The Knights Watchman

For the second straight year, Rutgers opened up against the Washington Huskies. And for the second straight year, Rutgers suffered a double-digit loss. But there is a noticeably different feeling after this year's contest than there was after last year. Going into last year's opener, the Scarlet Knights had a new coaching staff in place with a new offensive system and defensive scheme. But the program was still recovering from the disarray let from the previous regime and the roster was thin. And Washington was supposed to be good in 2016, but we weren't prepared for just how good. The result was a 24-0 Huskies lead at the end of the first quarter and a 34-3 halftime deficit. I remember being active on Twitter at the start of the game and me and my fellow RU fans in the Twittersphere were reeling. Fast forward one year. Not only does Rutgers come ready to play, but the Scarlet Knights strike first as Kyle Bolin connects on a 3-yard out route to Janarion Grant...

On Wednesday, the members of the Rutgers football team voted for the team captains for 2017. The four athletes who received the honor are senior right guard Dorian Miller, senior defensive lineman Darnell Davis, senior graduate transfer quarterback Kyle Bolin, and junior linebacker Deonte Roberts. I've seen some articles and comments online about the selection of Kyle Bolin being a bit of a surprise due to his status as a one-year graduate transfer. However, from following players and fans of Rutgers football on Twitter, it was clear over the past couple of months that Bolin was making every effort to be a leader among his teammates. He kept a steady dialog with many of them throughout the summer and organized trips to the Shore and things like that. His selection as captain obviously bodes well insofar as his chances to be named the starting quarterback. A large part of being the QB is being the leader of the team, and clearly the guys already view him as one of their ...

This past Saturday was another heartbreaking loss for Rutgers as they remain winless in Big Ten action despite now having played fairly winnable games against Iowa , Illinois , Minnesota , and Indiana . Looking back at the game and the coaches' postgame comments, there was good and bad on both sides of the ball. The difference in the game was that Indiana made one more big play than Rutgers did. As Ash stated, "I like our preparation. We just need to get better in a lot of areas." Special Teams In his opening postgame remarks, head coach Chris Ash said of Rutgers, "we need to be better on special teams" later citing the missed field goal and blocked punt as things that Rutgers can't have happen. There was also plenty of good on special teams as Rutgers blocked two kicks and recovered a muffed punt. Rutgers has now blocked at least two kicks in every season since 2007. I also thought the first two returns put Rutgers in decent field position....

I picked Rutgers to beat what went off as a 39-point spread. After one quarter I was feeling pretty good about that, with OSU on pace for about a 24-point victory. Then the second quarter happened and it never got any better. The Positive Greg Jones is okay and most of the steps taken on the field that made things look so ominous were precautionary. Chris Ash said that Jones was actually walking around on the sideline by the end of the game. Jones's replacement, Tyreek Maddox-Williams, ended up leading the team with 11 tackles. Kiy Hester and Deonte Roberts also racked up double-digit tackles (10 apiece). Hester was all over the place again. But then again, when the other team runs so many plays, some guys on defense are going to put up numbers. Rutgers had been getting its doors blown off in the first quarter during the first three games. This is two games in a row where the game was close after Q1. So, they're starting better. Concerns These are things...

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....

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...