Game Day Primer: Indiana Hoosiers at Rutgers Scarlet Knights
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Written By T.J. Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
What: Indiana Hoosiers at Rutgers Scarlet Knights
When: Saturday, November 5 at Noon
Where: High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey
How to Watch: The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. You can also listen to the game on the IU Radio Network with the legendary Don Fischer on the call.
What’s at Stake: The Indiana Hoosiers are 4-4 and a victory would be get them within one win of a second straight bowl appearance. It would also give IU a winning record at 5-4. This would be the latest into the season the Hoosiers would have a winning record since the 2007 season when they finished 7-6 with a loss to Oklahoma State in the Insight Bowl. IU is 0-2 against Rutgers since the Scarlet Knights joined the conference but RU has yet to get a Big Ten victory this season.
A Few Things to Look For
One Week Fluke or Have Hoosiers Regained Their Ground Game?
The Indiana Hoosiers offense was floundering and much of the blame could be placed at the feet of the absent rushing attack. All-American right guard Dan Feeney had been injured against the Ball State Cardinals and the Hoosiers hadn’t exceeded four yards per carry in any game since. Feeney returned for the contest against Northwestern but he was clearly not himself and the running game continued to struggle. That all turned around last Saturday as IU used a creative formation and physical blocking to pound out 414 rushing yards and a 7.3 yards per carry against the Maryland Terrapins. Three different players ran for more than 100 yards and the Hoosiers ran for a whopping six rushing touchdowns in the 42-36 victory. Can the “Bacon and Legs” package featuring Tyler Natee and Zander Diamont replicate the success it had last week now that Rutgers can prepare for it? Will Devine Redding be able to continue churning out yards as he did last week? Rutgers is surrendering 261.1 rushing yards per game and 5.7 yards per carry, making them one of the worst rushing defenses in the conference (only Purdue may be worse). The Illinois Fighting Illini ran for 5.3 yards per carry and Minnesota ran for 4.6 yards per carry in their last two games and the Scarlet Knights are coming off of a bye week. They will be as fresh as possible and they’ve had an extra week to prepare for Indiana’s offense. Nonetheless, if IU’s rushing attack has been found and last week wasn’t a fluke, they should be able to have considerable success on the ground on Saturday in the Garden State.
Taking Care of Business
After losing four of five contests, Indiana stood at 3-4 with three games in which they would be favored remaining on the schedule. On paper, Maryland appeared to be the most difficult of those games and the Hoosiers were able to breakthrough on the ground and shellshock the giant turtles of Maryland. Rutgers and Purdue remain as the games IU “should” win in order to reach six victories and return to a bowl game. Games are not played on paper though and it will be critical for Indiana to prepare well throughout the week and to come out on Saturday and play with the same intensity and effort they exhibited to start the Maryland game. If they can get out to a good start and force Rutgers to try and come from behind, it will bode extremely well for IU’s chances. IU has lost the only two times they have played Rutgers since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten and their last visit to Piscataway was a romping by Rutgers. IU’s opponent on Saturday is only 2-6 but there is no good reason for the Hoosiers to overlook them.
Giovanni Rescigno Will Challenge IU’s Defense
Indiana’s defense wasn’t great against Maryland but the Terrapins have a tough offense with some dynamic players and Tom Allen’s defense did enough to help the Hoosiers to victory. Chris Laviano began the season as the starting quarterback but he has been replaced by Giovanni Rescigno. Rescigno is a redshirt sophomore and his presence has helped spark the offense. He has run the ball 24 times for 105 yards and he’s thrown for 340 yards. His only career start was in Rutgers’ last contest against Minnesota and it was arguably the Scarlet Knights best performance of the season. His top targets are Andre Patton and Jawuan Harris and both are capable of making big plays. Running back Robert Martin missed the last game but he should be back to lead the rushing attack. He averages 5.3 yards per carry and he’ll pair with Justin Goodwin and Josh Hicks to form a pretty solid trio. Rescigno is inexperienced and potentially mistake-prone if IU can pressure him plus Rutgers has lost ten fumbles on the season. The Hoosiers would love to take advantage of the Scarlet Knights giving nature.
Names to Know and Injury Notes:
-The Scarlet Knights are led on defense by leading tackler Trevor Morris (7.9 tackles per game) and leading sacker Julian Pinnix-Odrick (six sacks). Rutgers is last in scoring defense and second to last in total defense and their passing defense is probably the only thing that can be considered a “positive”. They are giving up only 168.6 yards per game but that is misleading because they have allowed the third-highest passer efficiency rating. Basically, teams have run a ton on them and their defensive passing numbers have benefited from it.
-Rutgers would be a far scarier matchup if Janarion Grant was still healthy. The do-everything weapon was averaging 8.6 yards per carry, 10.5 yards per catch and he was a superb returner before suffering a season-ending injury against Iowa in the Big Ten opener.
-The Scarlet Knights numbers are ugly but things don’t look near as grim if you take out the games against Ohio State and Michigan. They played Iowa close (losing 14-7), were in a tight game with Illinois and should have beaten Minnesota. However, they were beaten in historic fashion by Ohio State (58-0) and Michigan (78-0) at the beginning of October. Those games definitely count but Rutgers is a better team now than they were during those beatings by the conference’s two superpowers.