Tag: Rutgers Football

UCLA football lands in four-star running back’s top ten

The Bruins land in a talented tailback’s top ten.

Since their win over Rutgers last month, the UCLA Bruins have continued to gain momentum on the field. Riding their three-game winning streak in the Big Ten, UCLA’s momentum is translating on the recruiting front as well.

This week, four-star running back Brian Bonner Jr. narrowed his collegiate wishlist down to ten teams, and the Bruins are one of them.

In Bonner Jr.’s post on X, the 2026 Valencia (CA) High School tailback included the Bruins in his top ten alongside Penn State, Washington, Stanford, Nebraska, Georgia, and rival USC.

While the Bruins have some stiff competition, UCLA remains an attractive destination. If the Bruins finish their first season in the Big Ten strong, they could become an emerging program with a winning culture and infectious atmosphere.

Given UCLA’s struggles at the running back position, the 6-foot, 190-pound tailback Bonner Jr. could see playing time early and have an immediate impact on the team, something their competitors can not offer.

USC vs Rutgers game begins and ends with one basic fact

Rutgers lost at home to UCLA. If USC cannot easily handle the Scarlet Knights, will the Trojans be able to easily win any remaining Big Ten game this year?

USC football prepares to play Rutgers on Friday night in the Los Angeles Coliseum. You can call it a must-win game if you want to, and we won’t disagree with that, but USC isn’t playing for a championship. USC is basically playing to save face. If we want to dive into the central, essential reality of this game, we need to mention only one basic fact. It underscores the point that there is absolutely no excuse for USC to lose this game to the visiting Scarlet Knights.

What is the one essential detail to point out about Rutgers? It lost to UCLA at home. Rutgers has looked bad against less-than-great opposition. The Scarlet Knights seemed to be on their way to a decent season when they defeated Washington at home a few weeks ago, but their month of October has been a total disaster. They were blown apart by Wisconsin — a team USC handled in the second half — and have simply looked powerless in their last few games.

USC should be able to tear Rutgers to shreds. Then again, as we all know, it should have done the same to Minnesota but did not. It should have done the same to Maryland but did not. We are all waiting for this team to finally play up to its potential in a Big Ten game.

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Trojans Wire previews USC-Rutgers, discusses the state of the Trojans under Lincoln Riley

A USC alumnus with New Jersey roots is the perfect person to talk to before the USC-Rutgers game this Friday. Our new show goes into the Trojans’ next game.

We have a USC football game on Friday night this week. Rutgers is the opponent. Adam Lamparello is both a USC alumnus and a New Jersey native who runs the Rutgers channel at The Voice of College Football. It was perfect timing for us at Trojans Wire to talk to Adam about the two teams he knows best: USC and Rutgers. You’ll get a Rutgers overview from Adam at the start of the show. Then we discussed the state of USC football under Lincoln Riley. It’s a one-hour show with plenty of insights on both Rutgers and USC, focusing mostly on the Trojans and what the program needs to do in order to be better in 2025.

USC fans are frustrated right now, and they should be. What are the foremost answers and solutions for this program? That’s the most important discussion to have if you’re a USC football fan. This show dives right into the heart of that conversation, so it’s something any Trojan fan should enjoy listening to.

Here’s the full show with Trojans Wire and Adam Lamparello at The Voice of College Football:

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DeShaun Foster elated after UCLA’s first-ever Big Ten win

DeShaun Foster is excited.

It took longer than many hoped, but the UCLA Bruins finally got the first-ever win as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

After losing five in a row and four Big Ten games, UCLA got the win over Rutgers in Week 8 despite a long road trip and some difficult matchups.

After the game, UCLA coach DeShaun Foster spoke about the win and what it means to get the victory in Big Ten play, per Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. 

“It’s more about the guys, so I’m excited to get a Big Ten win but we’ve got a few more games and I would like to get bowl-eligible, so we’re going to continue to play and hopefully we can get there.”

It was an encouraging performance for UCLA against Rutgers, and UCLA now goes into a Week 9 bye as they can celebrate a bit after the huge victory.

Photos as UCLA wins first Big Ten game in Week 8 vs. Rutgers

The Bruins did it!

The UCLA Bruins finally did it. For the first time since Week 1, UCLA gets a win. 

Moreover, it is the first-ever Big Ten Conference win for the Bruins, and it came despite a grueling cross-country trip to New Jersey to take on Rutgers.

The Bruins got the best of Rutgers as quarterback Ethan Garbers silenced the doubters for at least one week in a big performance.

Even with the 9 AM Pacific time kickoff (noon in New Jersey), UCLA found a way to win as DeShaun Foster and his staff can breathe a sigh of relief.

Here are some of the best photos from the game in Week 8.

UCLA wide receiver touches on cross-country road trip

Sturdivant is excited for the long trip.

The UCLA Bruins are traveling a lot of miles this season due to being in the Big Ten Conference. They already traveled to Happy Valley to face Penn State in a loss.

Now, they are heading to New Jersey to face off against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. 

While the task may be daunting for some, J. Michael Sturdivant is one player who expressed his thoughts on the cross-country road trip, per Matthew Niiya of The Daily Bruin.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun to fly all the way across the country and go play football,” Sturdivant said. “I’m excited for it, I know the team is excited for it, and it’s going to be a fun day on Saturday.”

After this, UCLA’s travel load eases up. They face Nebraska on November 2 in Lincoln and then Washington on the road two weeks later. Despite that, they have three home games in the final five, so the travel issue is lightening up for UCLA.

DeShaun Foster ‘excited’ for challenge of facing Rutgers’ Kyle Monangai

Kyle Monangai is a tough player to stop.

The UCLA Bruins have a cross-country road trip to face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Week 8. On top of that, it is another 9 AM pacific time kickoff, meaning the Bruins’ body clocks will be on early time once again just like it was for Penn State.

Rutgers has a 4-2 record although they come in with two straight losses and a combined 14 points in those games against Nebraska and Wisconsin.

Still, UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster highlighted Rutgers running back Kyle Monangai and mentioned the challenges he brings to the fold, per Matthew Niiya of The Daily Bruin.

“Their running back is really good,” said coach DeShaun Foster. “He’s not just going to go down if you hit him, so he’s a back that we’re going to have to wrap up, and I’m confident in my defense and I know they’re excited for the challenge.”

Monangai has 739 yards with seven touchdowns this season, including three games of 100 yards or more and a 208-yard performance against Akron.

Monangai presents UCLA with a big challenge, and it will be interesting to see how they handle that one.

WATCH: Wisconsin’s best plays from 42-7 win over Rutgers

WATCH: Wisconsin’s best plays from 42-7 win over Rutgers

The Wisconsin Badgers dominated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 42-7 in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Saturday.

A week after demolishing the Purdue Boilermakers 52-6 in Week 6 at Camp Randall, the Badgers rolled to a 42-7 triumph for their fourth win of the 2024 campaign. UW registered 557 total yards on offense and allowed Rutgers to only 273.

Wisconsin’s first pair of highlights came on the team’s first drive of the opening quarter when quarterback Braedyn Locke tossed a 34-yard dime to wide receiver Vinny Anthony II before hitting veteran pass-catcher Will Pauling for a 16-yard score just two plays later.

UW running back Tawee Walker would find the end zone on Wisconsin’s next scoring drive in the first half to push the Badgers ahead 14-0. Walker would add a 55-yard rush to his Saturday afternoon output en route to 201 total yards and three rushing touchdowns to spearhead Wisconsin’s rushing attack.

After failing to add to their total before the half, Luke Fickell’s squad added 28 more points in the second half to seal the deal. Anthony II reeled in a 47-yard catch, running back Cade Yacamelli was responsible for a 45-yard rush and freshman running back Darrion Dupree scored his first career rushing touchdown in the blowout.

Wisconsin will look to build off its momentum in its next test against the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston, Illinois, on Oct. 19. If the team continues to blend its splash plays through the air with its dependable rushing unit, they should secure their third conference win in a row next weekend.

Badgers senior safety leads defensive effort in win over Rutgers

Badgers safety leads defensive effort against Rutgers

Wisconsin free safety Preston Zachman captained the defensive charge in Wisconsin’s 42-7 win over Rutgers on Saturday.

The redshirt senior finished the game with a team-best 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss while accompanying star strong safety Hunter Wohler, cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean and cornerback Ricardo Hallman in the defensive backfield.

Zachman also reeled in his team-leading second interception of the 2024 season after securing a tipped ball in Rutgers’ territory early in the third quarter.

The 6-foot-1 defender’s previous interception arrived in Wisconsin’s fourth game of the year against USC, which held the No. 13 spot in the nation when UW traveled to Los Angeles in Week 5 of the season.

https://twitter.com/BadgerFootball/status/1845167940615929917

On a day where Wisconsin’s offensive stars may overshadowed what occurred in defense, Mike Tressel’s unit absolutely dominated from the first sequence to the final play of the game. The group allowed just one touchdown on Saturday, denied five pass attempts and forced nine Scarlet Knight punts in a the 35-point win.

A season ago, Zachman totaled a career-high 49 tackles and two interceptions for the Badgers in his first season playing 13 games for UW. Barring any injury, he will continue to start alongside Wohler for the remainder of the season.

Wisconsin Badgers offense reaches yardage significant milestone for first time since 2010

Wisconsin offense reaches yardage significant milestone for first time since 2010

The Wisconsin Badgers have appeared nearly unbeatable in their past two games.

In their dominant 42-7 win over Rutgers on Saturday, UW topped 500 for the second consecutive Big Ten game for the first time since 2010. To put that into context, Bret Bielema served as head coach, Paul Chryst manned the sidelines as offensive coordinator and James White, Montee Ball and J.J. Watt wreaked havoc on the offensive and defensive ends of the gridiron.

UW notched 549 total yards against the Scarlet Knights on Saturday afternoon, a week after its 589-yard performance in the 52-6 win over the Purdue Boilermakers.

For the second straight game, UW’s running back unit dominated from start to finish. The group, headlined by workhorse running back Tawee Walker, accounted for 309 yards of offense against the Scarlet Knights on Saturday.

Against Purdue, the group posted 236 total rush yards against a struggling defensive unit. Nonetheless, the yardage speaks to the emerging talent on Wisconsin’s offensive side of the ball.

Following the recent departure of Badger veteran Chez Mellusi, Walker has become a go-to option for offensive coordinator Phil Longo in his air-raid scheme. The senior transfer from Oklahoma combined to rush for 292 yards and six touchdowns against Purdue and Rutgers on Oct. 5 and Oct. 12, respectively.

Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke has also blended splash plays with efficiency against the two Big Ten foes. He threw for 359 yards against Purdue and 240 vs. Rutgers and completed nearly 68% of his throws in the process.

Following some initial criticism during losses to No. 7 Alabama and USC, Wisconsin’s offense has appeared to discover a rhythm. The crew will return to the field on Oct. 19 against the Northwestern Wildcats.