Rutgers vs. Illinois Preview and a Bit of a Bye-Week Roundup

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After two-weeks to work on fundamentals, get a bit healthier, and prepare for Saturday's showdown with the University of Illinois Fighting Illini, Rutgers finally gets the chance to go back to showing the improvement that we saw at the start of the season. Coach Ash said that the staff "took a hard look at all three phases." The Scarlet Knights head into the contest at Memorial Stadium in Champaign to face what appears to be the most beatable opponent on the remaining schedule.

Saying the Illini are beatable and then going to their home field and doing that are two different things. Like Rutgers, the Fighting Illini have recently been embroiled in a quarterback controversy. Sophomore Jeff George, Jr., just wrested the job from junior Chayce Crouch. George gives the Illini a QB with a very strong arm who can sling the ball downfield, much like his father. However, in the small sample of his play, he's also been prone to interceptions, having thrown five of them this year to his one touchdown.

Normally, Rutgers would salivate at this matchup, but the RU defensive backfield is still in flux. During his weekly press conference this past Monday, head coach Chris Ash gave us the good and bad. The good news was that safety Kiy Hester has been cleared to play. The bad news is that Saquan Hampton is out for the game, and could possibly miss significantly more time. K.J. Gray will start opposite Hester. Converted receiver Rashad Blunt continued to practice at safety over the bye week, and we also learned that last year's leading receiver, Jawuan Harris, was also moved to safety. It remains to be seen how many reps Harris and Blunt will be asked to play, but you would have to think that it limits the defensive calls somewhat, having two guys who just moved to the position among the back-up plans. In the past two weeks, the coaches have mentioned Zane Campbell and Lawrence Stevens as two of the guys who are also seeing reps at safety.

Meanwhile, Kobe Marfo, Zane Campbell, and Edwin Lopez remain on the two deep as options to play nickel and back up starting safeties Isaiah Wharton and Damon Hayes, with Blessuan Austin lost for the season.

Coach Ash has also given us some good and bad news regarding the depth chart on offense. Top playmaker Janarion Grant is cleared to play after having dealt with lingering concussion symptoms the past few weeks. Starting center Jonah Jackson, though, had surgery and will miss significant time. Fortunately, freshman Mike Maietti has emerged as a capable replacement for Jackson as the starting center. Still, having Jackson out certainly limits the experienced depth on the line.

The biggest pressing question about the offense is whether there will be a change at quarterback. In the Ohio State debacle, the RU offense was unable to complete a single pass to a wide receiver, only to backs and tight ends. It's tough to win that way because it means you are probably not getting the ball downfield and spreading out and stretching the defense. The result being that it makes running the ball all the more difficult. There were reports early in the week that Giovanni Rescigno was getting more reps in practice, but neither Ash or offensive coordinator Jerry Kill have divulged publicly who the starter will be as of this writing. Coach Kill did say that if either Johnathan Lewis or Rescigno were to unseat Kyle Bolin it "would not radically change the offense." As a young quarterback, Lewis is improving in the areas of "route reading and the progression," but the physical tools are there. Even if Lewis doesn't get the start, I think with an additional two weeks of practice, he'll have an expanded package put in place for him. I'm excited to see what Rutgers tries to do at first on offense, whether they will immediately try to spread the field, or whether they will instead try to establish the run. Going on the road, I would tend to prefer trying to take a shot or two early to try to make a big play and take the crowd out of the game.

The Illini are favored in the game by 2.5. Assuming that the Illinois got the usual 3 points in the line for being at home, really the bookmakers think the matchup is pretty even. Although I'm a little concerned about the thin Rutgers secondary defending the deep ball from George, Jr., I think that overall Rutgers will come out sharp and very motivated. Being away may even help them relax a little. I think that one of the freshman playmakers will have a breakout game and that the Scarlet Knights will prevail.