Rutgers is 4-2 at this point of the season, playing four games that

were every close throughout the fourth quarter and beyond. Easy wins

over Norfolk State and Eastern Michigan did not have as much drama,

but Rutgers fans found themselves on a roller coaster ride through the

other four games. Here are some good and bad points to take away

from those wins and losses:

of 11-0

games

teams

kicks and a big fake field goal

Rutgers has introduced a trio of first-year starters who have made

big differences and played major parts in each of RU's wins.

Steve Longa - The nation's 17th leading tackler has racked up

61 tackles thus far. Longa has also been the team's defensive MVP,

not bad for a kid who just turned 19 years old.

Paul James - Up until he went down with a lower leg injury

in game no.4, James was the nation's leading rusher. He solidified

the RU rushing attack and opened things up for the passing game.

Leonte Carroo - Every time he touches the ball, something

good happens for Rutgers. He is tied for fourth in the nation with

seven TD receptions and is not even RU's primary receiving target.

Struggles were to be expected considering Rutgers lost its top three

corners, its starting free safety and nickelback (three of whom were

drafted). This Rutgers secondary was young and inexperienced coming

in and some bad breaks could make things worse. Here are some of the

unfavorable occurrences this season at the cornerback position:

Glashen is back, but without Toler and Thomas, RU will look to its

young cornerback duo of Anthony Cioffi and Nadir Barnwell to pick up

the slack. The RU safeties have also had their share of forgettable

moments through the first half of the season.

Rutgers has played eight true freshman thus far this season, the

most since 2011 when eight true freshmen also saw the field. Here is

a ranking of how those freshmen in terms of how much they have

contributed this season for Rutgers:

Rutgers' schedule has introduced the team some tough competition

early on, pitting the Scarlet Knights against two of its toughest

tests of the season in road contests against Fresno State and

Louisville. The second half of the schedule should be a little more

favorable. Here's a glimpse at what Rutgers is up against:

Oct 26 vs Houston - The Cougars have put together a 5-0 mark

thus far but those wins have not come against the most spectacular

competition. Outside of its FCS opponent, Houston has defeated four

teams with a combined record of 7-17. Even if the Cougars find a way

to upset BYU this weekend, it will not be a dominating undefeated

team that comes to Piscataway.

Nov 2 vs Temple - The Owls are off to an underwhelming 0-6

start and things do not look very promising for a dramatic

turnaround in Philly this year. First-year head coach Matt Rhule is

struggling with a young team whose losses include forgettable ones

to the likes of Fordham and Idaho. The Owls don't look to pose much

of a threat to the Scarlet Knights.

Nov 16 vs Cincinnati - The 4-2 Bearcats have reached

that mark by beating three FBS teams with a combined record of 1-17.

A loss to USF and a battering at the expense of Illinois leave Cincy

as one of the weakest 4-2 teams in the country. The days of Brian

Kelly are long gone in Cincinnati as the Bearcats will likely have

to fight just to be in the middle of the pack in the AAC.

Nov 21 @ Central Florida - This looks to be Rutgers' toughest

matchup through the rest of the season. UCF's 4-1 record is legit

with a defeat over Penn State and a three-point loss to South

Carolina. Friday night's game against Louisville will have league

title implications on the line. Win or lose against Louisville, UCF will

still be a tough matchup for Rutgers on a short week.

Nov 30 @ UConn - The last conference game featuring these two

teams isn't likely to carry with it a lot of buzz. Chances are, a

downtrodden Husky team will have dialed it in by then as UConn is

still searching for its first win. The crowd could wind up being

very sparse as UConn continues to flounder in the post-Randy Edsall

era.

Dec 7 vs South Florida - The Bulls never play very well in the

cold and things could be icy for USF by that time. The 2-4 Bulls

will have to pull off some upsets if they intend to go bowling. That

doesn't look likely and by the time Bulls make it to Piscataway, USF

fans could already be counting the days until next season.

So what lies ahead for Rutgers? A conference title is not yet out of

reach but Rutgers will need some dominoes to fall. First, the

Scarlet Knights will need to win out. Secondly, UCF needs to upset

Louisville Friday night. If that does not happen, the Cardinals

would need to lose two conference games for RU to have a chance at a

BCS bowl. With Louisville's final five games against USF, UConn,

Houston, Memphis and Cincinnati, two losses seem highly, highly

unlikely. But if UCF defeats Louisville, things could get very

interesting down the stretch. Louisville would still need to lose another game, but the Cardinals fell victim to conference upsets against Syracuse and UConn last season.

Even if a league title is off the table, Rutgers still has a lot to

play for over the next couple of months. The Scarlet Knights have a

real chance to reach double digit wins for the first time since

2006. That goal would still be attainable with another regular

season loss. RU would just have to close out its season with a bowl

victory.

It will also be very important for this Rutgers team to build some

momentum heading into the Big Ten. Next year, teams like USF, Temple

and SMU will be replaced by Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.

This young RU team still needs some grooming for what will be a step

up in competition next year. Rutgers has proven capable of competing with Big

Ten teams on the recruiting front, but now the coaching staff will

have to develop that talent. The second half of this season could go

a long way in that developmental phase as well as serving as a telling sign of how good this coaching staff can be.