Big Ten play has arrived and the scheduling people did Rutgers no favors by having the Scarlet Knights go to Ann Arbor and the Big House to face No. 19 Michigan.
But that's just how the players like it, and they want revenge after falling in triple-overtime a year ago at SHI Stadium in Piscataway.
"We've been looking forward to this one for a while especially after how last year's game ended. It's been a long time coming this game, and we're very excited," Rutgers defensive end Mike Tverdov said. "We're gonna be playing on ABC. It's a great opportunity to go out there, play our best football. This was a Big Ten is all about matchups like these games. We're just really excited to have this opportunity, and we're gonna go in there and do our do our thing."
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The Wolverines lead the nation with 350.3 rushing yards per game and are second in rushing yards per attempt with 7.7. And while from the look of it, the stats show that Rutgers is giving up just 90.0 yards per game on the ground which is 23rd best in the country and yielding only 2.7 yards per carry, it's weakness on defense is stopping the run. The Scarlet Knights just allowed Delaware to run for 159 yards and five runs of 10 yards are more (71, 23, 19, 17, 11).
Blake Corum leads Michigan with 407 yards rushing and seven touchdowns. Hassan Haskins also has four scores and 281 yards while Donovan Edwards and A.J. Henning both have 118 and 100 yards, respectively, and three more total scores.
"They're really good running backs, and it's not just Blake, it's all of them," Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano said. "They have a really good running back room. You can see it."
"They have a dynamic pair of running backs," Tverdov said. "They make a lot of plays with their feet. Their offensive line does a great job of creating holes for them. They're very good athletes. We'll be prepared for that. We have good players too, though, so it's going to be a matchup I'm excited for and I can't wait until the time comes."
Corum is listed at 5-foot-8, 200 pounds, Haskins is bigger at 6-foot-1, 220 pounds. Both present unique challenges. Last year, Haskins ran for 111 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries against Rutgers.
"They have different backs. They have a bigger back, a smaller, more dynamic back, and they both make plays," Tverdov said. "They are different players and we're going to be prepared for them. Whatever they throw at us, we're gonna have an answer. So it just comes down to guys doing their job and guys trusting the coaching staff to put us in a position to make plays."
In order to stop the big plays from happening, the secondary knows it has to its part in coming up and make tackles as well.
"It's very important," safety Avery Young said. "The secondary has to tackle as well as any other position group on defense, and we're looking forward to doing that because we just prepare that way.
"The run game, of course they're gonna have a big line. It's Michigan, they recruit well, and then they got some solid running backs. We actually played a really good running back last week, so I think we got good preparation for this. Our scouts were killing it at practice today. I commend them because they're running hard. We're just going to take all that experience and put it towards Michigan."
Cade McNamara, Michigan's quarterback, came off the bench last season and threw for 260 yards and four touchdowns in the win against Rutgers. Through three games in 2021, he has completed 65% of his passes for 371 yards and three scores with no interceptions as the Wolverines have leaned on their run game.
Tverdov and Avery know the defense will have to play smart and defend both the run and the pass.
"He came in last year, he did his thing and he led his team to come back against us last year. That just shows his resilience, his skill development, and obviously, he's gotten much better this year," Tverdov said. "It seems like they've relied a lot on the run game this year, but we're preparing for them in all areas. We have a good plan for them, and we're going to execute it come Saturday."
Added Young: "He has gotten better, but we've gotten better too. Just have to focus on our job and to chop our job."
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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