The RutgersAl Victory Express is gassed up and ready to go!!
Penn States comes into Saturday’s contest sporting a 6-4 record (3-4 in the Big Ten), recently dropping a heartbreaker to Michigan 21-17, after being up 17-14 late in the contest. They have lost four of their last five games, but three of their losses were very close, falling to Iowa (23-20), Illinois (20-18) and Michigan (21-17). Total margin was 9 points for those three losses, so Penn State could very well be 8-1.
The Nittany Lions have been hard hit with injuries, losing their best Defensive Tackle, PJ Mustipher for the season. This has left them susceptible to opponent’s running attacks, as Michigan’s Haskins rushed for 157 yards on 31 attempts and Illinois’ Chase Brown was able to run 33 times for 226 yards. Ohio State’s Treyveyon Henderson rushed 28 Times for 160 yards. Thus Penn State is ranked #9 in the Conference in terms of Rush Defense, which probably is a historical low for them.
Their offensive line is led by LT #79 Caeden Wallace, 6-5 323 lbs. He hails from Robbinsville, NJ. C. Mike Miranda goes 6-3 305 lbs. Eric Wilson goes 6-4 307 lbs. Rasheed Walker goes 6-6 325 lbs. C Michael Menet and LT Will Fries.
As big as they are, the Nittany Lions have similarly struggled to run the ball, as they are also ranked #13 in the Conference in Rushing as their rushers have rushed for 1067 yards on 341 carries, for a 3.1 ypc average. Keyvonne Lee is their leading rusher, and he ran 20 times for a respectable 90 yards vs Michigan, a 4.4 ypc average.
The Nittany Lion’s strength is surprisingly airpower, with Penn State having the #4 Big Ten Passing Attack. Spearheading the attack is Penn State’s Quarterback Sean Clifford, who has thrown 354 passes, and completed 222 of them, for an impressive 63% Completion Percentage.
Clifford’s favorite target has been #5 Jahan Dotson, who may be the best receiver in college football. Dotson has caught 80 passes for 993 receiving yards, and is averaging an impressive 99.3 receiving yards per game. His longest reception is 86 yards, so Rutgers DBs are going to have to pay extra attention to him. He may require double coverage. Parker Washington is their next best receiver, and has caught 47 passes for 590 receiving yards.
The line has also struggled to protect their passer, as they are at the bottom of the Big East in terms of sacks given up with 27 given up in 10 games. Michigan was able to sack Penn States Quarterback 7 times with Aiden Hutchinson getting 3 off Caeden Wallace and David Ojabo getting two sacks. It should be noted that Penn State has been able to notch a significant number of sacks with 20. Sr Defensive End Arnold Ebiketie notched 8.5 of them and also has 15.5 tackles for loss.
So now its time to talk about Rutgers. Rutgers is coming off its best played game of the season, besting Indiana 38-3, and has won two of its last three games. For the GameBall, I give it to Jay Butler. Last year, we lost to Indiana, 37-21, the last of 5 consecutive losses, where they seriously manhandled our team. This year, we put a serious beatdown on Indiana, and a lot of it I think is due to the significant gains in Strength and Conditioning that were made over the last year. It’s good to see the kids get a payoff for all those early morning winter workouts. For the many fans who couldn’t understand why we were paying our S&C Coach $500K per year, this is the reason why. I don’t know his method, but Jay Butler is the only one who has been able to elevate Rutgers Strength and Conditioning from noncompetitive to Big Ten Competitive.
When you hold an opponent to 3 points, you can pretty single out every single defensive player for recognition. These are the guys who really stood out to me. Kyonte Hamilton stepped in at three technique tackle and contributed significantly at Indiana, chipping in with 5 Tackles at Indiana and 1 Tackle for loss. Even when he wasn’t getting stats, he was still affecting the trajectory of the play, with his ability to penetrate. Skies the limit for this kid.
#50 Julius Turner and #88 Ifeanyi Maijeh were also a force in the middle, even if their efforts didn’t always show up in the stat sheet. #58 Mohamed Toure had 5 tqckles, 1 tackle for loss and 1 sack.
Other standouts included LB Drew Singleton, who led all tacklers with 10 tackles. Avery Young has probably his best game as a safety and followed close behind with 8 tackles. Christian Izien was all over the field, and made a terrific read, dropping a back right in the backfield for a tackle for loss. Tyreem Powell had his best game with 4 tackles and an interception. Max Melton also chipped in with an interception, and he has emerged as our best cover corner.
The offense, aided by a change in personnel on the offensive line, also performed well, after failing to convert an early 4th and one. The new lineup included:
But the guy I think is due special praise is quarterback Noah Vedral, who bounced back from an awful performance against Wisconsin, and delivered a gritty, mistake free performance against Indiana. His passing stats were somewhat pedestrian, completing 9 passes out of 17 attempts for 97 yards, but more importantly, the offense took advantage of every opportunity presented itself, something we have struggled to do, at times. It was gratifying to watch us score Touchdowns rather than having to settle for field goals. We can now say that the coaches decision to go all in with Vedral was the correct one.
Must mention Adam Korsak, who continues to have a strong Season, with 5 punts received inside the 20, and a 43.3 average yards per punt. This position has been a source of competitive advantage for us for a while now. His punts made it so much easier for the defense to do its job.
Rutgers vs Penn State Analysis
To say the Rutgers/Penn State series has been lopsided, is an understatement. We have been the ultimate little brother, where we show up, and they kick our butt. I still remember the Doug Graber teams, which seemed to have decent talent, and thinking we had a shot, only to attend the games and watch our teeth get knocked in. At best, the games were close in the first half, and they’d blow our doors off in the 2nd half.
Saturday is the first time in the long time, where Rutgers has its best opportunity since 2014, for victory. Like with most games, it will come down to line play. The biggest risk for Rutgers, is that it is unable to mount an effective pass rush, and the Penn State Quarterback is able to play pitch and catch with his receivers all game long, leading to blowout city for us, much like what Wisconsin was able to do. I don’t see that happening, because Penn State has struggled to adequately protect its quarterback in recent games. Illinois got 4 sacks on them, while Michigan got 7 sacks. I expect that we will employ a significant amount of pressure to attempt to accomplish the same.
Another possible risk for us is turnovers, but thankfully we’ve been able to avoid too many of those, aside from the Wisconsin game. And I was particularly impressed with how we are able to keep our composure, and play well, despite being down significantly in the Big House. We had Michigan on the ropes in the 2nd half, but just could not finish.
The biggest key difference, from previous contests, is that we should be able to run the ball Saturday, and stop the run. Michigan’s Hassan Haskins ran for 156 yards, and Illinois’ Chase Brown ran for 223 yards. And the respective defenses were able to limit Penn States rushing attack. Saturday will be a fantastic opportunity for Isaih Pacheco, who has run well, but hasn’t had that standout, exemplary, Player. Of the Week Type Performance.
Another key difference from previous Rutgers/Penn State contests, is that we are facing Penn State, while playing our best football. We’ve usually faced them towards the beginning of the season, but recently, we’ve faced them towards the end, when we were in a beaten up, depleted, state. This year, we’re ready to go. We have some injuries, but they do as well.
I expect that Saturday will be a similar situation to the Michigan game for us. A close game, against a very tough opponent, in one of the best environments in college football, where we’ll have our opportunity. Saturday, we finish.
Rutgers 17
Penn State 14
Penn States comes into Saturday’s contest sporting a 6-4 record (3-4 in the Big Ten), recently dropping a heartbreaker to Michigan 21-17, after being up 17-14 late in the contest. They have lost four of their last five games, but three of their losses were very close, falling to Iowa (23-20), Illinois (20-18) and Michigan (21-17). Total margin was 9 points for those three losses, so Penn State could very well be 8-1.
The Nittany Lions have been hard hit with injuries, losing their best Defensive Tackle, PJ Mustipher for the season. This has left them susceptible to opponent’s running attacks, as Michigan’s Haskins rushed for 157 yards on 31 attempts and Illinois’ Chase Brown was able to run 33 times for 226 yards. Ohio State’s Treyveyon Henderson rushed 28 Times for 160 yards. Thus Penn State is ranked #9 in the Conference in terms of Rush Defense, which probably is a historical low for them.
Their offensive line is led by LT #79 Caeden Wallace, 6-5 323 lbs. He hails from Robbinsville, NJ. C. Mike Miranda goes 6-3 305 lbs. Eric Wilson goes 6-4 307 lbs. Rasheed Walker goes 6-6 325 lbs. C Michael Menet and LT Will Fries.
As big as they are, the Nittany Lions have similarly struggled to run the ball, as they are also ranked #13 in the Conference in Rushing as their rushers have rushed for 1067 yards on 341 carries, for a 3.1 ypc average. Keyvonne Lee is their leading rusher, and he ran 20 times for a respectable 90 yards vs Michigan, a 4.4 ypc average.
The Nittany Lion’s strength is surprisingly airpower, with Penn State having the #4 Big Ten Passing Attack. Spearheading the attack is Penn State’s Quarterback Sean Clifford, who has thrown 354 passes, and completed 222 of them, for an impressive 63% Completion Percentage.
Clifford’s favorite target has been #5 Jahan Dotson, who may be the best receiver in college football. Dotson has caught 80 passes for 993 receiving yards, and is averaging an impressive 99.3 receiving yards per game. His longest reception is 86 yards, so Rutgers DBs are going to have to pay extra attention to him. He may require double coverage. Parker Washington is their next best receiver, and has caught 47 passes for 590 receiving yards.
The line has also struggled to protect their passer, as they are at the bottom of the Big East in terms of sacks given up with 27 given up in 10 games. Michigan was able to sack Penn States Quarterback 7 times with Aiden Hutchinson getting 3 off Caeden Wallace and David Ojabo getting two sacks. It should be noted that Penn State has been able to notch a significant number of sacks with 20. Sr Defensive End Arnold Ebiketie notched 8.5 of them and also has 15.5 tackles for loss.
So now its time to talk about Rutgers. Rutgers is coming off its best played game of the season, besting Indiana 38-3, and has won two of its last three games. For the GameBall, I give it to Jay Butler. Last year, we lost to Indiana, 37-21, the last of 5 consecutive losses, where they seriously manhandled our team. This year, we put a serious beatdown on Indiana, and a lot of it I think is due to the significant gains in Strength and Conditioning that were made over the last year. It’s good to see the kids get a payoff for all those early morning winter workouts. For the many fans who couldn’t understand why we were paying our S&C Coach $500K per year, this is the reason why. I don’t know his method, but Jay Butler is the only one who has been able to elevate Rutgers Strength and Conditioning from noncompetitive to Big Ten Competitive.
When you hold an opponent to 3 points, you can pretty single out every single defensive player for recognition. These are the guys who really stood out to me. Kyonte Hamilton stepped in at three technique tackle and contributed significantly at Indiana, chipping in with 5 Tackles at Indiana and 1 Tackle for loss. Even when he wasn’t getting stats, he was still affecting the trajectory of the play, with his ability to penetrate. Skies the limit for this kid.
#50 Julius Turner and #88 Ifeanyi Maijeh were also a force in the middle, even if their efforts didn’t always show up in the stat sheet. #58 Mohamed Toure had 5 tqckles, 1 tackle for loss and 1 sack.
Other standouts included LB Drew Singleton, who led all tacklers with 10 tackles. Avery Young has probably his best game as a safety and followed close behind with 8 tackles. Christian Izien was all over the field, and made a terrific read, dropping a back right in the backfield for a tackle for loss. Tyreem Powell had his best game with 4 tackles and an interception. Max Melton also chipped in with an interception, and he has emerged as our best cover corner.
The offense, aided by a change in personnel on the offensive line, also performed well, after failing to convert an early 4th and one. The new lineup included:
- LT – Raiqwon O’Neal
- LT – Ireland Brown
- C – Gus Zilinskas
- RG – Nick Krimin
- RT - Hollin Pierce
But the guy I think is due special praise is quarterback Noah Vedral, who bounced back from an awful performance against Wisconsin, and delivered a gritty, mistake free performance against Indiana. His passing stats were somewhat pedestrian, completing 9 passes out of 17 attempts for 97 yards, but more importantly, the offense took advantage of every opportunity presented itself, something we have struggled to do, at times. It was gratifying to watch us score Touchdowns rather than having to settle for field goals. We can now say that the coaches decision to go all in with Vedral was the correct one.
Must mention Adam Korsak, who continues to have a strong Season, with 5 punts received inside the 20, and a 43.3 average yards per punt. This position has been a source of competitive advantage for us for a while now. His punts made it so much easier for the defense to do its job.
Rutgers vs Penn State Analysis
To say the Rutgers/Penn State series has been lopsided, is an understatement. We have been the ultimate little brother, where we show up, and they kick our butt. I still remember the Doug Graber teams, which seemed to have decent talent, and thinking we had a shot, only to attend the games and watch our teeth get knocked in. At best, the games were close in the first half, and they’d blow our doors off in the 2nd half.
Saturday is the first time in the long time, where Rutgers has its best opportunity since 2014, for victory. Like with most games, it will come down to line play. The biggest risk for Rutgers, is that it is unable to mount an effective pass rush, and the Penn State Quarterback is able to play pitch and catch with his receivers all game long, leading to blowout city for us, much like what Wisconsin was able to do. I don’t see that happening, because Penn State has struggled to adequately protect its quarterback in recent games. Illinois got 4 sacks on them, while Michigan got 7 sacks. I expect that we will employ a significant amount of pressure to attempt to accomplish the same.
Another possible risk for us is turnovers, but thankfully we’ve been able to avoid too many of those, aside from the Wisconsin game. And I was particularly impressed with how we are able to keep our composure, and play well, despite being down significantly in the Big House. We had Michigan on the ropes in the 2nd half, but just could not finish.
The biggest key difference, from previous contests, is that we should be able to run the ball Saturday, and stop the run. Michigan’s Hassan Haskins ran for 156 yards, and Illinois’ Chase Brown ran for 223 yards. And the respective defenses were able to limit Penn States rushing attack. Saturday will be a fantastic opportunity for Isaih Pacheco, who has run well, but hasn’t had that standout, exemplary, Player. Of the Week Type Performance.
Another key difference from previous Rutgers/Penn State contests, is that we are facing Penn State, while playing our best football. We’ve usually faced them towards the beginning of the season, but recently, we’ve faced them towards the end, when we were in a beaten up, depleted, state. This year, we’re ready to go. We have some injuries, but they do as well.
I expect that Saturday will be a similar situation to the Michigan game for us. A close game, against a very tough opponent, in one of the best environments in college football, where we’ll have our opportunity. Saturday, we finish.
Rutgers 17
Penn State 14
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