS – 0.5

Biddle: Under

I do not have Rutgers scoring a touchdown in this one (I predicted 34-6 Buckeyes) so this one is an easy decision to make.

Helwagen: Under

Gavin Wimsatt completes 50 percent of his throws, on average. I can’t see him throwing for a touchdown against Ohio State’s stingy defense.

Murphy: Under

I predicted Rutgers to score one touchdown, but I think it will come on the ground, maybe even Gavin Wimsatt running it in. Even without safety Lathan Ransom this week, this Buckeye secondary has been very good, and I don’t see that changing in this game.

KYLE MONANGAI RUSHING YARDS – 48.5

Biddle: Under

Kyle Monangai is a really good running back, but this is a ferocious Ohio State defense that will be keying on him all afternoon. The Buckeyes know Rutgers cannot throw and that could translate into a long day for the talented junior.

Helwagen: Over

Braelon Allen had 10 carries for 50 yards in a half last week vs. Ohio State. Rutgers can’t really throw it and they will lean on Kyle Monangai. My guess is he ends up in the 70- to 90-yard range.

Murphy: Over

Ohio State has allowed less-talented running backs than Kyle Monangai to get over this number — Youngstown State’s Tyshon King had 66 yards, for instance. I don’t see Monangai having a big day, as this rush defense has improved, but we’ve still seen a few backs get loose a couple of times and he will do so as well.

CADE STOVER RECEIVING YARDS – 43.5

(Photo: Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch, USA TODAY Sports)

Biddle: Under

Cade Stover is banged up right now and the Buckeyes are likely getting Emeka Egbuka back this week. Rutgers is a solid defense. Add it all up and I will take the under. (Watch Stover go off for 80 yards and a touchdown now that I said that.)

Helwagen: Over

Sure, why not? If Rutgers does succeed in keeping Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka in some semblance of check, then I’d expect Cade Stover to have a good game.

Murphy: Over

You aren’t holding Cade Stover down for two games in a row. While he’s dealing with some kind of knee injury, I imagine the Buckeyes make it an even bigger priority to get their tight end the ball after he was held without a target against Wisconsin.

OHIO STATE TOTAL POINTS – 27.5

Biddle: Over

I have the Buckeyes getting to 34 in this one — perhaps aided by a defensive touchdown.

Helwagen: Over

Not by much. I have Ohio State winning 34-13. The Buckeyes just have too much firepower for even a great defense to shut them down completely.

Murphy: Over

I predicted Ohio State would win 38-14, so that’s the over. I think this Buckeye offense is getting healthy with TreVeyon Henderson back last week and Emeka Egbuka expected back this week. Kyle McCord may not be a start yet, but he has too many weapons for things not to start clicking.

RUTGERS TOTAL TOUCHDOWNS – 1.5

Biddle: Under

I have them scoring zero touchdowns, so I really like the under here. Does anyone really think Rutgers is scoring two touchdowns against this defense when they are completely one-dimensional offensively? I could see one, but not two. They cannot throw the ball (No. 123 in the country in passing).

Helwagen: Under

I think the Scarlet Knights will hit paydirt once, probably on a Kyle Monangai touchdown run.

Murphy: Under

As mentioned before, I have the Scarlet Knights only scoring 10 points in this one. It would be hard to get to two touchdowns while only scoring 10 points.

OHIO STATE TACKLE FALSE STARTS – 0.5

Biddle: Under

I’m feeling wild, obviously. But I think Josh Simmons and Josh Fryar will have a clean slate in this one in terms of false starts.

Helwagen: Over

I see we’re trying to be humorous this week. But OSU usually averages 1.5 of these a week, so this seems like a mortal lock.

Murphy: Over

I was going to go back and do the math to figure out what Josh Fryar and Josh Simmons have averaged this year and compare home and away, but I decided that wasn’t a good use of time. I imagine one of the tackles will move early. It seems to happen once per game.