The Ohio Bobcats will travel to New Jersey on Thursday night at 6 p.m. ET to take on the Rutgers Scarlett Knights in their Week 1 season opener.
Rutgers will be seeking its sixth-straight win in a season opener, while Ohio hopes to ride the wave of its first 11-win season in program history, which ended was capped off with seven straight wins and a bowl victory behind QB Parker Navarro.
Below, we'll give you our Ohio vs. Rutgers prediction and picks for the college football season on Thursday including the top CFB DFS picks on PrizePicks.
🏈 Play $5, Get $50 instantly in Lineups for your CFB Picks — Use Promo Code: PLAYBOOK
Ohio vs. Rutgers Prediction, Preview: Thursday, August 28
Look for plenty of scoring in this Week 1 matchup, as the Ohio defense is known to be weak in out of conference play, and the Rutgers defense has vulnerability with a lot of new transfers starting.
Last year, Ohio surrendered 38 points to Syracuse and 41 points to Kentucky, despite finishing the first in scoring defense in the MAC, giving up 18.1 points per game. Rutgers doesn't appear to have the same fire power, but this defense can be vulnerable.
Meanwhile, Rutgers defense was a sieve in 2024 for the most part, giving up 405.3 yards per game, ranking 91 out of 134 teams.
Rutgers Preview
Rutgers returns a strong core of production, led by senior QB Athan Kaliakmanis, who threw for 18 TDs and nearly 3,000 yards last season. He’s joined by two of the top three pass catchers from last year: KJ Duff and Ian Strong, who combined for over 1,000 receiving yards and six TDs.
On the defensive side, Rutgers has a new defensive coordinator in Robb Smith, and a new haul of transfers that they hope will get them back into form after an abysmal year in 2024. With defensive-minded coach Greg Schiano in charge, we'll see if this unit is improved in Week 1 vs. Ohio.
Ohio Preview
Ohio also brings back a solid veteran presence under center in senior Parker Navarro, who posted 13 TDs and 2,500 yards through the air. He finished the season strong despite a rocky start, rolling off seven straight wins to finish the 2024 season.
However, the Bobcats suffered two major losses in their offensive arsenal. Star RB Anthony Tyus III, who rushed for over 1,200 yards and 9 TDs (5.0 YPC), is now with the Seattle Seahawks practice squad.
However, RB Sieh Bengura transferred back to Ohio for 2025 after a year at Minnesota. The fifth-year senior will lead the backfield and has rushed for 1,078 and 811 yards in his last two seasons with Ohio.
Meanwhile, top receiver Coleman Owen, who racked up over 1,200 yards and 8 TDs, is now with the Indianapolis Colts practice squad. That leaves Rodney Harris II, Max Rodarte, and Chase Hendricks at the top of the depth chart.
Ohio vs. Rutgers Picks for Thursday Night
Here are the top college football picks for Ohio vs. Rutgers on PrizePicks tonight. Pick More or Less on player stat projections to win real money during college football season on PrizePicks.
Rutgers RB CJ Campbell Projection: 52.5 Rush Yards
Rutgers will look to replace one of its all-time great running backs with FSU and FAU transfer CJ Campbell. The senior back averaged over 5.0 yards per carry last year, finishing with nearly 1,000 rushing yards and more than 10 TDs
He’ll be running against a weak Ohio defensive front. Defensive tackle Pius Odjugo ranked 769th out of 905 interior linemen in run-stop grade via PFF, while defensive end Anas Luqman ranked 751st out of 868 edge players in the same category. Even the eighth man in the box, safety DJ Walker, ranked 771st out of 885 safeties against the run.
If Rutgers can control this game vs. a MAC opponent, Campbell should be there to salt it away along with a mix of other Rutgers backs.
Rutgers WR Ian Strong Projection: 65.5 Receiving Yards
Junior WR Ian Strong stood out for Rutgers last season, ranking 101st out of 942 FBS wideouts, via PFF. He was the team’s second-leading receiver with 43 receptions for 676 yards and 5 touchdowns, leading all Rutgers players in those categories.
Strong finished last year with at least 63 yards in each of the last six games, including four touchdowns across them.
When Strong caught at least two passes in a game, he averaged 71.3 receiving yards and twice surpassed the 100-yard mark, posting 110 and 105 yards.
He’s expected to be matched up with Ohio CB Tank Pearson, who ranked 198th out of 836 FBS corners in coverage despite playing in the relatively weak MAC. Pearson is just 5-foot-9, 180 pounds — giving up a major size advantage to Strong, who stands 6-foot-4, 210 pounds.
Ohio QB Parker Navarro Projection: 149.5 Passing Yards
Parker Navarro did not eclipse 150 passing yards in five of 12 games last season — despite playing exclusively against MAC competition. However, he was electric to end the season, as the Bobcats averaged 36.7 points per game down the stretch.
Most of that work was done with Navarro's legs, as he rushed for 100+ yards and 2+ touchdowns in three of the last four games.
He’ll now face a Rutgers defense projected to be among the Big Ten’s best. The Scarlet Knights added Penn State transfer CB Cam Miller and senior safety Jett Elad, who ranked 84th out of 857 safeties in coverage. Junior safety Bo Mascoe also returns, ranking 137th out of 838 safeties.
On top of that, Navarro will be playing behind a new left tackle in Shedrick Rhodes, making his first start with Ohio. Traveling to Big 10 country as a quarterback is never easy, though he could get the upside of playing from behind if Ohio's defense struggles.
For comparison sake, last year, Rutgers routed Akron — another MAC school albeit much more lousy — 49-17, and Akron QB Ben Finley went 14-of-31 for138 yards and a TD in that game.
Make College Football Picks on PrizePicks
The Week 1 Ohio vs. Rutgers matchup on Thursday is where the college football begins, and there will be plenty of player picks available for both teams on PrizePicks.
Whether you think Ohio can hang with a Big 10 opponent, or Rutgers can run away with it, you can turn your predictions into real money with PrizePicks.
Just pick players from the CFB board, choose More or Less on their stat projections, and put your knowledge to the test.
