Ohio State vs. Rutgers: Chris Ash had inside look at Buckeyes' young talent

To the outside world, the Ohio State players who would comprise the core of the 2016 Buckeyes were a mystery the last two years.

Most of them were backups, gaining season and hunger as they waited their turn behind the nucleus that won the 2014 College Football Playoff and went 12-1 last year.

Chris Ash was inside that world. The current Buckeyes are no mystery to him. He knew how good they were.

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Now they are his problem. After two highly successful years in which he played a principal role in transforming the Ohio State defense as its co-coordinator, Ash was hired as Rutgers’ coach.

Saturday, his Scarlet Knights are a 38-point underdog when they come to Ohio Stadium in the Big Ten opener.

The Buckeyes are 3-0 and ranked No. 2 despite losing 16 starters from last year. Ash isn’t the least bit surprised at Ohio State’s dominance.

“I just look back at the 2014 season and all the new players we had,” he said. “Ohio State can recruit at a high level and just reload. When someone goes to the NFL or their career is over, there is another talented player waiting to burst on the scene and become another Ohio State legend.

“This is no different. The only thing that’s a little bit surprising is how well they’re playing so early.”

In 2014, the Buckeyes had the famous stumble against Virginia Tech in the second game. Ohio State has not come close to stubbing its toe yet in 2016, other than some first-half offensive struggles against Tulsa in what became a 48-3 victory.

The Buckeyes have outscored the Scarlet Knights 105-24 in their two meetings — both coming since Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014 — and few would be surprised if today’s score is as lopsided. After all, Ash is building for the long haul. Many bumps are expected along the way.

Asked how ready his team is for the Buckeyes, Ash replied, “I’ll tell you when it’s over, to be honest with you.”

Rutgers faced a stiff test in its season opener and got hammered 48-13 by host Washington, which is now ranked 10th in the Associated Press poll. Rutgers defeated Howard and New Mexico the next two weeks before losing to Iowa 14-7 last week.

The Scarlet Knights failed on a fourth-and-2 at the Iowa 17-yard line late in the game. Rutgers lost its top playmaker, Janarion Grant, to a season-ending ankle injury in the game.

“We had chances to win that game, but didn’t get it done,” Ash said. “I’m just worried about our improvement. I’m not trying to compare us to anybody else, especially Ohio State. I’m trying to compare us to the previous week. Are we getting better? If that translates to wins, that’s great. That’s what we want.

“But we’re focused on our process of improvement, and each Saturday gives us that opportunity. We just happen to be playing a great opponent this week.”

The Buckeyes are coming off an off week after their impressive 45-24 victory at Oklahoma. The Buckeyes would have preferred to play last week to keep their momentum going.

“I was watching UCLA-Stanford,” right guard Billy Price said, “and I was like, wow, we should be playing right now and running this play or that play. It’s good to get that hunger and eagerness to get back out there.”

Ash has taken much of what he saw and used at Ohio State and installed it. Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said that preparing for Rutgers this week has been like looking at a mirror.

But Ash dismissed the suggestion that Rutgers will have an advantage because of his familiarity with the Buckeyes.

“It comes down to players making plays on the field,” he said. “They’ve got tremendous players. They coach them exceptionally well. They’re playing well through three games.

“We’re trying to improve and build a program ourselves. I know the coaches and players, and know the offensive and defensive schemes they’re running. But it doesn’t mean we have an advantage. It comes down to players making plays on Saturday.”

And Ohio State has far more elite players than Rutgers does — as Ash well knows.