Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Week Seven Preview: Rutgers Scarlet Knight

The Indiana Hoosiers will host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights for their annual Homecoming game on October 12th. After hosting the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and other top-flight teams for homecoming the Hoosiers caught a break with Rutgers. However, the last time IU hosted the Scarlet Knights for homecoming it was a disaster, as the Hoosiers blew a 52-27 lead as part of a soul-crushing 55-52 loss. Rutgers enters the 2019 season riding an 11-game losing streak and if the worm doesn’t turn early, Chris Ash’s seat will be in flames when this game takes place in Bloomington.

Week Seven: Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Date & Time: Saturday, October 12th, 2019, Time: Noon

Venue: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana

TV: TBA

Scarlet Knights at a Glance

Head Coach: Chris As

Entering his 4th year as Rutgers’ Head Coach

Overall Record: 7-29 (4 seasons)

At Rutgers: 7-29 (3-24)

Last Season: 1-11 (0-9)

Scarlet Knights Returning Leaders

Passing: Art Sitkowski (2018: 134-273, 49.1 Comp %, 1,158 Passing Yards, 4 TD, 18 INTs)

Rushing: Raheem Blackshear (2018: 143 attempts, 586 yards, 4.1 avg, 3 TDs)

Receiving: Raheem Blackshear (2018: 44 receptions, 367 yards, 2 TDs)

Tackles: Avery Young (2018: 66 TKLs, 1.5 TFLs, 10 Passes Defensed)

Scarlet Knights Preseason Predictions

Athlon: 7th in the Big Ten East

Lindy’s: 7th in the Big Ten East

Phil Steele: 7th in the Big Ten East

Street & Smith’s: 7th in the Big Ten East

S&P+: 108th nationally

Impact Newcomers for the Scarlet Knights

1. Paul Woods, WR- Woods redshirt the 2018 season after committing to Rutgers out of Canisius High School in Buffalo. The 6’1” receiver is thin (170 pounds), but could be a play maker. On his way to being named All-USA New York Football Team member by the USA Today, Woods made 43 catches for 651 yards and eight touchdowns.

2. Raiqwon O’Neal, OL- Rutgers has an opening along the offensive line and they desperately need the 6’4” 300-pound red shirt freshman to step up. O’Neal played in four games last year and was a 2018 spring practice participant, so he has game experience as well as two spring practices under his belt, that should give him a leg up on his competition.

3. McLane Carter, QB- Carter won the starting quarterback job out of fall camp at Texas Tech last season, but was knocked out with an ankle injury. He should give Artur Sitkowski a run for his money for the starting position. Rutgers is in dire need of quarterback depth and Carter should provide a little bit of relief there.

Offensive Preview

Rutgers offense is going to be built around its depth at running back. The Scarlet Knights had two of the better young backs in the conference last season, but that may be where the knowns end. Junior Raheem Blackshear ran for 586 yards and three scores last year on 143 carries. Blackshear was also the team’s leading receiver with 44 receptions for 367 yards. Sophomore Isaih Pacheco had 551 yards on 111 carries. It’s a nice duo, but they need help which they did not get in 2018.

Help needs to arrive at the quarterback position. Heralded recruit Artur Sitkowski was abysmal as a true freshman. He played in 11 games and started the year as the starter, but finished the year completing under half of his passes, 1,158 yards and just four touchdowns. Oh yeah, he also threw 18, yes 18, interceptions on just 273 attempts. He lost time to outgoing senior Giovanni Rescigno, which is never good for a young player late in the year. Sitkowski had limited competition in the spring and looked like a shoe-in to start. However, Rutgers went the transfer route and picked up McLane Carter who started three games for the Red Raiders last season and should push Sitkowski for the starting job.

The receiving corps needs playmakers to step up as the leading receiver last year for Rutgers was running back Raheem Blackshear and only one wide receiver caught a touchdown pass. Bo Melton is back after showing flashes of being a deep threat in 2018. He finished with 28 catches for 245 yards. Eddie Lewis looks to move into a starting role after catching 24 passes for 173 yards as a reserve last season and redshirt freshman Paul Woods looks to capitalize on a productive spring to take the third starting spot. Shameen Jones, a starter in 2018, will provide key depth after being the only wide receiver to catch a touchdown last season. He also caught 15 passes for 155 yards.

Rutgers loses one of its better players in tight end Jerome Washington, who had 202 yards receiving in just seven games last season. For his career he had 497 yards receiving, but was labeled as an NFL talent, that’s just how dreadful Rutgers’ passing attack has been. Replacing Washington is converted quarterback Jonathan Lewis, an athlete big a big frame who may have the skills to play tight end, but needs to learn the position. Behind him is senior Kyle Penniston who grad transferred from Wisconsin where he started 21 games and made 16 catches for 176 yards and four touchdowns.

Only two starters return on the offensive line. That can be a really bad thing or it can be seen as the guys who were there in the past weren’t getting the job done. It’s probably a little bit of both. Center Mike Maletti is under-sized, but can out-smart opponents and starting right tackle Kamaal Seymour (6’6” 309lbs) needs to live up to his potential. The three new starters will be right guard Nick Krimin (6’5” 308lbs), left guard Zack Venesky (6’3” 301lbs) and left tackle Raiquon O’Neal (6’4” 300lbs). If this line cannot gel, it will be a long season for the offense. If they do, Rutgers will improve on their one-win 2018 campaign.

Defensive Preview

A change was made at defensive coordinator as Chris Ash has brought in Andy Buh as the new man in charge. However, with his seat starting to heat up Ash may be more hands on. He did that the last half of the 2018 season and the defense showed some life.

Rutgers loses five of their top seven tacklers from 2018 and will again be young. The secondary is the strength of the defense as they return both corners in sophomore Avery Young (67 tackles, 1.5 TFLs and 10 PBUs) and senior Damon Hayes who had 63 tackles and two interceptions as a safety last season. Tre Avery and Kessawn Abraham will be backups at cornerback.

The safety positions will be manned by Malik Dixon, who was recruited as a linebacker and Tim Barrow who had six tackles in 12 games last season. They will need to gain experience on the fly with youngsters Christian Izien and Naijee Jones backing them up.

Only one starting linebacker returns for Rutgers and that is junior Tyrek Maddox-Williams who made 47 tackles in a bounce back year after a knee injury knocked him out of 2017. Sophomore Drew Singleton comes over from Michigan and will step into a vacant starting spot and junior Tyshon Fogg looks ready for a bigger role after 47 tackles last season. Freshman Deion Jennings, along with juniors Rashawn Battle and Olakunle Fatukasi will we the second unit.

Upfront Julius Turner (33 tackles, three TFLs) will try and plug up the middle of the defensive line as the nose tackle. Returning starter junior Elorn Lumor is back after having four sacks and seven tackles for loss last season. Mike Tverdov, who added four sacks in a reserves role last year, will look to capitalize on earning the starting end position. A trio of sophomores, CJ Onyechi, Jaohne Duggan and Micah Clark along with freshman Robin Jutwreten will be depth pieces along the line.

Special Teams Preview

If Rutgers does one thing extremely well, it’s blocking kicks. Since the 2009 season the Scarlet Knights lead the NCAA in blocks with 52. They added three more last year. Blocked kicks are a great way for an underdog team to change the tone of the games quickly.

Both punter Adam Korsak and place kicer Justin Davidovicz are back after very solid seasons. Korsak averaged 42.7 yards per punt, didn’t allow a block and pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 23 times. Davidovicz was 9-of-11 on field goals with a long of 52 yards.

Rutgers also returns both kick returners in Isaih Pacheco (19.3 YPR) and Raheem Blackshear (18.4 YPR). Avery Young will return punts. He averaged 6.8 yards per return on nine attempts.

Past 2019 First Glance Previews

Week One: Ball State

Week Two: Eastern Illinois

Week Three: Ohio State

Week Four: Connecticut

Week Five: Michigan State

Week Six: Open

The Huddle

First Glance: Hoosiers will host Rutgers for Homecoming after an Open Week