The No. 15 Rutgers football team takes the field for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff this afternoon at High Point Solutions Stadium to cap off a weekend of homecoming festivities when they face off against Mid-American Conference squad Kent State.
Once upon a time, a very long time ago, the Scarlet Knights (4-0, 7-0) might have booked Kent State (4-0, 6-1) on their schedule for an easy homecoming win, a ploy to pack the stands and bolster their overall record.
That was a very different time though and now, fast forwarding to this afternoon, Rutgers faces a Golden Flashes squad that's on the verge of its longest winning streak in 72 years.
With the Big East Championship, and even a longshot major BCS bowl, on the line, the Scarlet Knights are looking for a solid victory this afternoon before going into their second bye week of the season.
" Every week I think the games are going to be competitive," Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said of today's impending matchup.
"If it goes any other way, I'm always a little bit surprised. So I fully expect this to be a very competitive football game, and we're going to have to battle for 60 minutes to hopefully come out on top."
The biggest key going into today's gridiron battle is, naturally, for the Scarlet Knights major players to remain that way, throughout all four quarters of play.
That means Rutgers will need solid play, as per usual, from their standout guys on both sides of the ball, quarterback Gary Nova, running back Jawan Jamison and, on the defensive side of things, linebacker Khaseem Greene.
Between the three of them, they've made Rutgers the 73rd team in the nation for points overall and the third team in the nations for points against.
All three of the Scarlet Knights top players will be ready to take the field at kickoff, without an issue to their name. The biggest issue for Rutgers, injury-wise, remains freshman kicker Kyle Federico, who is once again questionable and will most likely be a game time decision for Flood.
As it's been for the last two weeks, sophomore Nick Borgese will most likely take over for Federico should he be sidelined again. Borgese has been somewhat dependable for the Scarlet Knights in his last two game-time appearances, but did not attempt a single field goal in last week's victory over Temple.
The uncertainty in the kicking game puts that much more pressure on the Rutgers offense to either find the end zone or give up possession of the ball.
Also out for Rutgers this week will be nose tackle Ike Holmes who is done for the season after undergoing surgery on his wrist this week. Defensive tackle Kenneth Kirksey will most likely be a game-time decision after missing some time with a lower leg injury.
Today's game will be broadcast on SNY, as well as on the Rutgers Radio Network. Online it can be streamed on WatchESPN.com.
As of Friday afternoon, the Scarlet Knights were a dominant favorite with 13.5 points on the spread.
Loading comments...