Rutgers football is set to kick off its homecoming game against No. 8 Oregon at 6:30 on Saturday. The university has announced that its “Light up the Knight” light show will be returning for this game and
has encouraged everyone to be in their seats by 6 pm to see the show.
As for the game itself, the Scarlet Knights (3-3, 0-3) will be facing an uphill battle against a Ducks team (5-1,2-1) that has looked truly dominant throughout the first few games of the season. Aside from their 30-20 loss to No.3 Indiana, Oregon’s defense has suffocated their opponents regularly, paving the way for the offense to secure a comfortable win.
Oregon’s offense will look to take advantage of a Rutgers defense that is in complete disarray. The Knights’ defense is ranked as the 89th overall defense in the country, according to the NCAA’s website, and the 93rd overall defense in terms of scoring. They have surrendered an average of 6.98 yards per play, 385.3 yards per game, and 27.50 points per game. Compare that to the Ducks offense, which ranks 23rd in the country in terms of total offense and ninth in the country in terms of scoring offense. Oregon is averaging 6.95 yards per play, 464.3 yards per game, and 42.2 points per game.
On top of all of that, Oregon’s offense seems to specialize in, or have some who can take advantage of, the same areas Rutgers has had issues defending all year. These areas include the deep pass, intermediate routes to the middle of the field, and any type of quarterback run.
Having consistent scoring drives on offense that eat up the clock gives Rutgers its best chance to win. That is much easier said than done because Oregon has the No.14 overall scoring defense in the country, giving up an average of 15.17 points per game.
To do this, Rutgers should lean on the shoulders of running backs Antwan Raymond and, to a lesser extent, Ja’Shon Benjamin. If there is one weakness on the Oregon defense, it is their rushing defense, which has surrendered an average of 114.2 yards per game. They should also look to utilize the short passing game more, finding what the defense gives them underneath and getting our tight ends more involved. Keeping the Ducks offense off the field as much as possible should be one of the main objectives for Rutgers’ own offense, which, again, will have to score a lot just to keep up. Even if Rutgers’ offense can slow the game down and put up points, it might not even matter because of the mismatch on the other side.
No matter the result, the game will have a great atmosphere. The game is sold out to the general public and has been for over a week now, plus, as mentioned before, Rutgers will be bringing back the “Light up the Knight” show.
