Three keys to Rutgers football's Friday night matchup with Nebraska
The Rutgers football team will be searching for its first conference win of the season on Friday night when the program hosts Nebraska. The blackout game will see the Scarlet Knights (3-2, 0-2) wear all-black uniforms in front of a national TV audience. Here are three keys to the evening matchup with the Cornhuskers (2-3, 1-1).
Pound the rock
Through the first five games, the Rutgers rushing offense has exceeded the level of the passing offense, gaining more total yards and recording more touchdowns.
Sophomore running backs Al-Shadee Salaam and Kyle Monangai took much of the early carries, but freshman Samuel Brown V showed up against Ohio State and will join the rotation even more this week.
While the Knights have done well moving the ball on the ground, Nebraska has struggled at stopping the run. The Cornhuskers have given up an average of 200 rushing yards per game. If Rutgers can control the pace of the game and win the time of possession battle, the team's chances of winning will increase exponentially.
Protect the football
As a team, the Knights have committed seven turnovers so far this season. Five of those have come in the last two weeks in their Big Ten losses. In the game against Iowa, Rutgers was really hurt by two first-half turnovers that were returned for touchdowns that basically ended the game by halftime.
For an offense that does not move the ball down the field quickly, the Knights will need to limit their mistakes in order to hold off Nebraska. Sophomore quarterback Evan Simon, the probable starter for Friday, must make smart decisions while his offensive line needs to hold up to prevent costly interceptions and fumbles.
Win
This seems obvious, but after losing in the first two conference games, Rutgers really has made this a must-win game.
The Knights need three more wins to become bowl eligible, and losing to the Cornhuskers makes that track much harder. Indiana is the only other game on the schedule that Rutgers will likely be favored in with the rest being uphill battles.
Minnesota, Michigan and Penn State are three of the best teams in the country while Michigan State and Maryland will both be competitive matchups. Head coach Greg Schiano and the Knights have to win on Friday to avoid needing a major upset to get to postseason play.
Rutgers and Nebraska are scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday night at SHI Stadium on Busch campus. The television broadcast will take place on Fox Sports 1 and the radio broadcast will be on 88.7 WRSU FM.
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