Rutgers Drops the Ball Figuratively and Literally Against Kent State

Well, it happened again. It seemed like Rutgers was taking the next step as a program this season, but they were tripped up once again by an inferior opponent in a game they had no business losing to. They came out flat, turned it over way too many times, and let Kent State's run game pound them inside. It was down right embarrassing, but they need to move on, learn from this, and focus on the rest of the season.

Much of the blame for this loss goes to quarterback Gary Nova. I don't think I've ever seen a quarterback throw 6 interceptions and not get pulled before, but there's a first time for everything. He made mistakes through out the day, but it's not like one thing did him in. He was fooled by some coverages, made some poor decisions, and had a fluky one on a screen pass, so it was just a shitty day for him, it's not like he has some fundamental flaw. I thought Kyle Flood should have pulled him in favor of Chas Dodd late in the first half, but Nova then responded with a TD drive. How he wasn't pulled in the 4th quarter though is beyond me. Nova is the QB going forward, but he did not give Rutgers their best chance of winning on Saturday. I'm not advocating benching Nova going forward, but man, how could you leave him in there? Maybe Flood didn't want to shatter his confidence? Maybe he doesn't want him looking over his shoulder every time he makes a mistake? Who knows.

Nova played poorly, but the offensive line didn't exactly do a great job protecting him. He was eluding pressure all day, and I think he was sacked once or twice (I have no desire to go through the game log or look at stats). I think Kent State was blitzing a lot (have no desire to watch the replay), and they did a poor job picking it up. They did a pretty good job run blocking, but when you fall behind by a lot, you have to abandon the run game. Jawan Jamison had a few nice runs, a bunch of catches out of the backfield, and a touch down, but it wasn't enough.The receivers overall had  mixed day as Quoron Pratt lost a fumble on a big gain, and some of the other guys dropped passes. Tim Wright did catch a touchdown, however, as did Brandon Coleman. Miles Shuler made a few nice catches, it was nice seeing him finally get involved, but again, that wasn't enough to overcome all the turnovers.

The defense was put in bad position all day, but they didn't exactly step up with a bunch of big stops. They forced two turnovers and did a solid job containing the dangerous Dri Archer, but the big back Durham ran all over them up the middle. It looked like they were really missing Ike Holmes. The front 7 played pretty bad against the interior runs, but some credit has to go to Kent State's offensive line. They were fantastic. They got Durham to cough the ball up a few times and made a few big stops against the run on third down, but it was a very poor day overall, especially for one of the top run defenses in the nation.

The defensive backs were one of the lone bright spots on the day. Kent State's passing game was non existent, and Logan Ryan and Lorenzo Waters made a bunch of stops against the run when The Golden Flashes ran outside. Another bright spot was Darius Hamilton. The freshman is getting more playing time as the season progresses, and he's stepping up and making plays.

The defense was probably on the field too long, as a result of the turnovers, so it's possible they were just fatigued. That's not good, but I fully expect this senior laden group to pick up the pieces after this one and return to their dominate form the rest of the season.

Lorenzo Waters blocked a field goal, and Nick Delouisa did a great job kicking away from Archer. Archer ended up with two returns, but the coverage unit did a nice job getting down the field and tackling him. Kyle Federico missed another game, and Borgese made the only field goal he attempted.

This was an awful, forgettable game and it knocked Rutgers out of  the top 25 in the BCS standings, but their goals (other than an undefeated season) are still there in front of them. They are still in the drivers seat to win the Big East and go to a BCS game. They head into the bye week with a very bitter taste in their mouths, and they didn't practice Monday and won't on Tuesday thanks to the hurricane, but I fully expect this team to get better, get over this one, lean from it and be fully prepared to beat Army in 11 days.

Game 8: Kent State

Rutgers is off to a fantastic 7-0 record this year, and they will take a break from Big East play this week, as they welcome Kent State to New Jersey today, on homecoming. The defense will face another tough rushing attack, and the offense will look to build off the strong effort they put forth in the second half against Temple a week ago after sleep walking through 10 quarters. Rutgers should be able to handle Kent State easily, but the Golden Flashes are a very solid team and if the Knights come out flat and unprepared again, they could get knocked off.

Rutgers on Offense
Rutgers should be able to over power Kent State on the ground, and they will probably look to exploit this early on. They need to keep letting Nova throw the ball over the middle on intermediate routes too, in order to keep some balance. If this plan works, they should be able to connect on some deep balls off play action.

Rutgers on Defense
Rutgers has one of the top run defenses in the country, and they face another quality run offense in Kent State. The Flashes have the dynamic Dri Archer on the backfield, who is very fast and capable of breaking off long runs. Rutgers has a lot of speed on defense, so hopefully that allows them to keep him in check. Kent also has Traylon Durham in the backfield, and he is huge and the thunder to Archer's lightning. Rutgers must be able to get penetration on them and shut their rushing attack down. They might look to load the box too, as Kent State doesn't have much of a passing game.

On punts and kick offs, they should probably kick away from Archer at all coasts, but if they don't, they need to make sure they get down there and tackle him.

Injuries
Kicker Kyle Federico is once again questionable.

Prediction Rutgers 31 Kent State 13
I think Rutgers will be able to run the ball with a lot of success, and they will do a good job shutting Kent State's running game down. Nova will throw for a few more touchdowns, and Dri Archer will break free on a kick return for the only Golden Flash TD of the day.

Know Your Oponent: Kent State

The Mid American Conference has been one of the more compelling mid major conferences for quit a while now. In the early 00's, quarterbacks like Byron Leftwich, Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Cribbs and Bruce Gradkowski created a ton of offense and played in many shootouts, despite the conference's teams normally getting beat up by teams from power conferences. The MAC has gotten better over the years though, and the conference has played some of the wildest games you will see on Tuesday night #MACtion, which has become a must watch event. This season, the MAC has knocked off a bunch of  BCS conference teams teams, including UConn, USF, Penn State, Iowa, Kansas, and Cincinnati, who was undefeated before losing to Toledo last week. Kent State is one of the better teams in the MAC this year, and Rutgers can not take them lightly. The Golden Flashes are a dangerous team capable of pulling off an upset.

Kent State So Far
Kent State is having a very good season so far with a 6-1 record, and they are inline to go to their first bowl game since 1972. The Golden Flashes won their opener against Towson, and were blown out by Kentucky the following week. Since then, they have gone on a 5 game winning streak with victories over Buffalo, Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Army, and Western Michigan. They are scoring a lot of points, but also giving up a lot of points in the process.

Coaching
Kent State is led by second year head coach  Darrell Hazell, who has an 11-8 record through his first season and a half with the Golden Flashes. Hazell made a name for himself coaching wide receivers at Ohio State from 2004-10, and the New Jersey native was also an assistant at Rutgers from 2001-03. After starting 1-6 at the school, Hazell has overseen a big turn for the program, leading them to respectability after man years of struggles, thanks to  his calm demeanor and attention to detail.

Offense 39th in PPG 24th in yards per carry, 91st in pass efficiency, 65th in yards per play
Kent State is with out a doubt a run oriented offense. They will spread you out in doing so, but make no mistake: they are going to come right at you. Their best offensive player is running back/wide receiver Dri Archer, who is averaging 10 yards per carry in addition to 20 receptions and 14 total touchdowns. He is probably the best kick returner in the nation too, so you have to try to avoid kicking to him. He is pretty much college football's version of Darren Sproles. Their work horse running back is Traylon Durham, who has 144 carries on the year (4.5 ypc) and a load to bring down t 260 pounds. Up front the Golden Flash have a very experienced unit led by left tackle Brian Winters, who is the number three senior offensive tackle in the 2013 draft according to Mel Kiper. The Golden Flash don't have much of a passing attack, but senior QB Spencer Keith can get the ball out to Archer on some quick passes.

Defense 53rd in PPG, 67th in yards per carry, 64th in pass efficiency, 74thin yards per play
Kent State runs some what of a 3-4/4-3 hybrid, and they have had a middle of the road defense this year, despite returning most of the players from the very strong defense they had a year ago. Their best player is undersized defensive end Roosevelt Nix, who can be a menace in the backfield. So far this season he has recorded 3.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss.  Senior Luke Batton leads the team with 71 tackles, and Darius Polk leads the team in passes defended. The Golden Flash may be with out two starters on Saturday: defensive end Jake Dooley and safety Jordan Italiano.

Conclusion
Kent State has a strong rushing attack on offense and a dynamic playmaker in Dri Archer, but they are not a very good passing team. Their defense is quick and makes plays in the backfield, but they can be overpowered and they give up points. This is a very solid MAC team that is well coached by Hazell, and are capable of pulling an upset if Rutgers isn't prepared.

Week 9 Picks

1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Kansas State
4. Florida
5. LSU
6. Notre Dame
7. Ohio State
8. Oregon State
9. Oklahoma
10. USC
11. Rutgers
12. Texas Tech
13. Mississippi State
14. Florida State
15. South Carolina
16. Louisville
17. West Virginia
18. Clemson
19. Ohio
20. Boise State
21. Georgia
22. Texas A&M
23. Stanford
24. Louisiana Tech
25. Arizona

Clemson 35 Wake Forest 17
Clemson has a really good offense, and an awful defense. I honestly don't know anything about Wake Forest. I think Jim Grobe is still their coach and I think Riley Skinner is still their QB for the 10th year in a row.

Cincinnati 20 Louisville 34
I thought Cincinnati was a bit overrated to begin with, and they lost to Toledo (who is pretty good) last week. Louisville is still undefeated, but they've struggled a bit on defense. Teddy Bridgewater makes up for a lot though, and the fact that Munchie Legaux thinks he's any where close to his level is highly laughable.

Temple 17 Pitt 20
Pitt has been ok at home outside of their season opening loss to Youngstown State, and they should be able to run the ball against Temple. The Owls can run the ball too, but I'm not sure if they have enough speed to shred the slow Panther defense up.

South Carolina 24 Tennessee 17
Derek Dooley needs a signature win or THIS GUY will replace him.

Ole Miss 34 Arkansas 37
Arkansas really needs this game if they want to go to a bowl game this year. Both teams have struggled defensively, and I think Tyler Wilson will  pull out a win at home.

Florida 20 Georgia 10
Florida's defense is probably better than anyone else's this side of Alabama,  and Georgia has struggled with inferior opponents and were mollywhopped by South Carolina, the only good team they have played so far. The Gators have been struggling to pass the ball consistently, but if their defense gets them great field position again it won't matter.

Arizona State 27 UCLA 31
Two sneaky good teams who will challenge USC for the Pac 12 south.

Texas Tech 24 Kansas State 40
Collin Klein is playing better than anyone else in the country right now, and the Wildcat defense has been impressive as well. Bill Snyder is a wizard.

USC 41 Arizona 30
Arizona has been pretty good this year under first year coach Rich rodriguez, but they won't be able to keep up with USC's passing game.

Duke 17 Florida State 30
ACC championship game preview?

Syracuse 27 South Florida 23
Syracuse can really thrown the ball and USF is playing some bad football right now.

Baylor 50 Iowa State 45
Should be a fun game, but some how it isn't on TV.

Notre Dame 20 Oklahoma 27
Oklahoma's offense has rebounded after a rough start to the season, but Notre Dame's defense is legit. That should be a fun battle. The Sooners defense is pretty solid, and I'm not a big believer in the Irish offense.

Mississippi State 13 Alabama 40
Has there ever been a more lopsided match up on paper between 2 top 11 teams? Alabama's offensive line will dominate again.

Home and Home Series With Maryland Added to Schedule

 It was reported a couple weeks ago that Rutgers will take on Maryland in a future home in home series, with the Scarlet Knights making the trip to College Park in 2014 and the Terrapins coming to Piscataway in 2019. Maryland is a close by team in a BCS conference, so it made a lot of sense adding a series with them in order to bolster their strength of schedule, which will be more important in the coming years with the new mini playoff system in place. The teams met in 2007 and 2009, with Maryland winning the first contest in New Jersey, and Rutgers returning the favor by beating the Terps in Maryland in '09.

Maryland is coming off a down year in which they suffered a ton injuries, and they have been bitten by the injury bug again. They will probably attain bowl eligibility this year though, as they are currently 4-3. It remains to be seen how head coach Randy Edsall will bring this program along going forward, especially in recruiting. He has long been known to dig for diamonds in the rough, but he has made some additions to his coaching staff at UMD to improve recruiting (including the hostile, loose cannon Mike Locksley), and he did pick up an instate 5 star receiver in Stefon Diggs in the last recruiting cycle. With strong instate talent and Edsall's track record as a coach, I would expect Maryland to be a solid, but unspectacular team when they meet Rutgers in a few years.

This series could also have added intrigue of Randy Edsall being a long time Big East villain (assuming he doesn't get fired before then). Many Rutgers fans, myself included, still despise Edsall from his time at Connecticut, especially after the way he left, so it would be fun getting to jeer and beat him once again.

Visiting Maryland could also help recruiting in that state, as it is similar to New Jersey in the fact that it has a lot of talented players up fro grabs despite being a relatively small state. Hopefully these games will get on national TV and bring fans to HPS Stadium.

Update 6:00 PM
This is the fifth out of conference game Rutgers has scheduled for 2014, with Howard, Penn State, Navy, and Tulane being the other four. With the Big East likely going to an 8 game conference schedule starting next year, something will have to give in the out of conference slate. They won't play 13 games. Navy isn't scheduled to join the league until 2015, so if they join earlier than expected, that would solve the situation, but if they don't, one of these opponents will have to be dropped. My guess is it would be Tulane.

Rutgers Rallies in Second Half to Top Temple 35-10

The first half was pretty much a disaster for Rutgers on Saturday, as they took on the Temple Owls in Philadelphia. They could not stop the run, and they could not muster anything on offense. They looked flat, unprepared, and over-matched. It had all the makings of another Rutgers stinker, where they had their season derailed by an underwhelming effort against an inferior team, but they were able to turn things around in a big way in the second half to throttle Temple by 25 to move to 7-0 on the season with a 4-0 record in Big East play.

Rutgers looked very lethargic on offense in the early going. A dropped pass on a third down and a holding penalty caused the Scarlet Knights to have a three and out on both of their only two possessions in the opening quarter. (They only had the ball for three minutes). Things got even worse in the second quarter, when Gary Nova forgot to slide after scrambling for a first down and lost a fumble as a result of the hit he took. Rutgers was able to move the ball a bit on their next possession, with Jawan Jamison and Brandon Coleman hauling in long receptions to get them into Owls' territory, but two false start penalties moved the offense backwards, and they were unsuccessful on a 4th and 1 from the 18, as Coleman dropped Gary Nova's play action pass. Normally, they would have settled for 3 points on that possession, but with kicker Kyle Federico out again, they had to go for it. Another false start penalty led to yet another three and out, and Rutgers tried to run the clock out with plenty of time left before the half. Jamison had other ideas though, as he broke off a 13 yard run with an additional 15 yards tacked on with a personal foul, so Rutgers tried for some points. Things didn't work out though. Nova threw an interception, and the Knights went into the locker room trailing 10-0.

In the second half, Rutgers came out guns a blazzin', scoring a touchdown on their first four drives. They started to open things up a bit more, and that got them firing on all cylinders. Jamison had a few nice runs to open the half, and with Temple's defense starting to creep up defense up, Nova connected with Tim Wright on a deep ball for a 32 yard score to bring the score to 10-7. The second drive of the half was a picture perfect example of what Rutgers' offense should look like. Jamison had a few nice runs, Nova completed a third down pass over the middle to Wright, and Mark Harrison caught a pass 20+ yards down field to get Rutger in position to score. Jamison did the honors on a 32 yard screen pass out of the backfield for 6, making a defender look foolish with a juke move on the way. His TD gave RU the lead for good, 14-10.

Following a Logan Ryan interception, runs by Jamison and Savon Huggins and a catch by DC Jefferson set up another Nova touchdown pass, a 5 yarder to Harrison on a bootleg to make it 21-10. The offense got great field position once again on their next drive, as freshman Leonte Carroo blocked a punt, and Nova threw his 4th TD score of the day on a flag route in the endzone to Jefferson. After a defensive touchdown, the backups took over, and Huggins ran the ball a bunch of times to run out the clock.

The offense was awful in the first half, but they were very impressive in the second half, with a well balanced attack. Jamison was very strong on the ground, and he went over 100 yards for the 6th time this season. Nova looked impressive once again when allowed to make throws other than bombs and screens, and Wright and Jefferson were big targets on third down and Harrison made some big plays. The offensive line overpowered Temple on the ground in the second half, and they only allowed one sack to a Temple team that was amongst the best in the nation at getting after the QB. They may seem overly conservative and sluggish at times, but it's nice to know they can turn it on and pile up the points when they need to.

Temple, unsurprisingly, came out of the gate running the football, and Rutgers had no answer for it early on. The Owls went deep into Scarlet Knight territory on their opening possession, but the Knights were able to get a big stop on a 4th and 1, as Darius Hamilton stuffed Temple QB Chris Coyer on a sneak and caused a fumble. Rutgers was able to force a three and out on the next drive, but the Coyer/Montel Harris combination on the ground marched right down the field at the end of the opening quarter to set up a 4 yard pass from Coyer to Cody Booth. It was a play action pass and there was nobody in coverage for Rutgers, and the pass almost landed incomplete. It gave the Owls a 7-0 lead. The Knights held Temple to a field goal try that missed after Nova's fumble, and it seemed like they were starting to figure things out.

They held the Owls to a three and out again on the next series, but Temple was able to put three points on the board before the half to go up 10-0, after Mason Robinson was called for a ridiculous personal foul penalty for continuing to play after losing his helmet in the middle of a play. I didn't know such a rule existed, but it does and it is stupid. If this is a player safety thing, it still doesn't make any sense. The most dangerous thing you can do on a football field is stop. Even with out a helmet, you are better off going full speed than standing around like an idiot asking to get smoked by an opponent.

Rutgers continued to take away the run at the beginning of the second half, and they forced Temple to throw the ball, leading to a punt on Temple's first possession of the half. The Owls were faced with a 3rd and 9 on their next drive, and Logan Ryan made a nice read while playing zone coverage, and intercepted the pass. Ryan had a fine day, breaking up three passes in addition to the pick, locking things down on Logan Island again. After forcing yet another three and out, Jamil Merrell burst through the line to record a strip sack on a third down. Khaseem Greene scooped the ball up, and ran it into the endzone for a score, to give Rutgers a 35-10 lead. Temple does not excel when forced to throw, and Rutger shut them down. The Owls even had to bring their back up QB in. They had a miniscule 4.2 yards a throw, and any hopes Temple had to make a come back were crushed.

Montel Harris had a decent game, but the Scarlet Knights limited Temple to 2.8 yards a carry overall. After getting punched in the mouth early on, the defense woke up and shut everything down. The score could have been worse than 10-0 at the half, but this group came up huge in order to keep the offense in it. The defensive line got a nice pass rush and brought down Temple's ball carriers other than Harris in the backfield, and rushed the passer effectively. The back 7 totally dominated, giving Temple nothing through the air while also supporting the run on the edge. It was the total domination you have come to expect out of this unit.

Rutgers looked terrible in the first half, and the lackluster play seemed like a three week trend, but they absolutely dominated in the second half, showing why they are a top 15 team. They played exceptionally well in all three facets of the game, and made you forget about that nightmare of a first half. They lost the time of possession battle for, I believe, the first time this year, but it didn't matter. They even cut down on the penalties too. All in all this was probably a nice wake up call for the team and will keep them humble, showing them that they need to come out ready for every opponent. It's better to do that in a win than a loss, especially for a program that has had a number of "WTF?" losses over the years.

Additional Note: Surprisingly, I didn't see any Bill Cosby references during or leading up to the game. But allow me to do that now.

Game 7: Temple

Rutgers is 6-0, 3-0 in the Big East, and ranked 15th in the initial BCS standings. It's one of the best starts to the season in program history, and the Scarlet Knights look to keep things going in the right direction today, as they head down to Philadelphia to take on the Temple Owls in Lincoln Financial Field. Temple is new again to the Big East, and they do not have the talent Rutgers does, but they are a well coached, dangerous team who are capable of pulling an upset. Rutgers must be emotionally ready and mentally prepared for this one, in order to avoid a stinker.

Get to Know Temple

Rutgers on Offense
Temple is solid on defense against the run, but Rutgers will still rely on the ground game. The coaching staff has indicated that Savon Huggins will get more carries, as Jawan Jamison has seemed to be overworked and wearing out the last few weeks, so more down hill plays should be expected. The Knights have over relied on screens this year, and they may run a bunch again, in hopes of off setting the Owls' aggressive blitzes. Gary Nova should be allowed to throw more against this questionable Temple secondary, and the receivers should attack deep. The offensive line has to protect Nova, and get a push in the run game against Temple's defensive line that has some nice size.


Rutgers on Defense
Rutgers is second nationally against the run, and they will face a difficult test this week. Chris Coyer and Montel Harris can both run the ball out of the Owls' spread attack, and Rutgers should load the box to stop the run. Temple doesn't have many playmakers at receiver, and the corners should shut them down. I expect to see a lot of run blitzes, and Steve Beauharnais to play a big role. Scott Vallone must continue to annihilate double teams, and Jamil Merrell will have to step it up and stop the run. He may be subbed out more ofter than the past two games, just to get more size in there. Force them to play from behind and pass.

Injuries
Kicker Kyle Fedirico's status is still up in the air. If he can't go, Anthony DiPaula will take his place again.
Al Page is out for the year at DT, as is Ike Holmes, and Daryl Stepehnson.
Sam Bergen was limited last week, but he should be a go today, as he is filling in for Mike Burton at FB.

Prediction- Rutgers 27 Temple 16
Rutgers will have a nice day in the air and a solid rushing attack, and Temple's offense will be able to run the ball a little bit, but the Owls will have to resort to the pass when they fall behind.