Life in Simulation: Ohio State vs. Rutgers

College football has once again returned to the virtual world in EA Sports College Football 26, allowing fans of all 134 FBS schools to take control of their favorite team. For Buckeye Nation, that means getting to dominate with one of the best rosters in the game.

The game also allows us to get a glimpse at what the season could look like, at least if the computers had their say. Each week, Land-Grant Holy Land will simulate Ohio State’s real-life matchup to see what our AI overlords think will happen.

Here are the results of our Week 13 sim:

Ohio State 38 – Rutgers 13

In an odd twist of events, Jeremiah Smith did not suit up for the virtual Buckeyes this week, but Carnell Tate did. Do the good people at Electronic Arts know something we dont?

Regardless, Ohio State opened up the scoring in this one with a career-long 52-yard field goal by Jayden Fielding on its opening possession. After a quick three-and-out for Rutgers, the Buckeyes marched down the field, this time finding the end zone on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Julian Sayin to Brandon Inniss.

A Caleb Downs interception shortly after that gave Ohio State a short field to work with, and they capitalized quickly with a 1-yard touchdown run for Bo Jackson. After one quarter of play, Ryan Day’s group already held a 17-0 lead.

Rutgers got on the board with 10 minutes to go in the second quarter on a 35-yard field goal by Jai Patel, but Ohio State once again added on. This time it was Carnell Tate on a 6-yard touchdown reception, and with that being the final score by either side in the frame, the Buckeyes took a comfortable 24-3 lead into halftime.

Ohio State took its foot off the gas in the third quarter. The Scarlet Knights added another field goal on its first possession of the half, and a few drives later Athan Kaliakmanis found Ian Strong from 19 yards out for a touchdown that cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 24-13.

Needing to give a bit more effort out there, Sayin responded with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jackson to put Ohio State back up by three scores before the start of the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes added one final score in that fourth quarter — a 1-yard touchdown by CJ Donaldson — to walk away wit a 38-13 victory in a game that was never in doubt.

Ohio State out-gained Rutgers 488-269 while converting on an absurd 12-of-18 third down opportunities, compared to a 2-of-14 mark for the Scarlet Knights on third down. The Buckeyes did turn the ball over twice on a pair of fumbles, but they turned their lone takeaway into a touchdown and were a perfect 3-for-3 in the red zone.

Key Contributors

• Julian Sayin: 17-of-25 passing for 229 yards, 3 TD

• Bo Jackson: 15 carries for 78 yards, 1 TD (2 catches for 21 yards, 1 TD)

• CJ Donaldson: 9 carries for 53 yards, 1 TD

• Brandon Inniss: 7 catches for 109 yards, 1 TD

• Carnell Tate: 6 catches for 79 yards, 1 TD

• Sonny Styles: 7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack

• Caden Curry: 5 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks

• Caleb Downs: 3 tackles, 1 INT

• Jaylen McCLain: 5 tackles, 1 PBU

• Davison Igbinosun: 4 tackles, 2 PBU

• Athan Kaliakmanis: 20-of-45 passing for 249 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

• Antwan Raymond: 9 carries for 19 yards

• KJ Duff: 5 catches for 78 yards

• Ian Strong: 3 catches for 64 yards, 1 TD

• Eric O’Neill: 5 tackles, 2 TFL

• Oliver Billotte: 3 tackles, 1 sack

• Dariel Djabome: 7 tackles

• Moses Walker: 6 tackles, 1 TFL

Check back to see how Ohio State actually performed on the field compared to the simulation, and see how they fare in our Week 14 simulation against Michigan.