Rutgers got a needed road win at Maryland last week, but the challenge gets a lot steeper in Evanston this Saturday. The Scarlet Knights head to No. 24 Northwestern for a noon kickoff in the second game of their two-game road swing, and the staff’s read on this one is pretty consistent: Rutgers can score enough to avoid embarrassment, but the matchup tilts heavily toward the Wildcats.
Northwestern enters at 5-1 and ranked 24th, and the reason keeps coming back to the same place. The Wildcats have leaned on the run and a mobile quarterback, and that’s a rough fit for a Rutgers defense that has had trouble all season handling both.
Rutgers already looked vulnerable against the run against Maryland and Indiana, and the numbers from those games only sharpen the concern. On the other side, Rutgers has its own issues getting the ground game going and protecting the football, which makes it harder to control the game long enough to hang around.
There is still some faith in Rutgers’ offense making plays. KJ Duff comes up repeatedly as the kind of target who can help the Scarlet Knights find the end zone, and Dylan Lonergan’s connection with him is expected to continue.
Clay Thevenin also gets plenty of mention after his breakout against Maryland, when he ran 17 times for 109 yards, scored on the ground and added another touchdown as a receiver. He has now scored in four straight games, and the idea is simple: if Rutgers can sustain drives and keep the clock moving, it can at least keep this from turning into a runaway.
But the turnover gap is the real warning sign. Rutgers sits at 122nd in the country in turnover margin at minus-5, while Northwestern is eighth at plus-7. That’s the kind of edge that can stay hidden for a while and then suddenly decide the game late, especially on the road against a ranked team.
The staff predictions all point the same direction, with Northwestern expected to pull away but not blow Rutgers off the field. The scores land at Northwestern 31, Rutgers 14; Northwestern 35, Rutgers 17; Northwestern 34, Rutgers 17; and Northwestern 31, Rutgers 24.
In Other News...
Rutgers Never Recovered From The Start Fans Dreaded
Rutgers spent the afternoon chasing a game it never really got to settle into, and the early damage proved too much to overcome in a 42-14 loss to No. 24 Northwestern. The Scarlet Knights were undone by a rough first quarter and an offense that never found much rhythm, while Northwestern controlled the line of scrimmage and kept building its lead with a balanced attack.
The bigger concern for Rutgers was how little room it had to adjust once things started slipping. The defense had trouble slowing either the run or the pass, and the offense spent most of the day trying to manufacture momentum that never came. Now the Scarlet Knights have to reset quickly with Michigan next on the schedule, and the lesson from this one is hard to ignore: the margin for error disappeared almost immediately. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Just Got Exposed In One Area Fans Feared Most
Rutgers spent much of the day chasing Northwestern after the No. 24 Wildcats burst out to an early lead and never let go, turning a home date into a reminder of how thin the margin can be when the Scarlet Knights fall behind. The offense kept grinding through a strange day under center, with three quarterbacks taking snaps as injuries and performance issues forced constant adjustments, but the ground game did at least give Rutgers something to build on.
Antwan Raymond and Clay Thevenin both gave the Scarlet Knights a real push on the ground, and that was the kind of physical answer Rutgers has been looking for. The harder question was on the other side of the ball, where Aidan Chiles had room to work and made the most of it, throwing for 219 yards and three touchdowns as Northwestern repeatedly found the soft spots Rutgers has worried about most. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Fans Should Know The N.J. QB Turning Heads Fast
Highland Park kept rolling Friday with a 35-0 Big Central Conference win over Metuchen, and senior Marcus Smith was at the center of it from start to finish. He helped pace the offense, ran the ball effectively, and even got involved on defense as Highland Park improved to 8-1 overall and 4-1 in conference play.
The night also carried a special moment for the home crowd with Highland Park honoring one of its own, as the school retired the jersey of alum L.J. Smith. For Rutgers fans keeping an eye on New Jersey talent, it was the kind of local showcase that can make a player stand out fast, especially when the stage is packed with the sort of attention that comes with a dominant win. [Read more 🡒]