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Rutgers getting set to play Ohio State, blocking out distractions

Ohio State week is here.

The Rutgers football team has three games remaining in the 2019 season and the one game that Scarlet Knights fans have dreaded is upon us.

Ohio State, ranked No. 1 in the first installment of the College Football Playoff ranking, is over a 50-point favorite for this Saturday’s game in Piscataway which begins at 3:30 p.m.

The Buckeyes are 9-0 with a 6-0 record inside the Big Ten Conference.

“Honestly they're about as complete a football team as I've seen,” Rutgers interim head coach Nunzio Campanile said. “Really in all three phases of the game, they're pretty darn good. If there's a team out there better than them, I'd like to see it, but there's some pretty good teams out there.

“We're really just trying to make sure that we're focused on our process of getting better, and it's basically been the biggest thing that I've been trying to push over the last five weeks or so is that we just need to go out and focus on us, focus on getting better, and feel great about the opportunity that you have. I mean, I understand how talented they are, and I think our players understand that. But you know, I feel like over the last three games, we've started to show growth and improvement, and we can't let that slide back just because the quality of the opponent that we're facing. So there's a lot of great valuable reps out there and we've got to go out and get them and we've got to have a great week of practice so we can go out and perform the way we want to on Saturday.”

Rutgers had this past weekend off as it had its second and final bye week of the year. Campanile mentioned the open date gave the players some added time to heal up and prepare for Ohio State. It also gave the younger guys in the program a chance to get extra reps in practice.

“Well, the bye week probably came at a great time to get young guys work because there are a lot of guys that are pretty beat up, so it was a great way to get work for guys that are normally getting a lot of scout work. They were able to go in and get real practice reps, and we were able to get a lot of ones, twos and threes work. So because of that, it was a little bit more like camp where guys got a chance to go out and get work so that they are prepared for these opportunities.

Quarterback Johnny Langan has started the last five games, but the window is still there to potentially player true freshman Cole Snyder. Campanile said he’s taking a wait and see approach so to speak in terms of whether or not to get him into any of the latter games.

The same goes for the rest of the freshmen and those who haven’t redshirted yet but can still play in games before the eligibility to do so wears off.

“Well, you know, a lot of that stuff is probably more special teams roles, so obviously you can't load a unit with those guys because they've got some really good players out there, so that wouldn't really be fair to those guys or, like I said, fair to the team,” the coach said. “But we're going to pick our spots, but definitely try and get those guys so that they feel a little bit like, hey, I've been out there. A lot of them have been in a game or two so hopefully there's an opportunity over the next three games to get almost all of them some level of work.

“But they're really tough games. They're really good, physical teams. You don't want to put guys at a disadvantage, and we definitely don't -- we want to give our team the best opportunity to win the games. So we have to definitely pick our spots, but if we can find a role where a guy feels comfortable and we feel good about putting him in there, we're going to do it.”

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Rutgers is in the midst of finishing up its search and getting a deal done for the team’s next head coach. There’s noise, distractions, and uncertainty for everyone in and around the program.

How does Campanile keep that at bay?

“It's not that hard for me,” he said. “Just really the biggest thing is making sure that it doesn't affect the players. I think they've done a really good job of it. I'm sure they read all the stuff and hear all the stuff, but we're just trying to talk about going out and getting better every day and kind of staying on the path for growth. Obviously they know there's going to be a lot of change coming down the road, but hopefully that's all good change and hopefully it's a positive opportunity and experience for them. But as far as personally, no, not at all. I look at this as a great opportunity, and I've learned a lot over the last five weeks, and hope to just keep progressing that way.”

After Ohio State, the Scarlet Knights will face Michigan State at home and then round out the season at Penn State.

It’s no doubt a tough stretch to end the year.

Rutgers had a similar stretch in 2018 against Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State, and Michigan State to cap the campaign. Many counted out the Scarlet Knights as soon as they stepped off the bus in those games and that surely will repeat itself in these final three contests, but Rutgers played tough against the Badgers and almost beat the Spartans.

Anything can happen.

“Yeah, I guess there's probably some validity to that. Basically, I guess, the mindset just has to be, hey, be at our best here. Just talking to them about you can listen to all the stuff outside that says, oh, hey, you're going to get killed or the point spread. None of that stuff matters. The only thing that matters is how hard and how well we go out and play and if we take steps forward. I keep telling them that these reps matter for the future,” Campaniel said.

“If you're a senior and you have three games left here, you want to leave your mark to be at your best and never take your foot off the gas, and if you're a young guy, these reps really matter for next year. They matter going into the spring, they matter going into next season. Every chance you get to play against great competition like that is an opportunity for you to grow as a player and for us to grow as a team. That's like the biggest message about these games to me.”

Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky.

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