After a decisive 34-10 victory over the University of Pittsburgh last Saturday, the Rutgers University football program heads into its Homecoming Weekend against visiting Navy with a full head of steam. The win propelled the Scarlet Knights (4-2, 2-0 Big East Conference) to its best start since 2006 and to the top of the league standings.
On Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN3, Rutgers will host Navy at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, NJ. The Midshipmen (2-3) enter the contest on a two-game losing streak, which has featured being routed by Southern Mississippi University, 63-35, and losing a to Air Force in overtime, 35-34, respectively.
Despite the recent skid, the Midshipmen have the most potent rushing attack in the nation -- Navy averages a nation-best 366-rushing yards per game. On Monday, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano made sure every Rutgers fan know that this week will not be a cakewalk.
"You sit there in game planning and say we'll be able to run this play and then they've made plays," said Schiano. "They've played very hard, which doesn't surprise you. That's their entire football team. They play very hard. And we have to be able to move the football on these guys, because they're now, like everybody else, they've gone now to the no-huddle. So they're running no-huddle, triple-option, which, if it wasn't hard enough before.
So now instead of running the play, they start the guy in motion, and the whole group looks to the sideline, not every play, but a bunch of plays. It's going to be a challenging week."
As of Tuesday, the betting odds have the Scarlet Knights as four-point favorites.
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