Rutgers vs. Ohio State: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

The 13th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes made easy work of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights with a dominating 56-17 win behind freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett on Saturday. Here is just a snapshot of what Barrett did on Saturday at The Shoe:

OSU got rolling right out of the gate. After forcing a three-and-out on their first defensive possession, the Buckeyes orchestrated a six-play, 52-yard drive that culminated in a touchdown pass from Barrett to Nick Vannett. They took the lead on that play and never relinquished it for the rest of the game.

NJ.com's Dan Duggan had a sense that it was just the beginning of something big for OSU on the day:

The two sides went on to trade one-yard TD runs in the first quarter, but that was as close as Rutgers was able to stay with OSU on the scoreboard.

Barrett completed his first nine pass attempts, and on his eighth throw, he connected with Vannett again for a second TD to give the Buckeyes a 21-7 lead.

The Columbus Dispatch's Bill Rabinowitz described the scoring play:

Rutgers' defense was finally able to make a stop on OSU's next possession, but when the Scarlet Knights took the ball over at their own 10, they turned it over on the very first play of the drive.

Wide receiver Janarion Grant fumbled after making a catch from quarterback Gary Nova, and Eli Apple, a player from Voorhees, New Jersey, made a play that perhaps put the game out of the visitors' reach for good.

OSU tacked on another TD with about four minutes to go before the half and headed into the break with a comfortable 35-7 lead.

Despite the score, Duggan suggested that there was still something the visiting fans could look forward to:

And he wasn't wrong.

When the action resumed, the Buckeyes continued to pour on their offense, leading to a 21-3 third quarter that made the score 56-10.

Amid that flurry, Barrett set a new record, according to The Columbus Dispatch's Tim May:

Barrett went on to add a third passing TD, this time connecting with senior Evan Spencer for a spectacular score:

The outburst of offense for OSU also tied a school record:

The win improved OSU to 5-1 on the season and 2-0 in the Big Ten. Behind Barrett's breakout season, it should be safe to say that the loss of former starting QB Braxton Miller, who is out for the season with a shoulder injury, has not hurt the Buckeyes as much as initially feared.

They will return to action next Saturday when they visit Penn State and hope to extend their Big Ten winning streak.

As for Rutgers (5-2, 1-2 Big Ten), this was just a glimpse of what true Big Ten football is all about.

With this much attention and level of competition, the Scarlet Knights need to find a way to get used to all that soon if they want to settle in comfortably in their new conference.

Rutgers narrowly lost to Penn State in its Big Ten debut and edged a subpar Michigan team by two points a couple of weeks ago, but those games are nothing compared to the contests against the elite programs in this conference.

The schedule won't get easier for the Scarlet Knights as they visit No. 19 Nebraska next week, and a month from now, they will head to No. 8 Michigan State. If Rutgers wants to stay relevant in the Big Ten, performances like the one it put up on Saturday cannot become a norm.