As I said in the game preview, season openers can be tough. There are no preseason games or scrimmages* to prepare teams for game action/situations/atmosphere, so it's not too surprising to see a team show a little bit of rust to begin the year. Rutgers struggled against Tulane on Saturday night in the Super Dome, but they weren't alone in doing so against an inferior opponent. Wisconsin barely beat Northern Iowa, Oklahoma played a tight game to the end with UTEP, and Stanford needed a 4th quarter rally to beat San Jose State, amongst others. The bottom line is Rutgers won and they showed a lot of positive signs, in addition to some areas that will need to improve, in doing so.
The big story of the game was how well the Scarlet Knights ran the ball. Jawan Jamison slashed his way to 112 yards on 18 carries, including a 49 yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and Savon Huggins added another 46 on 12 carries. The offensive line played very well, consistently opening holes for these backs to run through. On Jamison's TD run, Andre Civil had a great block leading him through the hole as the pulling guard. They weren't totally dominating to the point where they were just blowing guys back 5 yards off the ball, but they more than got the job done. For a much maligned unit, this performance had to feel great for them, while inspiring confidence in their coaches, teammates, and fans at the same time (they also did not allow a sack in pass protection either). Not including the 3 kneel downs at the end of the game, Rutgers averaged a tick over 5 yards per carry.
The passing game on the other hand was...not so hot. Gary Nova struggled with his accuracy all day, completing only 11 out of 20 passes, while also making a poor decision on a 4th and 2 that resulted in an interception that lead to a Tulane field goal. (Huggins was wide open in the flat, but I won't hold that against Nova, that was probably like his 4th option). He also miss fired on a fade route in the endzone on the first possession of the game (Brandon Coleman said he should have had it and I agree with him) and then again (three times) right before the half. He did however make a very good throw on a slant pass to Coleman on a big third down play in the 4th quarter that resulted in a touchdown. He wasn't awful, 7.9 yards per attempt is pretty solid, and his decision making seemed a lot better outside of the pick, but his lack of accuracy continues to be frustrating and the cause of his inconsistency. .
Offensive coordinator Dave Brock tried to get the receivers involved early with bubble screens, and I liked it. It not only allowed Nova to settle into the game with some easy throws, it also let the receivers who had some mental lapses last year get their minds into the game right away. Nobody ended the game with more than 3 catches, but there's talent at the position and they showed signs of life. Coleman missed that fade route, but as usual, he made one huge play for a TD. Tim Wright looked good as a possession receiver, making a fantastic one handed catch, while DC Jefferson, Michael Burton and Mark Harrison added receptions of their own. Jamison also caught a screen pass that set up a field goal right before the half.
Overall, the Scarlet Knights need to improve on first down (4/13) and the passing game. The two obviously go hand in hand. The run game was great though, allowing them to have a solid day offensively despite vanilla play calling.
The defense unsurprisingly dominated in this game. The front 7 lived in the backfield all day, limiting the Green Wave to 8 rushing yards on 16 carries. Scott Vallone and Isaac Holmes did a great job pushing Tulane's offensive line backwards, allowing the linebackers to make plays on the backfield, while also making some plays of their own. Khaseem Greene had 9 tackles overall, including a sack, and the strong pass rush also allowed Ka'Lil Glaud and Lorenzo Waters to add a sack themselves.
The secondary played a solid game overall, holding Ryan Griffin to only 5.3 yards per attempt, but they had problems making plays on third down. The pass rush was getting there, but Griffin was able to get the ball out with a lightning quick release, completing short passes over the middle for short gains that were JUST enough for the first down. Tulane was able to convert half of their 16 third down tries. All the blitzing leaves the short middle of the field open, and if the QB can get rid of the ball as quick as Griffin, they will convert on third down. This was made even worse by the fact that Rutgers stayed mostly in base personnel the entire night, with only a few exceptions when they went to the nickel package. On one particulary annoying 3rd and 17 conversion this bit them in the ass, as a linebacker covering the slot in a 5 WR set was badly beat off the line, allowing him to get open for the first down. This was probably by design (being vanilla), but the nickel and dime packages will be a huge boost to the third down defense.
Brandon Jones had quite a day, missing two interceptions that would have likely resulted in touchdowns, before finally snagging one for a pick 6 when he jumped a crossing route and returned it 14 yards to give Rutgers a more comfortable 17-6 lead.
Tulane was able to tack on a garbage time touchdown late in the 4th quarter, but I'm going to chalk this one up to fatigue. It's not uncommon to wear down in the 4th quarter of an opener, your team's not in "game shape" yet, and there was a huge time of possession discrepancy in the second half.
Penalties were also a big problem, as the Scarlet Knights had 9 for 72 yards. There were 2 ticky tack holds called, a questionable pass interference called on Logan Ryan and, in my opinion, a totally bull shit late hit called on a 6 yard run by Savon Huggins. Regardless, 9 penalties is way too many. Was it just first game jitters, a fluke, or was it because of a more relaxed coaching staff? We'll find out going forward.
It wasn't a totally dominant win like it should have been, but the first game is out of the way, and Rutgers is 1-0. That's the most important thing. They say teams make their biggest improvement between games one and two, and Rutgers should be no different. Congratulations to Coach Flood on his first victory.
Additional Notes-
I actually like the all white uniforms and the chrome helmets weren't as bad as I expected. The red uniforms on the other hand...I can't imagine liking them.
Can Rutgers ever have a kicker who is capable of making chip shots?
Other than the kicker, the Knights played great special teams once again. Deering had a long return on the only kickoff that didn't go out of bounds, Justin Doener had a good day punting, and Homes blocked an extra point.
What are they saving Miles Shuler for?
I understand there was just a hurricane and Tulane has been awful for a decade, but it was kind of a bummer to see the Super Dome that empty.
*Inter-squad scrimmages don't really count. I meant like a scrimmage that a high school team would have against another high school.
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