The Knights Watchman

I'm finally getting around to posting my take on the RU/Maryland tilt that took place last Saturday. In my preview, I felt that the key to the game for Rutgers was slowing the Maryland rushing attack, particularly Ty Johnson. Well, the Terrapins rushed for 318 yards in the game, with Johnson racking up 168 yards on just 11 carries, good for over 15 yards a clip. Their No. 2 back, Kenneth Goins, was also unstoppable, gaining 81 yards on just 10 carries. As a team, Maryland rushed for 7.1 yards per carry and three rushing touchdowns in the 31-13 victory. On the bright side, the RU defense didn't allow a touchdown through the air, but Maryland only threw 16 times. Brandon Russell got his first career start at linebacker and led the team with 12 tackles. Another bright spot was that the Rutgers defense recorded 4 sacks and 9 tackles-for-loss. And I thought Julian Pinnix-Odrick and Darius Hamilton both finished their careers with strong games. JPO had five tackles, inclu...

In his first career start, quarterback Giovanni Rescigno provided the Rutgers offense a spark they have desperately needed this season. The flame may have burned out a little too quickly, as Rutgers was edged 34-32 on a field goal with less than 10 seconds left in the game. But Rescigno's performance, and that of the Scarlet Knights overall, gave the program a lift and gave the fans hope that Rutgers can compete the rest of the season. Like early in the season, this was a game where Rutgers took a shot to the mouth early in the contest, trailing 21-3 before fighting all the way back until the final moments. In his postgame press conference, Head Coach Chris Ash remarked that he was "proud of the effort" and that the turnovers, missed extra point, and allowing the kickoff return touchdown were the difference in the game. The coach felt Rescigno "played his heart out" and that it was the "best performance of the year" for the Rutgers offense. ...

Having had a night to sleep on and sleep off the Rutgers 48-13 shellacking at the hands of the Washington Huskies, I feel like I can look at the game a little more objectively. I'm going to break the game down into some general comments, positives, negatives, and hand out some game balls. The game got off to an inauspicious start with Janarion Grant's 12-yard kickoff return, giving Rutgers woeful field position at their own 15. But Justin Goodwin immediately picked up 9 yards rushing on the next two plays. Rutgers found themselves in a good position with a third and 1 at their own 24. Goodwin got stuffed on that third-and-one play and things quickly degenerated. Had Rutgers made that third down conversion I believe it would have been a different football game. The outcome would've still been a Rutgers loss, but I think the game would've been much closer in the sense that RU would've at least covered the 26.5 point spread. Another thing that struck me ...