Tag: Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Expert score prediction: Nebraska vs. Rutgers

What’s your prediction?

The Nebraska Cornhuskers return home following a 28-10 bounce-back win over the Purdue Boilermakers. However, the win wasn’t pretty. Penalties and missed field goals riddled the first half before the Huskers cleaned up in the second. Now, they’re facing a team that thrives on opponent’s mistakes.

Rutgers is 4-0 on the season, but several key moments in their last two wins went in their favor. In the Scarlet Knights’ win over Virginia Tech, the Hokies struggled in the first, which saw a punt return fumble that became a Rutgers touchdown.

Virginia Tech also failed a fourth-down conversion and coughed up a safety, giving Rutgers a 16-7 lead. The Scarlet Knights scored a touchdown out of halftime and almost did it again after the Hokies fumbled on the next drive. Rutgers failed on fourth and goal.

The Scarlet Knights managed to get a go-ahead field goal after Virginia Tech tied the game 23-23. But were it not for some of the Hokies’ mistakes, Rutgers would not have snatched the win.

The same occurred in last week’s bout against Washington. The Huskies only punted twice on their 11 drives but missed three field goals and failed two fourth-down conversions.

The play of the game, however, occurred when Washington allowed a blocked field goal to turn into a Rutgers touchdown due to a 12th player coming onto the field in celebration following the block. Washington also coughed up penalties that halted drives, resulting in points scored. 

These scenarios are too similar to Nebraska’s win over Purdue, which the Huskers cannot allow to happen again. Nebraska continues to control its own fate each game, and the same applies here.

The offense needs to be clean and stop letting penalties halt drives. The defense can’t let Rutgers’ Athan Kaliakmanis go off in his third game against the Huskers. The same can be said about Rutgers’ Kyle Monangai, who averages 6.1 rushing yards off 97 total carries. Finally, Nebraska needs to capitalize on field goal opportunities, not allowing any blocks or misses.

If the Huskers can carry their second-half play against Purdue into this game, they’ll be fine.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 24, Rutgers 14

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Big Ten Week 5 Recap: All final scores and updated standings

Here is a look at everything that happened in the Big Ten in Week 5 and the updated conference standings.

For the first time this season, we had a Big Ten football schedule that stretched from Friday night on the East Coast to the late night hours on the West Coast. While not every Big Ten team was in action this week, there was enough to keep us entertained with a trophy game in Michigan, an unofficial whiteout game in Happy Valley, and Oregon and UCLA giving us some Big Ten After Dark.

Here is a look at everything that went down around the Big Ten in Week 5, including a look at the updated Big Ten standings as we head into October.

Washignton played its first road game in the Big Ten and had to fly all the way across the country to New Jersey to do so. It was a long flight back after coming up short against the Scarlet Knights on Friday night.

Kyle Monangai rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown to help Rutgers hold off the Huskies, who dropped its second game of the season already. Washington had a chance to force overtime but a 55-yard field goal attempt by Grady Gross went wide left as time expired.

Washington outgained Rutgers 521-299, Washignton quarterback Will Rogers passed for 306 yards and two touchdowns and Jonah Coleman rushed for 148 yards. But the Huskies had three missed field goals and were just 2-for-12 on third-down attempts.

Next up for Washington: vs. Michigan

Next up for Rutgers: at Nebraska

This was a game about missed opportunities by Maryland. The Terrapins forced four Indiana turnovers but could not score any points off those free possessions. Indiana forced Maryland to punt three times following a turnover by the offense and Maryland was stopped on a turnover on downs following a fourth turnover. The Hoosiers offense more than made up for the rare miscues this season by racking up over 500 yards of offense led by 359 passing yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Kurtis Rourke.

Indiana is off to its first 5-0 start since 1967 and the Hoosiers are already one win shy of bowl eligibility before even getting into October. Not a bad start for new head coach Curt Cignetti in Bloomington.

Next up for Maryland: vs. Northwestern (Week 7)

Next up for Indiana: at Northwestern

Michigan may have retained possession of the Little Brown Jug once again, but the visiting Minnesota Golden Gophers made them work for it. Minnesota put together a furious fourth-quarter rally that ultimately fell short after closing the gap to a three-point margin with 1:37 remaining. Minnesota recovered an onside kick but was flagged for an offsides call on the attempt, and Michigan recovered the second onside kick attempt to put the game on ice.

Kalel Mullings led Michigan with 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns, putting together his third consecutive 100-yard rushing game for Michigan. The Michigan defense held Minnesota to just 38 rushing yards as a team, and limited Darius Taylor to just 36 yards (Taylor did score two touchdowns and catch 10 passes for 52 receiving yards).

The Michigan passing game continues to lack much punch with Alex Orgi completing 10 of 18 passes for 86 yards, but the Wolverines appear comfortable working around their apparent shortcomings for now.

Next up for Minnesota: vs. USC

Next up for Michigan: at Washington

It took a while for anything to happen on the scoreboard in this one, but Nebraska did its part to make up for a slow start. After a scoreless first half by both teams, Nebraska put the first touchdown on the board in the third quarter to take a 7-3 lead and then pulled away in the fourth quarter with three touchdowns for a good road victory for the Cornhuskers.

Dylan Raiola passed for 244 yards and a touchdown but the Huskers were just 1-of-8 on third down conversion attempts. Nebraska’s defense did handle Purdue well by allowing just 224 yards of offense and holding the Boilermakers out of the end zone until the final minute and a half of regulation. It was a defensive touchdown, a 29-yard interception return by John Bullock, that helped put the game firmly out of reach in the fourth quarter.

Next up for Nebraska: vs. Rutgers

Next up for Purdue: at Wisconsin

USC quarterback Miller Moss passed for 308 yards and three touchdowns as USC shut down the visiting Wisconsin Badgers in the second half. USC trailed Wisconsin at halftime 21-10 but weren’t on a 28-0 run in the second half to run away for their first Big Ten conference victory in program history.

This was a bit of a sloppy game for much of the afternoon with five combined turnovers (USC with three, Wisconsin with two), and 14 penalties for over 100 yards of penalty yardage fairly evenly split between the two teams.

Next up for Wisconsin: vs. Purdue

Next up for USC: at Minnesota

Penn State and Illinois traded touchdown drives to start the game, but then the defenses for each took over. The Illini would not manage to score any more points in the game, so Penn State had to gain control with the running game to get the win. Fortunately for Penn State, the combination of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen helped grind out a win with 221 total yards of offense combined between the two, and some good work from tight end Tyler Warren out of the wildcat formations, the offense was too much to slow down for the Illini.

Penn State’s defense also forced a couple of turnovers and sacked Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer seven times. This was not an officially sanctioned whiteout game for Penn State, but the fans turned the night game into one anyway.

Next up for Illinois: vs. Purdue (Week 7)

Next up for Penn State: vs. UCLA

Ohio State’s first game away from home was not expected to be a massive challenge for the Buckeyes, and perhaps it wasn’t. The Buckeyes got off to a somewhat slow start with a 3-0 lead after the first quarter but put together three touchdowns in the second quarter and never had a reason to look back against Michigan State.

Will Howard passed for 244 yards, and the combo of Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith combined for 12 catches and 179 receiving yards with a touchdown each. the defense locked in on the Spartans’ running game and held Nate Carter to just 27 yards on six carries.

Michigan State had their opportunities though. But Michigan State had three turnovers inside the red zone in the first half, suggesting a team can move on the Buckeyes but still has to find a way to finish. Micigan State was unable to do so and paid the price.

Next up for Ohio State: vs. Iowa

Next up for Michigan State: at Oregon

Orgeon wide receiver Tez Johnson caught 11 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns as the Ducks enjoyed a big win at UCLA to wrap up the Big Ten schedule in Week 5. Dillon Gabriel completed 30-of-39 pass attempts for 268 yards and had three touchdowns, including the two to Johnson, and his one interception was returned for a touchdown by former Oregon player Bryan Addison.

After a shaky start to the season, it appears as though Oregon has found its groove and is beginning to live up to some of the preseason hype. They’ll return home next week for their first Big Ten game in Autzen Stadium. Meanwhile, UCLA will make its first cross-country trip in Big Ten play for an early kickoff next Saturday in Happy Valley.

Next up for Oregon: vs. Michigan State

Next up for UCLA: at Penn State

B1G WB1G LWL
Indiana2050
Michigan2041
Ohio State1040
Oregon1040
Penn State1040
Rutgers1040
Iowa1031
Illinois1141
Nebraska1141
USC1131
Michigan State1132
Washington1132
Northwestern0122
Wisconsin0122
Purdue0113
Maryland0232
Minnesota0223
UCLA0213

Rutgers thwarts Washington, improves to 4-0

Rutgers sent Washington back to Seattle with a Big Ten loss

Washington went into Piscataway, New Jersey, on Friday to face one of the “lesser” schools in the Big Ten.

Rutgers was unbeaten and favored coming in and they showed the Huskies life in their new conference won’t be easy, defeating Washington, 21-18.

The game came down to a last-second Washington field goal attempt from better than 50 yards that had the distance but was off target.

Greg Schiano has the Scarlet Knights at 4-0 while Washington is 3-2, having previously lost to former Pac-12 rival Washington State.

Kyle Monangai had a big game for Rutgers on the ground, rushing for 132 yards and a touchdown.

For Washington, quarterback Will Rogers was 26-of-36 for 306 yards and two scores.

Rutgers travels to Nebraska next while Washington will play host to Michigan in conference play.

Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick was at the game to support his son, Steve, who is on the Washington coaching staff.

Rutgers AD Pat Hobbs resigns unexpectedly after nine years

Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs resigned on Friday morning, effective immediately, leaving the Scarlet Knights just ahead of the college football season.

Pat Hobbs resigned from his position as athletic director at Rutgers on Friday, effective immediately, according to NJ.com.

Hobbs played a critical part in Rutgers transitioning into the Big Ten during the early part of his tenure, and while his first football hire – Chris Ash – went an abysmal 8-32 across four seasons, his decision to bring back Greg Schiano for a second stint proved successful, and his decision to hire Steve Pikiell on the men’s basketball side looks incredibly promising with a pair of elite freshmen joining the program this year in Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper.

Bailey and Harper are the second and third ranked prospects in the 2024 class, behind Duke superstar Cooper Flagg, and could represent a breakout season for the Scarlet Knights in the Big Ten.

Hobbs had a previous stint as athletic director at Seton Hall prior to coming to Rutgers, and he will be replaced on an interim basis by deputy athletic director Ryan Pisarri.

Where Penn State lands in USA TODAY Sports’ 2024 Big Ten football preseason poll

USA TODAY’s preseason Big Ten media poll has been released. Here is what 13 beat writers see the conference shaking out in 2024.

The USA TODAY Sports Network released its 2024 Big Ten football preseason poll on Monday ahead of the conference media days this week in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The pool takes votes from 13 beat writers who cover the conference for USA TODAY. This is the first edition of the poll featuring the 18-team Big Ten as it enters its first season of expanded play. Newcomers Oregon, Washington, UCLA, and USC are likely to make a major impact on the season, with the Ducks being a heavy title favorite.

Related: Penn State’s 2024 schedule with game-by-game score predictions, 2024 Big Ten media days full schedule

The two teams that met in the national championship game do not even crack the top two, as 2024 represents a year of rebuilding for the Huskies and Wolverines.

It is always challenging to predict the end-of-season standings, especially with the conference entering an entirely new dynamic this year. However, both preseason polls we have looked at so far put Penn State at No. 3 in the conference.

As we near that point, here is a complete 2024 Big Ten football preseason poll courtesy of our colleagues at USA TODAY:

1. Ohio State (8 first-place votes)

2. Oregon (5 first-place votes)

3. (tie) Michigan

3. (tie) Penn State

5. USC

6. Iowa

7. Wisconsin

8. Nebraska

9. Washington

10. Rutgers

11. Maryland

12. Michigan State

13. Minnesota

14. UCLA

15. Illinois

16. Indiana

17. Northwestern

18. Purdue

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Penn State picked third in unofficial Big Ten football media poll

This year’s unofficial Big Ten media poll has been released. Here is what the Big Ten media voters think.

Most conferences organize their own official preseason media polls during the various conference media days. The Big Ten is one of the conferences that does not conduct its own preseason media poll, which is why Cleveland.com’s sports staff took up the task of organizing an annual preseason media poll. And as the Big Ten football media day event is about to get underway in Indianapolis this week, this year’s unofficial Big Ten preseason media poll is out. Penn State is expected to be among the top contenders in the conference this season according to those who voted.

Penn State received the third-most points in the media poll organized by Cleveland.com. The Nittany Lions finished with seven more points than defending Big Ten and national champion Michigan, who is fourth in the preseason poll. Ohio State was the runaway favorite among the voters with 21 first-place votes out of a possible 27. Ohio State received a total of 480 points in the voting. New Big Ten member Oregon received the remaining six first-place votes and 448 total points in the voting.

Here is a look at the 2024 Cleveland.com Preseason Big Ten Media Poll:

  1. Ohio State (*21 first-place votes) – 480 total points
  2. Oregon (6) – 448
  3. Penn State – 418
  4. Michigan – 411
  5. Iowa – 363
  6. USC – 346
  7. Wisconsin – 313
  8. Nebraska – 293
  9. Rutgers – 249
  10. Washington – 236
  11. Maryland – 185
  12. Minnesota – 183
  13. Illinois – 145
  14. Northwestern – 138
  15. UCLA – 124
  16. Michigan State – 119
  17. Indiana – 76
  18. Purdue – 65

So, how accurate has this preseason poll been over the years? Since 2011, this poll has correctly predicted the Big Ten champion just four times. The poll correctly predicted Ohio State to win the Big Ten in 2017, 2018, and 2020, and Michigan in 2023.

Voters were also asked to predict how many Big Ten teams will make the College Football Playoff, which expands to 12 teams this season from the former four-team format. Every ballot predicted Ohio State will reach the playoff, and all but one predicted Oregon will reach the playoff. A total of 18 voters believe Penn State will reach the College Football Playoff, and 15 pick Michigan to make a return to defend its national title. Three voters predicted Iowa will make the playoff.

You can view more information in the Big Ten preseason media poll via Cleveland.com.

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2025 NFL Draft first impression: Kyle Monangai, RB, Rutgers

2025 NFL Draft first impression of Rutgers RB Kyle Monangai ahead of the 2024 college season

It’s always cool when a player jumps onto your personal draft scouting radar by catching them in person for a first viewing. Such is the case with Rutgers RB Kyle Monangai.

My very first look at Monangai was in attendance at Michigan Stadium in 2023 for Rutgers’ game against the host Wolverines. It was not an impressive statistical game for Monangai, who netted just 27 yards on 11 carries against the eventual national champions. Yet even in that meager output, the compactly built Monangai impressed.

I counted exactly one run where Monangai got beyond the line of scrimmage without being touched. The Rutgers blocking was overmatched, to be charitable. But Monangai was not dissuaded. He kept battling, showing vision and toughness as well as a very good lower body churn through contact. Pass protection assignments were carried out effectively and with enthusiasm. This is a guy who takes pride in his physicality.

At 5-foot-9 and 210 listed pounds, Monangai is built like a between-the-tackles back. And that’s where he’s at his best, sifting through tight traffic and using his lower-body strength and momentum-based running to maximize what’s blocked for him.

In watching more of Monangai and Rutgers, he continued to prove very good at running through contact and punishing tacklers that don’t establish leverage. His ball security is literally perfect–no lost fumbles, which for a hard-nosed interior runner is wildly impressive.

Out in space, Monangai isn’t as effective. His speed is more burst-based and not “long” speed to outrun defensive backs in pursuit. No. 5 can effectively press the edge and get north-south to try and run through tackles, but he’s not overly elusive or blessed with quick feet in space.

Rutgers barely used Monangai in the passing game outside of pass protection, so his receiving skills are limited in experience. He has never been a return specialist during his time with the Scarlet Knights.

Teams looking for a power back and short-yardage/red-zone grinder, a la Jamaal Williams, will probably like Monangai a lot. There is some stylistic and size resemblance to NFL journeyman Jeremy McNichols if McNichols ran with more power, too. It would be great to see Monangai get better blocking and more passing game usage to better project his NFL draft stock. Entering the year, he looks like an early Day 3 type of talent if he had been in the 2024 NFL Draft.

[lawrence-related id=654090]

Penn State loses Class of 2025 LB DJ McClary to Rutgers

Penn State is down a four-star commitment in the Class of 2025 after a new flip to another Big Ten program.

For the second time in a matter of days, Penn State has lost one member of its Class of 2025. Days after losing a four-star running back to an SEC school, Penn State has now lost a four-star linebacker to a Big Ten rival. [autotag]DJ McClary[/autotag] announced on his social media profile on Sunday that he has committed to Rutgers, flipping from his original Penn State commit from last September.

McClary committed to Penn State on September 24, 2023. The timing of the flip is interesting given McClary just visited Penn State within the last two weeks, which followed a visit to Rutgers in late May.

The loss of the commitment from McClary stings a bit on the defensive side of the recruiting class. Penn State is down to just one linebacker in the Class of 2025 at the moment with Dayshaun Burnett, from Pittsburgh. Burnett is a four-star recruit according to 247Sports and Rivals, but has just a three-star rating from On3.

This is the second four-star player to flip from his Penn State commitment in the past few days. Running back Alvin Henderson, from Alabama, announced he flipped his commitment from Penn State to Auburn. In both cases, the player backing away from his commitment to Penn State is staying closer to home with an in-state program.

Penn State did pick up a couple of commitments this weekend, though. Penn State picked up a commitment from running back Jabree Wallace-Coleman out of Philadelphia and safety Braswell Thomas, from Cape May, New Jersey.

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Alabama lands transfer portal star in Rutgers big man Cliff Omoruyi

Former Rutgers center Cliff Omoruyi committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide via the transfer portal on Sunday.

Rutgers center Cliff Omoruyi, perhaps the most sought after big man in the transfer portal, committed to Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sunday.

Omoruyi revealed a final list of Alabama, North Carolina, Kansas State, and Georgetown before ultimately choosing to head to Tuscaloosa and join a program that went to their first ever Final Four in 2024.

The 6’11 Nigerian spent the past four years with the Scarlet Knights, starting 98 games in the past three seasons and averaging 11.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks while shooting 55.8% on twos and 60.6% from the free throw line.

Last season saw the big man average a career-high 2.9 blocks per game, cementing himself as one of the best defensive bigs in the entire country.

Omoruyi joins an Alabama transfer portal class that includes former Auburn point guard Aden Holloway, South Florida wing Chris Youngblood, and Pepperdine point guard Houston Mallette.

The Crimson Tide also return star forward Grant Nelson and could get Mark Sears back for another year – which could make them the preseason favorite to cut down the nets in 2025.

Cooper Flagg finishes senior year as number one prospect in On3’s Top 150 rankings

Cooper Flagg fends off Ace Bailey in final on3 recruiting rankings.

Cooper Flagg has had one heck of a final year in high school. It started with him reclassifying last September to rejoin his original class. Soon after, he committed to the Duke Blue Devils, his dream school and the team he’s been a fan of since he was a little kid. He would then lead Montverde Academy to a national title, and along the way, Flagg dominated and received all types of awards.

He would be named McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand All-American and compete in the Nike Hoop Summit. Now, he finishes the whirlwind year as On3’s number-one player in its final 2024 recruiting rankings.

Ace Bailey, the number two overall prospect, pushed Flagg all season long in. an attempt to overtake him. Still, Jamie Shaw of On3 Sports specifically cited Flagg’s ability and consistency in performing at the highest levels since entering high school as the most significant reason Flagg remained ahead of Bailey. Bailey is hyper-athletic, with great size and a great frame, and he showcased terrific shotmaking but also relied too much on his jump shot. In contrast, Flagg utilizes his ever-improving jump shot as a small part of his ability to get to the basket and be a creator and initiator in half-court, where he makes terrific reads.

The conversation will continue during the summer and through each player’s one and only college seasons at Duke and Rutgers, respectively, as each is on a crash course for the 2025 NBA Draft.

Flagg can now rest and enjoy his time off and being to prepare for the next challenge: becoming a Duke basketball player. He won’t make the trip to Durham for good until sometime in June, but based on everything we’ve seen from Flagg, this young man will not be afraid of the moment or challenge.