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Week 11 offseason preview: Rutgers Scarlet Knights
As we inch ever closer to the start of fall practice, its time to finish off the “off season” opponent previews before they become “in season” previews. So let’s get to today’s look in – Rutgers.
What We Know:
Last year was a tale of two seasons for the Scarlet Knights. Chapter one was a miserable 1-5 start that had their emerging fan base cringing and plenty of infighting. Does anyone remember QB Mike Teel slugging Glen Lee? Refresh yourself:
Then the Knights found their stride and finished with 7 straight wins to cap off a 8-5 (5-2) record good for a 2nd place tie in the Big East. For the record the wins were to Morgan St, UConn, Pitt, Syracuse, South Florida, Army, Louisville and NC St in the PapaJohns.com Bowl. The losses were to Fresno St, North Carolina, Navy, West Virginia and Cincinnati.
Spring Developments
Optimism is high in the Garden State as Knights return 8 starters on offense and 6 on defense. The biggest losses will be finding a replacement for QB Mike Teel and WRs Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood. Dominic Natale and Jabu Lovelace, both seniors, battled in the spring for the qb job, but really the high topic will be whether true frosh Tom Savage can come in be the man. At WR look for Tim Brown (no not the guy who screwed Don McPherson out of a Heisman) to be the top target. The rest of the offense looks set, especially on the OL where all 5 starters return led by OT Anthony Davis. Expect the line to improve the totals from last season’s 80th rank rush attack. Soph Joe Martinek will see the bulk of the carries.
On defense, Head Coach Greg Schiano has given up the reins as the D Coordinator to not one man but two Bob Fraser and Ed Pinkham. Sounds like a recipe for to many cooks in the kitchen, but then the same thing holds true on offense where Kyle Flood and Kirk Ciarrocca are “co”-coordinating. Still the defensive unit should be in good hands with LB Ryan D’Imperio and DE George Johnson. Throw in experience in the secondary with Devin McCourty and Joe Lefeged and this could be one of the top defenses in the conference. If they improve on their 19th ranked scoring stats that will most certainly hold true.
Teddy Dellaganna returns to punt and San San Te is back to lend experience to the special teams, a rarity in this conference.
Additional reviews can be found at Rivals, Quad Blog and NationalChamps.net.
Interesting Fact:
Expect more fannies in the stands this year as the Knights expanded Rutgers Stadium to hold 55K. Although I’m not sure how many will pack the place to see OOC foes like Howard, Florida International and Texas Southern. Fortunately all the “marquee” BE teams travel to Jersey this year. Still its going to take RU 7 wins to be bowl eligible this year.
Why We Can Win:
The Orange has had some success against the Knights. I use the word success with major asterisk. Two straight years of 14-0 starts dissolved into completely stagnant finishes. If we can put them on their heels early this year, I believe things could be different. There’s actually some concern for RU at the skill positions so overcoming deficits might not be a strong suit this season.
Why We Can Lose:
Manly, we have been manhandled on both sides of the ball against Rutgers. Their offense and defensive fronts have been to dominant against our bigs. Overtime that just wears on the defense and they have held a big advantage in time of possession. The advantage of the big uglies can give whomever is manning the qb spot time to find spaces in the secondary or pound the ball. Brown is small but speedy. He could have a big game.
The Pick:
Interesting game for many reasons. Doug Marrone has stated his goal is to recapture recruiting in an area that is strongly held by Rutgers. There have been thinly veiled pot shots coming from each camp about the others schools, whether its recruiting tactics or the rights to NYC. Heck visit scout message boards on either side and you see ambushes from the rival fan base. Is this an emerging “rivalry” or just the little brother as pest? The last two years the Scarlet Knights have basically spotted the Orange 14-0 leads only to win in convincing fashion.
The game comes as SU’s last home game and Rutgers walks in with 9 days to prepare. That could be the key. Neither team should have any question marks at QB by this point. I’d like to think that Senior Day will give the Orange some energy but how much? Enough to tighten the score some, but in the end Rutgers is going to be too much 24-13.
What do you say?
