After suffering their first loss of the season, 38-28 to Iowa in their annual Blackout Game, Rutgers football will look to get back on track this week as they travel to Minnesota to face the Golden Gophers.
The Gophers (2-1) are coming off an early bye week after losing to Cal 27-14. Minnesota’s offense struggled to move the ball in this game, only having 335 yards of total offense and surrendering two turnovers on the day. On the flip side, Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele had 279 passing yards and three touchdowns through the air as the Gophers failed to slow down the Golden Bears’ passing attack.
If Minnesota’s pass defense has a repeat performance like it did against Cal, the Scarlet Knights should be able to move the ball effectively against them. So far this year, Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis has totaled 1,150 passing yards and seven touchdowns, while star wide receiver Ian Strong has totaled 367 receiving yards and two touchdowns in just three games. Minnesota does have some key defenders who can disrupt Rutgers’ passing game. Defensive lineman Anthony Smith and Defensive back Koi Perich are two names that come to mind. However, judging on the performances we have seen so far this season, the Knights’ passing attack should be able to do its part to help Rutgers win.
As for the Knights’ running game, it was confirmed by head coach Greg Schiano that running back CJ Campbell is out for the year, meaning that Antwan Raymond will be the main guy going forward, with Ja’Shon Benjamin expected to see a lot of playing time as well. The Gophers’ opponents have averaged 52.5 yards on the ground so far this season, which is good for third in the nation, while Rutgers is averaging 141 rushing yards per game. If Rutgers can establish their running game against Minnesota’s defense, that would create some space in the passing game that the Knights can exploit.
The more intriguing matchup is Rutgers’ defense against Minnesota’s offense. Neither side has looked very impressive so far this season. In both of their games against FBS opponents, the Gophers’ offense struggled to get going. In their game against Buffalo, Minnesota was kept in check until the fourth quarter, when they finally began to pull away. Minnesota quarterback Drake Lindsey has had a rather pedestrian start to his season as he is averaging 211.33 yards per game, has four touchdowns, and two picks on the year.
Where Rutgers’ defense might be in trouble is defending Minnesota’s rushing attack. The Gophers’ star running back, Darius Taylor, is set to return from injury for this game. The Knights have had an extremely difficult time stopping the run so far this year, and could be in for a long day trying to stop the Minnesota ground attack. In addition to the return of Taylor, the two runners behind him on the depth chart, Fame Ijeboi and Grant Washington, have proven themselves to be very capable as well. If Rutgers allows the Gophers to have long drives with a sustained ground attack, it will severely limit what they can do on offense and put their chances of winning in jeopardy. If there was any key matchup of the week to highlight, it’s this one.
Rutgers-Minnesota will kick off in Minneapolis at noon on Saturday, September 27.
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