Rutgers secured a 35-20 win over Maryland to head into their bye week with some momentum. The Scarlet Knights did several things differently against the Terrapins that must continue out of the bye week to give
themselves the best chance to win in both of their remaining games, however daunting a task they may be. There are also several things that they must do during the bye week to give themselves a shot at earning bowl eligibility.
What Must Happen During the Bye Week
Rutgers has several things that it must do during the bye week to have the best chance to win down the stretch. The first and foremost of these things is to get healthy, or get as healthy as a team with 12 players out for the season can get. They will need all remaining hands on deck for the bowl game push.
Even though some of the issues on defense are beyond repair at this point, the bye week should serve as an opportunity to clean up some remaining confusion in the scheme. Several times in the Purdue and Illinois game, defenders looked unsure of who to cover and where to line up, and that resulted in wide open looks, particularly on red zone defense. While having these issues this late in the season is inexcusable, the late bye week provides another big opportunity to clean these issues up before the late-season push.
The third thing that Rutgers must do during the bye week is get some of the depth pieces some more reps. Schiano talked about doing this several times.
What Must Continue From Win Over Maryland
In addition to the improvements the Knights must make in the bye week, there are several things that must continue from their win over Maryland to give Rutgers its best shot at making a bowl game. The first and foremost is that the Knights must continue to run the ball successfully. Whether or not such success continues remains to be seen.
The next thing they must continue to do is use pre-snap motion to generate plays. Rutgers has hardly used pre-snap motion all season, except in its win over Maryland. If the Knights can add this to their offense the rest of the way, they might be able to throw something at their opponent that they are not ready for. Rutgers receivers were able to create space by using these motions last games, and their implementation makes the Knights offense much less predictable.
Aside from this most recent game, Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis has had issues lately moving around the pocket. In the game against the Terrapins, Kaliakmanis was able to maneuver throughout the pocket to extend plays and find his playmakers down the field. This ability to extend plays must continue throughout the rest of the season to give the Knights their best chance to win.
The final thing that must continue from Rutgers’ win over Maryland is the improved secondary play on defense. Maryland quarterback Malik Washington, who usually commands a pass-first offense, was held to just 98 yards passing on the day. He completed only 53 percent of his passes, along with throwing one interception. While replicating these numbers against their final two opponents is very unlikely, the Knights’ pass defense will need to continue to show significant improvement from its early-season counterpart to have a chance at earning an extra game.
