The Knights Watchman

Yesterday, the Rutgers coaches held their weekly press conferences looking ahead to this weekend's road meeting with Ohio State . As expected, Rutgers is a huge underdog, with OSU currently favored by 38.5. But this is a homecoming of sorts for Ash, and although he's insistent it's just another game, there has to be a part of the coaches who came from Ohio State that's makes them want to ensure the team puts forth a good showing. So, for the second week in a row, I believe Rutgers will beat the spread. After confirming their injuries, Ash was asked if he felt there would be an emotional letdown with the team having lost two significant starters in defensive end Quanzell Lambert and do-everything offensive star Janarion Grant. The coach said he was "pleased with the Sunday practice" and that he "doesn't expect an emotional letdown." Defensively, Ash said the Scarlet Knights "need to be more consistent stopping the run on defense....

I've had a few days to recover from and digest the Rutgers 14-7 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes. I correctly picked Rutgers to cover the 13.5 point spread, but I certainly didn't anticipate how close the game would actually be and that Rutgers , in my opinion, should have won the game. Before I get into breaking down what I thought were suspect decisions, I want to take a moment to express my well wishes to Janarion Grant and Quanzell Lambert, after both sustained season-ending injuries in the game. They will both be missed and were having excellent seasons to this point. Chris Ash mentioned in his Monday press conference that Rutgers will petition the NCAA for another year of eligibility for both men. Let's hope we see them back on the banks. But if not, thank you for everything! Despite having the team well-prepared, I believe this loss was on the coaches. Rutgers came up empty on three of the four trips to the red zone. On the first trip, Chris Laviano back pedale...

The Iowa Hawkeyes swoop into High Point Solutions Stadium to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday, September 24th, kicking off at high noon. Rutgers opened as a 14-point underdog at home, but as of this writing the line has dropped to 13. But it's still expected to be Iowa by two touchdowns. I however, feel that the game will be much closer. The Scarlet Knights have enough talent on the offensive and defensive lines to keep the game fairly tight. If I was a betting man, with that spread I'd take RU. Iowa is coming off an upset loss to North Dakota State . Due to the quality of the North Dakota State football program, I'm not sure them beating anyone is an upset. Nonetheless, there's been a lot of speculation that Rutgers could use the blueprint that North Dakota State has laid out if the Scarlet Knights want to defeat Iowa . There's some truth to that I'm sure, but the reality is that Iowa is also very aware of how they were beaten, a...

There were many twists and turns but in the end I think Rutgers fans have to be a happy with the 9-point come-from-behind victory over New Mexico . Sure, another slow start in the first quarter is a concern. But I think one of the things lost in the discussion is that the Scarlet Knights defense actually stopped the Lobos on the first series. New Mexico was four plays and out before the ill-fated botched punt return. It's hard to criticize Janarion Grant for anything since he's been our best and most dynamic player, but that's certainly one he'd like to have back. On a punt return team, anytime a ball is over your head it's standard to let it go. And coupled with the sun glare at High Point Solutions Stadium, taking a chance on the ball being downed deep in our own end would've been the wisest course of action. Punt return, though, has got to be one of the most difficult things to do on a football field, so it's tough to second guess anyone who's do...

Monday, September 12, brought the usual game-week press conferences from Rutgers head coach Chris Ash, his coordinators, and the Rutgers players. Ash started the conference by announcing Janarion Grant's selection as the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week. Interestingly enough, Grant was not named the Scarlet Knights internal special teams player of the game. That honor went to freshman Larry Stevens, who among other things made a phenomenal tackle on the opening kickoff. It was revealed when the weekly depth chart was released that Jawuan Harris is now listed as one of the starting receivers alongside Janarion Grant and Carlton Agudosi. Harris is the first Rutgers player since 1989 to have slugged a home run and scored a touchdown in the same calendar year. The head coach had this to say about Harris, "he's in that top group of guys we need to get the football to." Ash also mentioned that free safety Saquan Hampton will miss significant time with an inj...

"We recovered, rebounded, and hung in there..." "Some groups needed to have a fire lit under them and some of them didn't." Those quotes by Rutgers head coach Chris Ash pretty well sum up how I felt about Rutgers eventual 52-14 thrashing of the Howard Bison. The start of the game was of course a little disturbing. Rutgers actually covered the opening kickoff well, as Larry Stevens got downfield and tackled the Howard returner at his own 11-yard line. But Howard's first drive was the classic example of one team coming out with energy and ready to roll, while the Rutgers defense was caught on its heels. Indecision, poor tackling, and some hard running on the part of Howard tailback Anthony Philyaw was a recipe for disaster for Rutgers . Nine plays, 89 yards and 4:19 later, Rutgers was down 7 after cornerback Ross Douglass got smoked on a 38-yard deep ball. After the game, RU defensive coordinator Jay Niemann said, "Obviously, that's an unacce...

Rutgers head coach Chris Ash sat down with radio announcers Chris Carlin and Eric LeGrand for the first installment of The Chris Ash Show, which was broadcast live from Quaker Steak and Lube in Edison , NJ . Also sitting down to chat with the hosts was Rutgers Athletic Director Pat Hobbs.  If you're interested, check out the video from the link below: http://www.scarletknights.com/collegesportslive/?media=535256 Ash spent time discussing the breakdowns on special teams, saying that he was very disappointment because they spent "an insane amount of time" practicing special teams during the week leading up to the Washington game. Echoing his statements from his postgame press conference, Ash reiterated the progress he thought the team made throughout the contest saying that there was "no quit in our football team." Eric LeGrand asked about specific players that Ash thought stood out, and the coach talked about Kiy Hester and Janarion Grant. Regardin...

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights take on Howard this coming Saturday at High Point Solutions Stadium. Kickoff is at Noon. Rutgers looks to rebound after getting thrown from their horses at Washington . Meanwhile, Howard is coming off their own 52-13 laugher in College Park , Maryland . So, both teams should be motivated to put on a better showing. I was able to catch the Monday press conferences of Head Coach Chris Ash, Offensive Coordinator Drew Mehringer, and Defensive Coordinator Jay Niemann. Here's a few highlights from what they had to say as well as some of my thoughts: As would any coach, Ash is looking forward to the home opener, stating that as a visiting coach he felt Rutgers was a great environment for a game. He said that the program will be making some tweaks to the game-day experience, but that the tradition of the Scarlet Walk will remain. He mentioned they may also try to add some new wrinkles to the Scarlet Walk. Keeping the Scarlet Walk is a great idea. It...

Having had a night to sleep on and sleep off the Rutgers 48-13 shellacking at the hands of the Washington Huskies, I feel like I can look at the game a little more objectively. I'm going to break the game down into some general comments, positives, negatives, and hand out some game balls. The game got off to an inauspicious start with Janarion Grant's 12-yard kickoff return, giving Rutgers woeful field position at their own 15. But Justin Goodwin immediately picked up 9 yards rushing on the next two plays. Rutgers found themselves in a good position with a third and 1 at their own 24. Goodwin got stuffed on that third-and-one play and things quickly degenerated. Had Rutgers made that third down conversion I believe it would have been a different football game. The outcome would've still been a Rutgers loss, but I think the game would've been much closer in the sense that RU would've at least covered the 26.5 point spread. Another thing that struck me ...

The Ash Era officially kicks off today with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights a third of the way across the Earth, taking on the 14th ranked Washington Huskies. With the renewed excitement around the program, I've been inspired to restart my Rutgers football blog. So, the Knights Watchman is back. Mainly, I'm going to blog for my own enjoyment. Over the past few years, my schedule has been pretty hectic. I gave up my season tickets a few years back. And I saw more games a day or two after they were played than I saw on live TV. But I've still followed the program closely, keeping tabs on all of the good and bad. Now I have the opportunity to join the conversation about Rutgers Football again and I'm looking forward to sharing ideas and providing readers a place to go to link to other information about Rutgers football. With that in mind, it was nice to see Rutgers get some preseason coverage in the sports sections of the New York tabloids. While both articles touch ...