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Nebraska Football: Huskers vs Scarlet Knights, An Early Look at Rutgers

By Brent Craig

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The Nebraska Football team travels to the Garden State on November 14th to take on one of the Big Ten newbies, the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers.

ALSO READ: Nebraska Cornhuskers Early Look at Michigan State

The Huskers travel to New Jersey to take on Rutgers in a Big Ten cross divisional match-up.  The Huskers lead the series against Rutgers 2-0.  Before last season’s meeting between the two schools, they had not played against one another since 1920.  That was a span of 94 years and at the time, that was the longest span of time for Nebraska vs any of their opponents.

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The 1920 contest was probably more a scrimmage for the Huskers as Nebraska won in dominating fashion by a score of 28-0.  The game though was not played in New Jersey, but in was played in Manhattan, NY at the famous Polo Grounds.

Over the years the Polo Grounds existed (1891-1963), three professional baseball teams called the Polo Grounds home, the Giants (before moving to San Francisco), the Yankees, and the Mets.  There were also a slew of collegiate football games played at the Polo Grounds over the years, and the Huskers were fortunate to have played at this iconic location.

Last season’s game was the first time Rutgers had traveled to Lincoln and I’m sure it is a meeting they would love to forget. Ameer Abdullah rushed for 225 yards on 19 Carries, Kenny Bell and Jordan Westerkamp combined for 103 yards receiving and on the Defense, Ziare Anderson led the team with 11 tackles while defensive tackle Maliek Collins had 7 tackles of his own. Randy Gregory had a great day too sacking the Rutgers quarterback for a 12 yard loss and even blocked a field goal.  Of those who had stellar days I listed above, only Westerkamp and Collins are still on the team.

Nov 22, 2014; East Lansing, MI, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Kyle Flood walks the sidelines during the1st quarter of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

This will be the first ever meeting between Nebraska Head Football Coach Mike Riley and Rutgers Head Coach Kyle Flood.  Flood has been the head coach of Rutgers since the 2012 season.  Flood has been employed by Rutgers since 2005 coaching the offensive line as well as acting as the assistant head coach starting in the 2008 season.

Flood is 23-16 has a head coach and in Rutgers inaugural season in the Big Ten Rutgers finished 3-5 (8-5 overall) and tied in fourth position in the East.

Rutgers made their third bowl appearance last season under Flood beating North Carolina 40-21 in the first ever Quick Lane Bowl on December 26th. This gave Flood his first bowl victory as a head coach.

Gone is four year starter Gary Nova at quarterback. No decision was made after Spring practice as to which red-shirt sophomore quarterback will lead the team. Going into the fall camp, the position is wide open for either Chris Laviano or LSU transfer Hayden Rettig.

The offense should be filled with many weapons for whichever quarterback gets the start. At the wide receiver position, Leonte Carroo decided not to enter the NFL draft and returned for his Senior season. Last season Carroo had 55 receptions for 1,086 yards, averaging 19.7 yards per catch with 10 touchdowns. Carroo seems to be the biggest offensive threat on the team, providing the quarterbacks can throw the ball to him.

There are many experienced running backs in the back field for Rutgers mostly because starting running back Paul James tore his ACL in late September, ending his 2014 season. He will be back this season, but the question is will he be the same? If not there will be many others to take his place.

Defensively, Rutgers ranked near the bottom of the Big Ten in almost every category. Defensive Lineman Darius Hamilton is the player the Huskers need to be most aware. Against Wisconsin last season he had 7 total tackles, 6 of which were solo. Six starters from last season graduated and so the Rutgers defense will be rebuilding and will most likely be the weakest unit on the team.

Athlon predicts Rutgers to finish 7th in the Big Ten East and 65th in the nation. If their season goes the way everyone expects it to, then this could be an easy win for the Huskers. We will just need to wait and see as we have a long wait for this game. Go Big Red!

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