In some ways, Rutgers football is already playing with house money, having shown this year that they are a significantly upgraded program under head coach Greg Schiano. But that doesn’t mean that the expectations haven’t lessened for the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers comes into Saturday’s game at Penn State off consecutive losses to Ohio State and Iowa for their first losing streak of the season. But at 6-4 (3-4 Big Ten), Rutgers can still prove plenty more.
This fourth season under head coach Greg Schiano has seen Rutgers turn from a rebuilding program into a built one. The program is competitive now against the best in the Big Ten and became bowl-eligible last month.
That alone is something that the Big Ten Network’s Gerry DiNardo said is quite an accomplishment
“They’ve already established that this year is a significant year of progress. They were bowl-eligible last week going into Iowa and I think that a lot of us thought this was a match-up opponent against Iowa. And Iowa is a traditional Big Ten, they’re probably going to go to Indianapolis,” DiNardo said on the Big Ten Network this week.
“To say that Greg Schiano is bowl-eligible going into this game last week…this is a little different though. Penn State is a really good team, they have the most talent. The issue with Penn State is if the loss to Michigan is a distraction.”
DiNardo, a former offensive lineman at Notre Dame, was a head coach at LSU and Indiana before transitioning into his role at the Big Ten Network.
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Against Penn State, one of the top defenses in not just the Big Ten but the entire country, Rutgers won’t have it easy. The offense has struggled over the past month and last week at Iowa, they had just 122 yards of total offense.
In the past four games, quarterback Gavin Wimsatt has seen his completion percentage drop in each game. DiNardo said that the offense can bounce back, but that Rutgers is going to try to control the clock in this game.
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“The issue is that they’re an option team, Wimsatt is OK in the pass game. He’s not great. I think one of the advantages you have if you’re an option team and people are moving around a lot on the front, you just give the ball to the fullback – there’s no fullback any longer – (but) give the ball to the running back and they’ll be a crease,” DiNardo said.
So I think you’ll see that from the Rutgers offense. I think you’ll see alot of triple options type of plays to try to slow down the Penn State defense. The Penn State defense is really good.”