Friday night lights.
The Rutgers football team begins its 2019 season against UMass Friday at 7:15 p.m. at home at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, N.J. Rutgers will be looking to break the nation’s longest losing streak among FBS programs of 11 games. The Scarlet Knights went 1-11 last season and head coach Chris Ash is on the hot seat.
Rutgers needs to and should win against the Minutemen, but there are still at least 11 more games to play afterwards.
Here are five questions for the Scarlet Knights heading into the season.
1) Will Rutgers score and move the ball?
The Scarlet Knights finished dead last in scoring reaching 13.5 points per game. They also ranked No. 103 with 134.1 rushing yards per game and it got really bad through the air. Rutgers was ranked at No. 125 in the country with 132.2 passing yards on average per game, No. 109 in completions per game with 14.2, and No. 129 in yards per pass attempt with 4.5
Rutgers was also No. 128 in total yards of offense per game with 266.2, No. 115 with 4.7 third-down conversions per game, No. 119 in third-down conversion percentage (32.37 percent), and No. 121 in red zone conversion percentage at 74.07 percent.
The hope is that offensive coordinator John McNulty, who is back for his second year, knows his personnel better and his tweaks of the scheme will work.
2) How will the quarterback perform
The expectation is that graduate transfer McLane Carter, a lefty, will be the team’s starting signal caller in the opener against UMass. Carter started seeing more and more first team reps as training camp went on and clearly outperformed sophomore Artur Sitkowksi. The numbers above speak for themselves. The record and the stats were poor. Carter has shown the ability to complete the deep ball, move around in the pocket, and gain yardage with his legs. Ash said at one point he has the “it” factor. Keeping him healthy will be key.
3) Will a wide receiver, or two, or three, please stand up?
Rutgers has a slew of wideouts on the roster, and that was by design. The Scarlet Knights haven’t been productive in the passing game. It’s not all on them, but the unit has struggled with gaining separation and drops. Guys like Bo Melton, Shameen Jones, Eddie Lewis, Mo Jabbie, and Everett Wormley are veterans who have played. It’s time for them to make an impact. Younger players like Daevon Robinson, Paul Woods, and Isaiah Washington have shown promise and play-making ability thus far, more so than the first group. Don’t forget about another freshman, Stanley King. King needs to add some bulk, but his tall and looks the part, he was just banged up during camp.
4) Can the offensive line give the QB enough time and open lanes for the running backs?
Yep, another offensive question. The Scarlet Knights allowed just 16 sacks a year ago which was actually tied for the best in the Big Ten in the least amount. Rutgers might have allowed just 1.33 sacks per game, but that was due to a poor offense. The Scarlet Knights tallied a conference-worst 12 rushing touchdowns a year ago and through the air, they averaged just 4.5 yards per pass and threw just five touchdowns, which was last in the nation with Navy, a running option team. It’s up to LT Raiqwon O’Neal, LG Zach Venesky, C Mike Maietti, RG Nick Krimin, and RT Kamaal Seymour and the tight ends to block. Truthfully, the most concerning thing about this Rutgers teams are its offensive line and tight end group.
5) Will the defense be able to stop the run?
A year ago, Rutgers allowed 401.5 yards per game on defense including 214.8 on the ground and 5.3 per rush attempt. All of those numbers feel like they should be higher. Rutgers was gashed time and time again in the early going until Ash took over the side of the ball as his own. The Scarlet Knights have a solid starting unit on the defensive line, mostly at d-end and at the JACK in Mike Tverdov and Elorm Lumor, respectively, but the backups, especially on the interior, are major questions. The belief is Rutgers should see a better pass rush in 2019, but does it have the big boys to handle opposing Big Ten team’s offensive lines? The linebackers will have to be able to make plays at the line of scrimmage and clean up the mess.
6) BONUS! Can the Scarlet Knights get/stay healthy?
This piece was written on Monday morning before the weekly press conferences, but the season-ending injury to tight end Johnathan Lewis prompted this bonus question on Wednesday night. As of right now, Matt Alaimo is the lone scholarship tight end on the roster that is healthy. That's worrisome. Grad transfer Kyle Penniston's status is unknown still as of Wednesday afternoon according to head coach Chris Ash, so that leaves a slew of walk-ons after Alaimo including Brandon Myers and Cooper Heisey. Ash called Myers (and Alaimo) two of the most improved players on the team and that's because of the extra reps they've received due to a previous ankle injury to Lewis and an injury to Penniston. The tight end group is bare right now. Rutgers is a team that cannot survive injuries to players at any position. Its depth isn't as strong as some of the other Big Ten squads. Players are going to get hurt. It's the nature of the game. But, linebacker Tyshon Fogg said it best to TKR, the biggest thing he's learned from his first two years from former Scarlet Knights Deonte Roberts and Trevor Morris is to take care of his body. Rutgers needs its players to get and stay healthy.
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky.
