Thoughts on Rutgers vs. Nebraska

The Nebraska game has been in the books for almost a week now, with the Scarlet Knights having come out on the wrong end of the 27-17 score. This was a strange game to watch. Going into the game, I felt it would be a winnable contest, especially with Nebraska program seemingly reeling from its 1-2 start. On the other side of the equation was the reality of an equally struggling Rutgers team taking a fairly young roster on the road in front of 80,000 Cornhuskers fans desperate for a win. Then you have to add in that Rutgers would be without Janarion Grant, the team's top playmaker.

As a Scarlet Knights fan it was frustrating to watch in the sense that the win was there for the taking, but Rutgers was unable to connect on enough plays to win the day. The Scarlet Knights simply didn't score enough to win the game, or make enough first downs to keep the Nebraska offense off the field in the second half and give the defense a rest. In addition, it seemed Rutgers shot themselves in the foot on both sides of the ball at inopportune times. Ash said, "Bottom line is we just made too many mistakes to win the football game on the road." Rutgers was actually penalized less than Nebraska and made the same number of turnovers. However, the timing of those turnovers, penalties, and the botched snap were very costly and killed momentum. In addition the missed tackles on the punt return was a huge play in the game that swung the momentum in Nebraska's favor and got the dormant fans off their butts and back into the game.

But there were a few positives that came out of this game that Rutgers can use to build on both for the remainder of the season and for the future:

First of all, Rutgers is now 3-1 against the spread. And I know what some of your are thinking, "who cares? I don't bet on college football." And yes, on the surface winning games against the spread is meaningless. But it's part of a larger story of improvement. If a team is constantly winning by more or losing by less than the oddsmakers expect, that means that the team is outperforming expectations. For me, it's a sign of improvement in that it shows that Rutgers is getting better.

Second, the play of Gus Edwards continues to be encouraging. The touchdown run was obviously strong, but I'm also encouraged by the fact that Edwards was able to gain 4 yards per carry against a stout defensive line that came in intent on forcing Rutgers to throw. At 4 yards per clip, I would've liked to have seen Edwards get more carries in the second half.

Two other guys on offense who I thought had strong games were Dacoven Bailey and Hunter Hayek. Bailey led the team in receiving yards and made some nice catches, while Hayek was given the tough task of filling in for Janarion Grant and hauled in three balls himself. The true freshman proved that he was ready for the moment.

Another thing that appears to have been cleaned up when compared to last year is that Rutgers isn't getting blown out early in games. The games have been competitive in the first half and well into the second. To me, the main issue for Rutgers in this game and in the Eastern Michigan game was the inability of the offense to get enough first downs to keep the defense from getting worn out. But credit the offense for coming out quick and scoring right away, letting Nebraska know that Rutgers came to play. In his opening postgame remarks, Ash said that he felt the "players played extremely hard. I'm really proud of the preparation and focus." Certainly, this attention to preparation and focus has translated to more competitive first halfs.

There were also some defensive standouts. The starting safeties were all over the field. Kiy Hester's pick 6 was an incredible play. With his brother at Nebraska, I'm sure that was a big moment to gain some bragging rights, even though I'm sure Hester would've preferred to win the game. Still, he made a good read on the ball and showed off some impressive moves getting to the end zone. His counterpart, Saquan Hampton, had ten tackles and many key stops.

Trevor Morris had an incredible game, amassing 13 tackles, including 3 tackles for loss. That man just makes a lot of plays. Kemoko Turay also filled up the stat sheet, having been a part of 8 tackles.

Finally, the kicking game now appears to be one of the strengths of the team. Punter Ryan Anderson and kickoff specialist Justin Davidovicz have rocket launchers for legs. Their ability to flip the field position for Rutgers and pin the opponents deep is one of the factors in Rutgers' strong ranking in team defense. And kicker Andrew Harte has been solid thus far.

On Monday, Chris Ash confirmed the worst-case scenario when he disclosed that cornerback Blessuan Austin has a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season. Austin is arguably Rutgers best defensive player, as he routinely matches up with the opponents' best receiver and truly is viewed as someone with NFL potential. I wish Austin the best as he recovers from his injury.

While clearly dismayed by having to deliver the news of Austin's injury, Ash stated that it is an "opportunity for Damon Hayes to step up and be the full-time starter." Rutgers is fortunate in the sense that they have Hayes ready to step in and complement Isaiah Wharton, but it will certainly test the depth of the cornerbacks as a unit. Hayes had been spelling Wharton and Austin, but was also the nickel back in some multiple receiver sets. When Austin went out and Hayes slid over to be the every-down corner, senior Zane Campbell came in to play the nickel. Ash mentioned that Campbell, true freshman Edwin Lopez, and Kobe Marfo will likely be the guys looked upon to play significant minutes at corner.

Almost immediately after the game, fans were commenting on Twitter and on news websites that Rutgers should've used Johnathan Lewis for more than one play. In retrospect, yes, that might've helped, but the reality is that Rutgers was having a tough time running the ball consistently as Nebraska stacked the box. So, the usual way to open that up is to run some deep routes to try to get their linebackers and safeties to back off a bit. As Ash said, "right now, Kyle gives us the best chance to throw the ball." So, the coaching staff was probably right in assuming that Lewis taking direct snaps and running the read/option probably wouldn't have had much impact. But he had so much success against Morgan State, that I would've liked to have seen him come in for a series at some point in the third quarter. Even if his passing game needs development, Lewis has a cannon arm and letting him air one out to stretch the field may have been a nice way to keep the defense on their toes. But in a tight game I can see why the stuck with the senior experience that Bolin brings to the table.

In the end, this was a game that Rutgers could have and probably should have won. However, this was also a game that last year's team probably would've lost by 30. The improvement on defense is obvious. There has been improvement on special teams overall even with the surrendering of some long punt returns. There is improvement in the offensive game plan and the number of skill players on the roster. And one weekend soon those big plays that we're missing by inches will end up in the end zone.