A lot more will be known about this Rutgers football team and the state of the program’s rebuild on Saturday night. Rutgers, in year three of the rebuild under head coach Greg Schiano, has shown some promise this season en route to a 3-0 start.
Now against Iowa (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten), consistently one of the best programs in the nation, Rutgers has a bit of a measuring stick to see where they stand up against the elite of the elite in the Big Ten.
But first, there is lots to do, a task complicated by the uncertainty of the quarterback situation at Rutgers.
On quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, who has split snaps fairly evenly with Evan Simon so far this season, Schiano said the decision has not yet been made about the player’s availability. A former four-star quarterback, Wimsatt played four games last season as a redshirt. He left Saturday’s game with an undisclosed injury:
“Gavin will be a game-time decision. We’ll know as the week goes on,” Schiano told reporters in his weekly press conference.
As for quarterback Noah Vedral, there is no timetable for his return either. The incumbent starter from the past two seasons, Vedral has not played this season with his own undisclosed injury.
“Yeah, he’s going to be a game-time decision as well. It’s kind of unsettling, you have two quarterbacks that are game-time decisions,” Schiano said.
“Thank goodness Evan is healthy. We’ll just prepare, as I said after the game on Saturday, we’ll prepare for whoever we have that the doctors tell us are going to be able to play.”
Schiano was also asked about the environment for Saturday night. Hosting Iowa at home and under the lights of SHI Stadium, Schiano has asked for a ‘Scarlet-out’ and to fill-up the stadium.
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Playing against a team the caliber of Iowa, one of the best programs in not just the Big Ten but the entire nation over the past five years, has Schiano excited.
He underscored that this is an Iowa defense that is top-notch. Rutgers will have their hands full, certainly.
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On Saturday in their win at Temple, Rutgers had 201 yards of total offense and just 12 first downs.
“Very fundamentally sound. They know exactly what they want to do. Very physical. Typical Iowa defense,” Schiano said.
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