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Illinois (1-4) heads east on Saturday to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-4). Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT with the game televised on ESPNews.
Rutgers and Illinois will meet for the third time in the teams’ history, with the series tied at 1-1. RU and Illinois played in a home-and-home series in 2005 and 2006 prior to the Scarlet Knights joining the Big Ten Conference.
The Scarlet Knights stumbled last week in a 78-0 loss against No. 4 Michigan is its second straight matchup versus a top five opponent.
OrangeandBlueNews.com caught up with Bobby Deren from ScarletNation.com to get the lowdown on Rutgers ahead of Saturday's game. Follow Bobby Deren on Twittter @BobbyDeren
Rutgers is the Big Ten program that Illinois fans probably know the least about. Talk about the recent history of the program, and how things are going under new head coach Chris Ash.
Bobby Deren: Rutgers was looking to get out of the old Big East/AAC for a while so when the chance to join the Big Ten came around, the school jumped at it, much to the delight of its fan base. Former head coach Kyle Flood was still living off a lot of Greg Schiano recruits during RU’s first year in the Big Ten, which enabled Rutgers to go 8-5. However, Flood’s inability to recruit and instill any kind of team discipline sent the program into a downward spiral, quickly destroying everything Schiano had built. Ash has started to rebuild and has recruited well, putting together the No.22 recruiting class in the nation for 2017 thus far. However, he was left with some very mediocre recruiting classes to work with this season.
The Scarlet Knights have one of the toughest schedules in CFB this year and are coming off a brutal part of that schedule following games against Ohio State (No. 2) and Michigan (No. 4). What is the mindset of this team heading into the Illinois game? Do they see it as a reprieve and a chance to get a W, or are they battered and bruised?
BD: The mindset is that this weekend begins a whole new season. Rutgers does not play a ranked opponent in its final six games and the team is fully aware that these upcoming contests will be much different from what it ran into against Washington, Ohio State and Michigan. The team made some costly mistakes which led to a 14-7 defeat at the hands of Iowa, but that game still gave the Scarlet Knights confidence that they could win some conference games this season. The team is also looking for some redemption after two major losses. As expected, the depth is being challenged and there are some bumps and bruises. However, Rutgers is entering this game fully expecting a win.
Illinois hasn't been able to stop the run this year, and they face a good RB in Robert Martin this week. How effective has the Scarlet Knights running game been, and what does Martin bring to the field? What can we expect from the spread offense? And who are some other playmakers Illinois fans should be aware of?
BD: Martin is the top playmaker on offense and has proven he can be a workhorse for Rutgers. The team feels like it can run the ball against Illinois, which could mean a heavy dose of Martin. He runs well between the tackles and is also very good at identifying running lanes. Outside of Martin, there really are not many playmakers on offense. The loss of wide receiver Janarion Grant was a big hit to the offense as he was easily RU’s top offensive player. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Jawuan Harris has shown flashes and is probably the offense’s No.2 playmaker now behind Martin.
Rutgers has struggled against press coverage as the receiving corps has not done much to help out the quarterbacks. The spread offense has also not resembled what most fans would expect to see out of a traditional spread since starting quarterback Chris Laviano is not much of a threat to run. The offense has struggled quite a bit, only scoring seven points in the last three games. That is directly attributed to a lack of playmakers as well as ineffective play at quarterback.
What kind of scheme do the Scarlett Knights use on defense? Statistically, guys like defensive lineman Julian Pinnix-Odrick stand out. Who else should we be aware of on the Rutgers D?
BD: Rutgers runs a 4-3 base defense and uses press coverage with its corners. Julian Pinnix-Odrick has had a solid season and the defensive line is probably the best unit on the RU defense. Starting defensive linemen Darius Hamilton and Sebastian Joseph should be able to create some havoc against the run on Saturday.
Rutgers’ top defensive player may very well be cornerback Blessuan Austin. He is developing into a very good cover corner and he’s also been playing a lot more physical against the run. The defense has been completely overmatched in the last two games against Michigan and Ohio State, but Ash should have them ready to play against Illinois.
How do you expect the game to play out on Saturday? A few keys to the game? Final score?
BD: I don’t expect the game to be an offensive shootout. I think both teams are going to try to run the football, which plays to Rutgers’ strength. This is a must-win game for a 2-4 Rutgers team that has faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation thus far. I expect the Rutgers defense to come out and play well while the offense should be able to do just enough to come away with a close win in a low-scoring affair.
Rutgers 17 Illinois 14
