Rutgers vs. Nebraska Preview: September 23, 2017

The Scarlet Knights take on the Cornhuskers today in Lincoln, Nebraska, in what is the Big Ten opener for both teams. A few hours before game time, Nebraska is an 11 point favorite over visiting Rutgers. In many ways the Cornhuskers season has mirrored that of the Scarlet Knights. Both teams are 1-2, with Nebraska having won a close opener vs. Arkansas State and then having dropped two close games to Oregon and Northern Illinois. Unaccustomed to a 1-2 start, Nebraska fans are calling for the head of Coach Mike Riley, and the school's athletic director was shown the door yesterday.

The Rutgers coaches, in their media appearances this week, stressed the importance of continued improvement. Last week's 65-0 blowout victory over Morgan State allowed the Scarlet Knights to send 71 players out to see some action, especially many true and redshirt freshmen who logged their first bits of playing time. Obviously, the most impressive of the freshmen was quarterback Johnathan Lewis, who came in at first mainly in red zone situations, and powered his way to 4 rushing touchdowns, and also added a TD through the air. For his efforts, Lewis was named the Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week, alongside Ohio State tailback J.K. Dobbins. Of the freshmen overall, Coach Ash said he was impressed by "the production and the performance that they put on." Assuming that the game stays competitive early, I believe we'll see some more of Lewis today.

Offensively, Ash says Rutgers has "to get more balance to our offense," and has to "clean up the penalties on offense," with too many offensive penalties coming in critical situations. Ash believes Nebraska has "a unique style of defense" in that the Cornhuskers frequently drop eight men into coverage and use three to rush the passer. The goal there is to confuse the quarterback into throwing into what he believes is an open window, only to find a defensive player has slid into the passing lane. According to offensive coordinator Jerry Kill, Rutgers QB Kyle Bolin has been "playing very well," and perhaps his experience will prepare him for the drop-8 scheme. Ash believes "we have to improve our pass game on first and second downs." Now that some of the young receivers have some more game reps under their belts, we should start to see some of that improvement.

On defense, Coach Ash feels the Scarlet Knights "need to find a way to pressure the quarterback more on first and second down" and that they "need to be more creative in what we're doing there." As a result, I would expect to see more pre-snap movement along the defensive line, with that added movement leading to more substitutions. As such, defensive coordinator Jay Niemann mentioned that two-way tight end/defensive end Myles Nash "will continue to work with the defense." Getting to Nebraska quarterback Tanner Lee and making him move around is a priority for Niemann, or Lee "will tear us apart." While Lee can thrown the ball around the field, he's also struggled a bit so far this season, having already thrown 7 interceptions. Hopefully, the pass rush can force Lee into some bad decisions that the secondary can capitalize on.

Nebraska's rushing attack is led by tailback Tre Bryant who has almost 300 yards on the season, and is averaging 5.9 yards per rush. Mikale Wilbon is another back to watch, as he has rushed for 2 touchdowns for the Cornhuskers.

The head coach and coordinators were all asked how Rutgers's young team will be affected by traveling to Nebraska to play in front of 80,000 people. Ash admitted, that it will be a "tough challenge to go into a hostile environment," but otherwise didn't seem overly concerned.

Some general notes, Coach Ash was asked about the status of receiver Ahmir Mitchell. The coach said that as of this past Monday, Mitchell is still rehabbing his injury and has yet to practice, thus he will not player. Coach Ash also mentioned during his weekly radio show that starting center Jonah Jackson has once again been cleared to play. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Mike Maietti filled in admirably for Jackson this past Saturday.