Wisconsin is coming out of a dark place this last week after getting shut out on national television by their rival, Iowa. It wasn't pretty in any facet of the game, and now Wisconsin needs a rebound and needs one bad. The good news is Rutgers is headed to Madison this week and is arguably one of the worst Power-4 teams right now. There's not a lot to like about what the Scarlet Knights are up to.
And that was after game one, when Rutgers lost to UMASS (a team that was truly one of the worst FBS programs last season). Rutgers found a win against Maryland but otherwise has had a very forgettable season. The problems actually got worse for Rutgers in the last couple of weeks.
1. Rutgers will be playing backups against Wisconsin's top strength
Rutgers is down their best offensive lineman for sure, Kwabena (Kobe) Asamoah. He's one of the only players on the roster who looks to have NFL talent. He's already declared out. One of their other top offensive linemen, Tyler Needham, is listed as doubtful.
It was already going to be a big ask for the Rutgers offensive line to block the Wisconsin defensive line, but it got a whole lot bigger. The task is now falling to backups and a pieced-together offensive line. Sebastian Cheeks has to be licking his lips with anticipation, but the big guys in the middle have to be eager too.
If Wisconsin plays physical like they did against USC, now, against Rutgers, it could get ugly quickly. Especially when you consider the second major Rutgers problem.
2. Rutgers' starting quarterback is injured and can't go
Dylan Lonergan is already ruled out. He was leading Michigan last week, too, and Rutgers had to turn to their backup, AJ Surace. It wasn't pretty for Surace; he was sacked twice and was barely trusted to throw the ball. He only had 12 attempts through the air, completing only three of them.
His stats are slightly inflated by a wild play in which he scrambles to the side and is able to get a pass off to a wide-open Jourdin Houston, who took it for 80 yards and the touchdown. Michigan was also keyed in on the run and wasn't given Surace any credit. So it allowed Surace to have two of his three completions go for big gains.
Wisconsin has to get to Surace and get to him often, make Rutgers as one-dimensional as possible, and get the defense off the field quickly.
3. Wisconsin is angry and ready to stuff someone in a locker
The final problem is no fault of Rutgers at all. Wisconsin is pissed off about the Iowa game. Fans wish they were pissed off before the Iowa game and actually came in ready to play, but now they are again. They want a big win. They won't be looking past Rutgers because they know they need this win and need to win convincingly.
The leaders all seem fired up, and Rutgers may be walking into a hornet's nest this week in Camp Randall.
Add us as a preferred source on Google