Preise » eat the Rapids 2-1 on Tuesday night in

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The talk all week was whether former Ohio State assistant and current Rutgers coach Chris Ash could take advantage of his familiarity with the Buckeyes defense.The answer: Forget about it.The stifling Ohio State defense overwhelmed the Scarlet Knights on the way to methodical 58-0 dismantling Saturday at Ohio Stadium.J.T. Barrett broke the school record for career touchdown passes with the third of his four TD tosses Saturday, and the surging Buckeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) gave Ash a rude welcome in his return to The Horseshoe.They smothered us, said Ash, who spent the past two seasons as a co-defensive coordinator for the Buckeyes.No. 2 Ohio States superb defense never allowed the Scarlet Knights (2-3, 0-2) to penetrate deeper than the Ohio State 38 yard line. They sacked quarterback Chris Laviano three times and allowed just 33 passing yards. They forced Rutgers to punt on each of its 10 drives that didnt end a half.Ash was asked if the Ohio State defense performed better than advertised.They played exceptionally well today, so no, they were not better than I thought, and I thought all along they were pretty darn good, Ash said.Barrett was 21 for 29 for 238 yards before giving way to backup Joe Burrow near the end of the third quarter. He now has 59 TD passes in 27 career games for Ohio State.Theres no doubt hes a Heisman candidate, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said.Freshman tailback Mike Weber continued to cement his place in the Ohio State (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) backfield, rushing for 144 yards on 14 attempts before also taking a seat in the third quarter. He also scored a touchdown, cutting around the left end and racing untouched for a 46-yard score 2 1/2 minutes into the second half.I was just following my blocks, Weber said. They opened up the holes so I could run through. Give credit to the O-line. Today showed how much talent we have.Ohio State piled up 669 yards of total offense, including 410 on the ground. Barrett threw touchdown passes to four receivers.Safety Chris Cioffi had one of the few highlights for Rutgers, picking off Barretts pass on Ohio States opening drive.We came out and fought in the beginning, but the wheels just fell off, Cioffi said.THE TAKEAWAYRutgers: After playing tough against Iowa in 14-7 loss last week, Ash and the Scarlet Knights showed they will need a talent upgrade to keep up with the Big Tens elite teams. It didnt help that star wide receiver and kick returner Janarion Grant suffered a season-ending injury in the Iowa game.We played extremely well last week, Ash said. But this was a completely different animal; the players, their offensive system is sophisticated, they have a lot of weapons. They do an outstanding job.Ohio State: The Buckeyes took care of business again and blew out an overmatched team. They show no signs of slowing down.DEPENDABLE SAMUELOhio State H-back Curtis Samuel was as dependable as ever, catching seven passes for 86 yards and a touchdown, and running for another 68 yards. Hes established himself as a potent dual threat and, as Meyer predicted in the preseason, one of the teams most valuable playmakers.POLL IMPLICATIONSProbably none. Ohio State was impressive but is likely to stay at No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll behind Alabama.QUOTEABLEDespite everything Ive been though, it feels surreal, said Barrett of breaking the school record for TD passes. Thats crazy that I was just trying to do my part and do my best for the team and then broke the record.UP NEXTRutgers: The Scarlets Knights rough ride through the conference continues with a night game at home against No. 4 Michigan.Ohio State: The Buckeyes will be heavily favored again when they play Indiana in another appetizer game next Saturday before the Big Ten main course.--Follow Mitch Stacy at http://twitter.com/mitchstacyFor some of his other recent stories: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/mitch-stacy Hydro Flask Rietje . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. Hydro Flask Ombre . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. http://www.hydroflaskkorting.com/ . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. Hydro Flask Korting . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. Hydro Flask Coffee . PAUL, Minn. SEATTLE -- The Seattle Sounders will go to Colorado needing only a draw or a win to reach the MLS Cup final for the first time.The Rapids are perfectly fine heading home for the second-leg of the Western Conference finals knowing a win will send them to the championship match, too.Weve given up the least goals I think in the history of the league at home, Colorado coach Pablo Mastroeni said. Were very comfortable in the position that we are in.Nicolas Lodeiro scored on a penalty kick in the 61st minute and the Sounders beat the Rapids 2-1 on Tuesday night in the first-leg of the conference finals.Seattle will take an important one-goal advantage into the second match of the two-game series on Sunday in Colorado. But the Rapids picked up a crucial road goal which could serve as the tiebreaker if the aggregate-goal series finishes tied.A win or a tie by Seattle on Sunday would put the Sounders in the final. But that wont be easy in the thin air of Colorado, where the Rapids are 12-0-6 this season and have allowed a total of seven goals all season in MLS competition. But Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer was quick to counter that stat. Since he took over in late July, the Sounders have failed to score only once in 18 matches.There are a lot of scores that go in our favor as well, Schmetzer said.Lodeiro caused issues all over the field for Colorado before drawing the penalty 15 minutes into the second half. A deflected ball rolled to Lodeiro in the penalty area and he was taken down by Marc Burch, a call Mastroeni thought was wrong but Burch didnt dispute. Lodeiro sent goalkeeper Zac MacMath the wrong direction and scored his fourth goal of the playoffs.After a 16-day layoff due to a break for international competition, what was expected to be a defensive struggle was instead a lively showcase that featured chances on both ends.ddddddddddddKevin Doyle gave Colorado an early advantage when his shot in the 13th minute deflected off Seattle defender Chad Marshall and past goalkeeper Stefan Frei, stunning the 42,774 in attendance for the Sounders third appearance in the conference finals. Doyle was able to get free thanks to a smart decision by Shkelzen Gashi letting the pass from Jermaine Jones run through.Gashi was a surprise starter for the Rapids after suffering an ankle injury in the semifinal round win over Los Angeles.Seattle responded almost immediately with Jordan Morris pulling the Sounders even in the 19th minute jumping on the rebound of Cristian Roldans shot that beat MacMath but ricocheted off the post. Seattle was unsure if Morris would play after suffering a hamstring injury in the second game of its semifinal win over FC Dallas. The injury kept Morris from joining the U.S. national team for its qualifying matches against Mexico and Costa Rica.MacMath did his part making his first start since Sept. 3 with Tim Howard out for the year after having surgery for an adductor injury suffered with the U.S. during the loss to Mexico. MacMath made four saves, none better than a sequence midway through the first half where he pushed aside a header from Lodeiro and off the ensuing corner kick smothered Nelson Valdezs shot at the back post.I think he had a pretty good game, Mastroeni said. Its not easy stepping into the season at this point. ' ' '