PISCATAWAY - The raw numbers will help you understand how good Nick Bosa is.

The Ohio State junior defensive end had 8.5 sacks last fall on his way to Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year and All-Big Ten first-team honors. Last week, he opened his season with two sacks against Oregon State in what was widely viewed as a dominant performance against Beavers left tackle Blake Brandel.

Rutgers football: Art Sitkowski stays cool as optimism grows

Once you get past the numbers, you start looking at the immeasurable stuff on Bosa, and the picture becomes clearer.

"Everyone sees a big, physical guy, but the thing I like, he plays with a motor," Rutgers offensive line coach AJ Blazek said. "He's an old-fashioned football player. He's going to play physical, he's going to put his hands on you, and that's the the challenge for us. We have to match that.

Rutgers football: Five takeaways, five quotes from Rutgers' 35-7 win over Texas State

"He's a physical football player, he's very talented, and there's a reason he's considered a Top 5 pick next year."

"I think besides the physical talent and the pass-rush ability, and the pass-rush moves, and the strength, and the power, it’s just the relentless way he plays," Scarlet Knights offensive coordinator John McNulty said. "Just like his brother (Los Angeles Chargers defensive end and former Ohio State star Joey Bosa), he can bend his body in all different ways to get around you. You think you have him up high and he’s down around your knees."

Rutgers football: Art Sitkowski, from a defensive point of view

This is what Rutgers will be up against when it travels to Ohio Stadium on Saturday afternoon to face the fourth-ranked Buckeyes (3:30 p.m., Big Ten Network). Zeroing in on the matchup, the Scarlet Knights will have their most-important offensive lineman, redshirt senior left tackle Tariq Cole, going against Bosa.

Cole has been an interesting study since training camp began early last month. An All-Big Ten honorable mention pick each of the last two seasons, Cole was limited for much of training camp. He started and played much of the season-opener against Texas State. Cole was effective, but was clearly limping. He was a full participant in practice on Tuesday and is expected to go on Saturday.

Rutgers football: Staff predictions for the season

"He's excited for that," Blazek said. "He's a guy who wants to see himself in that position. There's no better way to find out where you're at than to test yourself and go play against the best players."

Bosa's presence on what is otherwise an elite defensive line also signifies a seismic early test for Art Sitkowski. Rutgers' true freshman quarterback debuted well, going 20-for-30 for 205 yards and one touchdown, but also three interceptions.

Rutgers football: 3 reasons to hope, 3 reasons to mope

Ohio Stadium will host a crowd of more than 100,000, and the opponent will need no introduction compared to who the Scarlet Knights opened the season with. Everybody, from coaches, to fans, to the media, is going to find out something about Sitkowski on Saturday.

"Any time you play a freshman early on in his career, there are a lot of challenges," Rutgers head coach Chris Ash said. "There are challenges he faced last week against Texas State. In his first college football game, I think he did a good job. He wasn't perfect, but he did a good job. We're going to go into one of the biggest and loudest stadiums in the country against a very talented football team.

"There are a lot of unknowns still about our freshman quarterback and how he can handle that environment. We're hoping that he'll do just fine, but it is a different animal. There's going to be noise, more speed at the d-line position that's going to be rushing the passer. I do have confidence and belief that by the time the ball is kicked off and we're ready to play, he'll be ready to go."

Staff Writer Josh Newman: jnewman@app.com; @Joshua_Newman