Rutgers senior linebacker Moses Walker picked up Comeback Player of the Week honors after a standout showing in Week 2, and the timing could not be better for a Scarlet Knights defense trying to steady itself early in the season.
Walker delivered his biggest game yet in the red bandana game against Boston College, finishing with two interceptions and a sack. For a player who had never logged a two-interception game in his four-year college career, it was a clear milestone and a strong sign that he is settling in as one of Rutgers’ defensive leaders.
Even with Rutgers off to an 0-2 start, Walker has been a steady presence on that side of the ball. He has carried himself like a professional and has already established himself as one of the top voices on the defense through the first two games.
The next challenge is a major one: USC. Rutgers enters the matchup as a 25.5-point underdog, a number that only adds more edge to a defense that already has reason to feel overlooked. Whether the Scarlet Knights say it out loud or not, the message has been sent.
Walker, who was born in Staten Island, brings size and strength to the middle of the defense at 6'2 and 230 pounds. And if Rutgers is going to hang with the Trojans, he will need help around him. The defense will need impact plays from linemen like Malachi Davis and Ty Morris, because this matchup will take more than one standout performance.
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava is bringing plenty of firepower into the game. He leads the nation in touchdowns with 10 and passing yards with 896, and he ranks fifth in quarterback rating at 91.0. He has also been careful with the football, throwing only one touchdown.
That puts a heavy burden on head coach Greg Schiano and the Rutgers defense. The article frames the preparation as urgent and intense, with Rutgers needing serious film study and hard practice to avoid getting run out of the game against a quarterback playing at that level.
For now, though, the headline belongs to Walker. It is a well-earned honor in a season that still has plenty of room to grow, and Rutgers will be hoping it is the first of more accolades for its senior linebacker in his final year with the program.
In Other News...
Rutgers Fans Are Facing A Hard Truth About Big Ten Relevance
Rutgers football once gave its fan base a very different kind of autumn, when the program surged under Greg Schiano and Kyle Flood and reached heights that still stand out in school history. The Scarlet Knights went 11-2 in 2006 and finished No. 12 in the final AP ranking, a reminder that this program was not always defined by trying to keep pace, but by occasionally forcing the rest of the country to notice.
Since moving into the Big Ten, though, Rutgers has found the climb far steeper and the familiar breakthrough far harder to repeat. The program has had only two seasons with six or more wins since 2015, and the combination of tighter financial limits and a much more punishing conference landscape has made the old level of relevance difficult to reclaim. For a fan base that remembers what the peak looked like, the question is no longer whether Rutgers can flash again, but how long it can keep searching for a path back. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Heads Into USC Test With A Familiar Defensive Problem
Rutgers gets another crack at USC at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, and the matchup brings back some familiar concerns for the Scarlet Knights. In the first meeting last season, Rutgers moved the ball well enough on offense to stay in it, but the defense had a much harder time keeping USC in check, a pattern that looms over this rematch as both teams come in with clear strengths on one side of the ball.
The numbers point to a game where Rutgers will need cleaner answers on defense than it had before, especially against an USC offense that has shown it can stress teams in a variety of ways. For Rutgers, the challenge is not just matching the Trojans score for score, but finding a way to avoid the kind of breakdowns that turned last years meeting into a long afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Heads Into USC With One Huge Decision Still Unsettled
Rutgers spent the lead-up to USC focusing on a Trojans offense that has leaned on youth early, with freshmen Trent Mosley and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt giving Lincoln Riley another layer of danger at receiver. Tight end Mark Bowman and sophomore wideout Jourdin Houston only add to the sense that this is not a unit waiting for its veterans to carry the load, and for the Scarlet Knights it means the defensive plan has to account for speed and unpredictability all over the field.
Greg Schiano still has one major call hanging over the week, though, and it is the kind of decision that shapes everything else on game day. He has not named a starting quarterback for the trip to USC, leaving Rutgers with a little more uncertainty than it would like before facing a high-powered opponent on the road, even as the program continues to sort out how several younger players fit into the picture this season. [Read more 🡒]