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As I continue through my preseason predictions, I’ll jump from the Big Ten West over to the stronger of the two divisions and highlight the team that I think will struggle the most in the upcoming season.
Rutgers finished with an 8-5 overall record in their inaugural season in the Big Ten and defeated North Carolina 40-21 in the Quick Lane Bowl last year. Despite their overall success, they managed just three wins in the conference. They’ll be returning just 10 starters (5 on offense and 5 on defense) in 2015 and considering the fact that they play in a very tough division, Rutgers should show a considerable amount of regression.
The biggest loss will be quarterback Gary Nova who graduated after being a 3+ year starter for the program. Nova had a very good career with the Scarlet Knights, throwing for 9,258 yards and 73 touchdowns. Last year was his best at Rutgers, tossing 22 touchdowns and accumulating 2,851 yards. The starter for the upcoming season is still unclear, with Chris Laviano and Hayden Rettig splitting reps with the first team offense during training camp. The two sophomores matched each other blow for blow in a recent scrimmage, which will make the decision for head coach Kyle Flood very difficult.
The defense was very poor last season, giving 38 or more points in five of eight conference games. Their interceptions leaders, Lorenzo Waters and Anthony Cioffi, each registered just two interceptions. Waters won’t be returning this season, while Cioffi will be moved to safety. Given that the defense will only be returning about half their starters, I don’t expect any improvement.
Leonte Carroo is the Scarlet Knights’ top returning playmaker and should expect to catch a lot of passes this year. Whomever is named the starting quarterback will surely lean heavily on Carroo, who has been named to Maxwell and Biletnikoff preseason watch lists.
Prediction: The loss of Nova will have a negative impact on the team unless either Laviano or Rettig can exceed expectations and replicate Nova’s production from last season. The defense will give up a lot of points again which will make it tough for them to win shootouts like they did a few times last year. I don’t expect Rutgers to win more than five total games. The Scarlet Knights won a shootout with Washington State last year and they’ll be seeing them again. Penn State and Michigan will both improve and will be much tougher opponents. The only two conference opponents that Rutgers should match up well with are Indiana and Maryland. I fully expect either Rutgers or Indiana to finish last in the division, depending on who wins the head-to-head matchup.
Jason Shawley is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com covering Big Ten Football. Follow him on Twitter @jshawls.
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