Rutgers Scarlet Knights 2009 Football Betting Preview

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Rutgers 2008 Record: (8-5, 5-2)
Rutgers 2008 Bowl: Papa John’s.com Bowl vs. North Carolina State (W 29-23)
Rutgers Coach: Greg Schiano (46-51 at Rutgers, 46-51 overall)
Rutgers Offensive Coordinator: Kirk Ciarrocca and Kyle Flood
Rutgers Defensive Coordinator: Bob Fraser and Ed Pinkham
Rutgers Returning Stats Leaders:

• Rushing: Kordell Young, RB, 554 yards
• Passing: Domenic Natale, QB, 36 yards
• Receiving: Tim Brown, WR, 565 yards
• Tackles: Ryan D’Imperio, LB, 93
• Sacks: Ryan D’Imperio, LB, 5.5
• Interceptions: Brandon Bing, CB, 1; Ryan D’Imperio, LB, 1; George Johsnon, DE, 1; Devin McCourty, CB, 1; Damaso Munoz, LB, 1

Notable Rutgers Returning Players: C Ryan Blaszczyk, OT Anthony Davis, G Art Frost, TE Shamar Graves, OT Kevin Haslam, S Joe Lefeged, G Caleb Ruch, DT Alex Silvestro

Rutgers Key Losses: WR Kenny Britt, S Courtney Greene, LB Kevin Malast, CB Jason McCourty, QB Mike Teel, DT Pete Tverdov, WR Tiquan Underwood, DE Jamaal Westerman

Rutgers had one of the weirdest seasons in recent memory last fall. The Scarlet Knights began the year 1-5 and their only win was against a D-1AA team! However, an ugly 12-10 win over UConn sparked a 7-0 run to finish the year, including a bowl win over NC State! It was a shocking turnaround to say the least and highly respected head coach Greg Schiano capitalized on that success by bringing in Rutgers’ first top 25 recruiting class during his tenure. The Scarlet Knights bring back twelve starters in their quest to earn Schiano’s first conference crown.

On offense, Rutgers has some big holes to fill. Quarterback Mike Teel was a three year starter and was drafted in the 6 th round by the Seahawks, receivers Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood were Teel’s top two targets and they were drafted in the 1 st and 7 th rounds, respectively. That’s a lot of talent and production to lose to the NFL in one season and it won’t be a surprise to see Rutgers’ passing offense take a big step back. The running game is another story. The top three rushers from last year, junior Kordell Young and sophomores Jourdan Brooks and Joe Martinek, all return after combining for 1,474 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2008. Even better, the entire offensive line returns as well to block for them. Look for Rutgers to establish a solid running attack quickly while their quarterbacks get their feet wet. Rutgers should return to Schiano’s favored ground-based attack this fall and I expect their offense to be similarly productive to last year’s unit which averaged 29 points per game, though it will certainly be less explosive.

The defense was exceptional in 2008, allowing less than 19 points per game. However, there are some big losses, including two of the top three in sacks and the team’s leading tackler. Up front, defensive ends George Johnson and Alex Silvestro will need to improve upon their 4 combined sacks from 2008 and there is concern about replacing both defensive tackles. However, the linebackers should be very good, led by senior Frank D’Imperio, who had 93 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 2008. D’Imperio will likely be flanked by a pair of talented but unproven underclassmen, so he will have to lead and perform this fall. The secondary has some big losses, including 6th and 7th round NFL draft picks at corner and safety. Their returning starters combined for only one interception last fall so the Knights will need to improve on their ability to turn the ball over. However, despite my concerns, Rutgers should still have a solid defense. Just don’t expect them to hold opponents under nineteen points per game this fall.

The schedule is extremely favorable to the Scarlet Knights. They have four home conference games and their only three road trips are to all three of my lowest predicted teams in the conference. Even better, they have three weeknight home games against Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and South Florida. That’s a huge home field advantage! In the non-conference, the only major game of note is a road trip to Maryland, a far cry from last year’s slate of Fresno State, North Carolina and Navy. In short, Rutgers is probably not the best team in the conference this year as they lost a lot of talent to the NFL draft, but they definitely have the most favorable schedule to make a run at the conference title. If they knock off Cincinnati in the season opener, they could be 5-0 going into a mid-October showdown with Pitt which could decide their chances at the title. While their conference championship prospects can be debated, there is little doubt that Rutgers will qualify for their 5 th straight bowl game and they have a good shot at their 2 nd ten win season in four years.

Rutgers Big Games: Sept. 7th vs. Cincinnati, Oct. 16th vs. Pittsburgh, Nov. 12th vs. USF, Dec. 5th vs. WVU

Rutgers’s Strength:

The defense only returns six starters, but they do have some solid blocks to build around. Linebacker Ryan D’Imperio is ready to take over the leadership role on defense. He tallied 93 tackles, 12.5 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks as a junior and he should be in for a big senior season. George Johnson is a quality defensive end and Devin McCourty should anchor a decent secondary. There are holes that need to be filled, but Coach Schiano has enough talent sitting on the roster to fill those holes effectively. The defense will be fine, but the best unit on this team is the offensive line. Just about everybody who played last year is back and that should be good news for the offense. The improved, and experienced, offensive line should pave the way for a decent running game. The Scarlet Knights never got the ground game moving last year, but Kordell Young, Jourdan Brooks and Joe Martinek are all back and the team should be better on the ground with another year of experience.

Rutgers’s Weakness:

While the line will be good, the Scarlet Knights lose a trio of quality skill players. Quarterback Mike Teel was painful to watch at times with his decision making, but he was still a solid passer who completed 61.4 percent of his attempts during his senior campaign and passed for 25 touchdowns. His main two targets were Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood and now those two are gone as well. Britt alone caught 87 passes for 1,371 yards and seven touchdowns. Just who is going to replace all of that production? Jabu Lovelace and Dom Natale are the likely candidates to take over the quarterback role. Lovelace missed the spring due to injuries, but Natale failed to seize the job. The battle will go into the fall. Receiver Tim Brown made strides last year and will be the the quarterbacks main target, but somebody has to step up and become another viable receiving threat.

Our Prediction for the 2009 Scarlet Knights:

The defense should be fine, but the offense has some huge holes to fill. The ground game has potential, but Ray Rice is not going to walk through the door any time soon. If the running game struggles, the offense could be in big, big trouble. The defense can overcome some of those offensive shortcomings, but will it be enough to reach another bowl game?

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