Rutgers Football vs. Washington 9/1/17 Preview

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights kick off the season at home against the University of Washington Huskies in the "War Before the Shore," paying homage to New Jerseyans' time honored tradition of heading for the coast during Labor Day weekend. A rematch from last year's 48-13 thrashing, this revamped Rutgers team heads into the contest as 27.5 point underdogs.

I'm not sure what exactly to expect out of Rutgers on Friday night. As Coach Ash said in his game week press conference, "this is a different football team." Half of the Rutgers team has changed over since the end of last season. Counting Justin Davidovicz, who the coaching staff announced will be handling kickoffs, there are twenty-four new faces on the Rutgers two-deep. That includes true freshmen, redshirt freshmen, and transfers. But that does not include a few other players who may see the field on special teams units or as part of certain offensive or defensive packages. As an example, on Wednesday afternoon, Ash mentioned that 10 of the 11 guys on the punt team are different from last year.

Washington comes in ranked No. 8 in the preseason poll. Yet they have little to no film on many of these Rutgers players. Hopefully the element of surprise can get the Scarlet Knights off to a fast start in this contest.

The Huskies, on the other hand, return many of the starters from last year's team that finished ranked fourth in the country. Leading the pack, is junior quarterback Jake Browning, who threw for 3,430 yards and 43 touchdowns last season. Last year's number one target, John Ross, is now in the NFL, but No. 2 receiver Dante Pettis returns from a season in which he hauled in 16 touchdown passes. Last year's No. 3 receiver, Chico McClatcher, returns as well. McClatcher led the team with 18.5 yards per catch. Washington also returns its two top tailbacks from last season: Myles Gaskin and Lavon Coleman. Together they rushed for 17 touchdowns and over 2,200 yards. Gaskin, who had 1,373 yards on the ground, is also a threat to catch some balls out of the backfield. Of Gaskin, Coach Niemann said "he'll turn a negative yardage play into a 5 or 6-yard gain."

To counter the potent Washington attack, Rutgers hopes to force some turnovers, and according to defensive coordinator Jay Niemann getting takeaways has "been an emphasis, for sure." Also, Rutgers will rely on the secondary, which as a unit has been "playing fast" and "tackling at a very high level" as per Coach Ash. Rutgers is also planning on showing off an improved run defense that Niemann says has "made progress" in the areas of "physicality, fundamentals, techniques, [and] shedding blocks." The Scarlet Knights are also hoping for some raucous fan support to "be as loud and disruptive as possible."

The Washington defensive line is impressive. According to Coach Kill, "their front four is like playing Ohio State's front four," the UW secondary is "all 4, 5 star guys," and their "linebackers all run well."

Rutgers looks to senior Kyle Bolin to guide the offense. Ash feels Bolin is "a coach on the field. He's elevated the play of some others around him." Offensive coordinator Jerry Kill confirmed that Bolin is the guy because he has "a little bit more experience" and "understands the game very well." But Kill cautioned that "we'll keep things pretty simple going into this" in terms of what Rutgers will try to do on offense. Last year the Washington defense bullied the Rutgers offense a bit but Coach Kill says this year "we have some flexibility in our plan if they do try to muscle us some."

One noticeable difference for Rutgers will be all of the new faces in the receiving corps. Senior Janarion Grant is healthy and is "going to play a lot." Also healthy, senior transfer wideout Damon Mitchell "has practiced every day."  Sophomore Dacoven Bailey has "moved outside" from the slot and "made some great plays." Bo Melton, Hunter Hayek, and Everett Wormley will all line up at receiver as true freshmen. Of Wormley, Kill said "he's been the surprise of camp," he's "going up and getting the ball," and "he'll block you and he's physical."

Running backs Gus Edwards and Rob Martin look as though they'll get the bulk of the carries. Edwards, especially, appears as though he'll play like someone with something to prove. Kill referred to Edwards as a man who is "very serious about what he wants to do" and that "he's got a chance to be special."

In some personnel moves, defensive lineman Kevin Wilkins will play inside as well as on the edge. Wilkins brings another strength guy to the edge who Coach Ash feels is "one of our more athletic defensive linemen."

Ash announced early in the week that Andrew Harte has won the job as the Rutgers placekicker for week one. It was a close competition with last year's starter David Bonagura, but Harte was more consistent during the last week of practice.

Asked about the omission of last season's leading receiver Jawuan Harris from the two-deep, Ash informed the media that Harris is suspended for the Washington game for a violation of team rules. Harris had also been limited a bit early in camp with a back injury but "he's healthy now and doing some good stuff."

Giovanni Rescigno and Johnathan Lewis "are both backup quarterbacks" according to the head coach, and that who might go in second would depend on the situation. Earlier in the week, Ash said that there may be "an opportunity for both Johnathan and Gio to play in a game." Of Lewis, Ash said "his skill set brings a different element to our offense."

Kemoko Turay has been cleared to play. Although he missed some time, Ash says they are "trying to catch him up to speed on some stuff."

Going into this game, it is clear that Rutgers has improved the size and talent on the roster. Much of the talent is either untested or is within players who find themselves in new circumstances. So on the one hand, Washington won't know exactly what to prepare for. But on the other hand, Washington is a team of proven studs. I look for Kyle Bolin and Coach Kill to show a very game-managed style of offense that will attempt to move the chains and keep the Washington offense off the field. On defense, the Rutgers secondary will be much better prepared than it was for the Washington game last year, especially with everybody healthy for this contest. If Washington goes into this game thinking about last year, the Huskies could get shocked. More likely, they will find themselves in a much more competitive game. Washington probably wins, but Rutgers easily covers the spread.