RU vs. Penn State Wrap 2016-11-18

Brian Fonseca Sports Editor

Entering this season, the situation surrounding the Big Ten East was as clear cut as it could possibly be — Michigan, Ohio State vying for the top spot and every other team picking up the crumbs far below them.

But in a sport as unpredictable and chaotic as college football, it shouldn’t be a surprise that one of the team’s projected to be at the mid-tier of the division emerged as a contender for See TIME on Page 4

November 18, 2016

Gameday Page 2

KNIGHTS GAMEDAY RUTGERS VS. NO. 8 PENN STATE GAME 11: High Point Solutions Stadium, 8 P.M. TV: BIG TEN NETWORK

RADIO: Rutgers IMG Sports Network

Bright future ahead for young defense Eric Mullin Associate Sports Editor

When the Rutgers football team walks off Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium following its regular season finale against the Terrapins Nov. 26, the Scarlet Knights will consequently lose three veteran mainstays on their defense.

Up front, Darius Hamilton’s illustrious career as the Scarlet Knights’ defensive tackle will come to a close. To the outside of Hamilton, Julian Pinnix-Odrick will leave Piscataway on the heels of consecutive solid seasons at two different positions on the defensive line.

In the defensive backfield, the Knights will lose a safety that made at least five starts in each of his four seasons on the Banks in Anthony Cioffi.

Between Hamilton, Pinnix-Odrick and Cioffi, Rutgers will graduate a total of 94 starts and 394, and counting, total tackles.

But the flip side of losing three integral players is that Rutgers will return eight starters when the schedule turns towards 2017. That number inflates to nine when considering that sophomore safety Kiy Hester has made four starts in relief of sophomore Saquan Hampton, who was injured earlier in the year, and has also rotated in with Cioffi and Hampton in recent games.

Going even further, with the insertion of Hester among the starting 11, Rutgers has been playing with a total of seven underclassmen on defense, all of which are behind the front four.

That high mark of young, returning starters has head football coach Chris Ash excited about the future defensive football still to come on the Banks.

“I still look at the defense out there. For the majority of that game, we got nine guys coming back next year. ... I’m encouraged by a lot of that” Ash said after Rutgers’ loss to Michigan State. “Do I wish that we were winning games right now?

Yeah, absolutely. Like I said when I got here, this wasn’t going to be easy.

It’s not easy right now. ... But there’s a lot of positives moving forward.”

When the season began the Knights had five seniors in the starting lineup, but injuries thrusted even more young, inexperienced players into action. At the tail end of Rutgers’ conference-opening loss to Iowa, senior defensive end Quanzell Lambert suffered a season-ending injury. Lambert’s injury bumped junior Darnell Davis into the starting lineup.

In the Knights’ following game in Columbus, senior linebacker Greg Jones was carted off the field and ruled out for the season

Sophomore linebacker Trevor Morris is 1 of 9 starters on Rutgers’ defense that will return in 2017. Morris is a first-year starter.

DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / OCTOBER 2016

the following week, which elevated true freshman Tyreek Maddox-Williams to the top of the depth chart at outside linebacker.

Maddox-Williams, who is fifth on the team in tackles, is one of Rutgers’ three first-year starting linebackers.

Sophomores Deonte Roberts and Trevor Morris are both relatively new to the position, but currently lead the Knights in total tackles.

There have been growing pains throughout the process, but it has been an important developmental year for the trio of linebackers. “(I’m) a lot more confident,” Morris said on his growth this season. “I think one of the things I do need to work on is to be more consistent. Trusting my eyes. At the end of the day, just being more consistent and doing my job. I feel more comfortable in the position.”

The Knights are hoping the linebackers can build off a full year of game experience the same way Rutgers’ secondary improved from their baptism by fire during the 2015 season.

Injuries and off-field issues forced then-freshman cornerbacks Isaiah Wharton and Blessuan Austin into the starting lineup for nearly all of last season, as the Knights finished with the third-worst passing defense in the Big Ten. But both Austin and Wharton have made strides during their sophomore seasons on the Banks, with Wharton being named 1 of the 18 most improved college football players of this season by Pro-Football Focus.

Not only will Rutgers return nine starters next season, but in two years the Knights project to still have both their full secondary and linebacker core together.

Entering that 2018 season, that would give Rutgers two full years of continuity in the back seven of its defense.

“We know each other like the back of our hand now,” Austin said of the secondary’s continuity. “I can only imagine our senior year what it will be like.”

INSIDE the

NUMBERS RUTGERS (2-8)

PASSING CMP G. Rescigno 52.8% RUSHING NO. R. Martin 105 J. Goodwin 98 RECEVING NO. J. Harris 32 A. Patton 23 J. Goodwin 16 DEFENSE T. Morris J. Pinnix-Odrick A. Cioffi

YDS 638 YDS 547 411 YDS 400 362 167

TD 5 TD 1 0 TD 3 5 1 TKL 84 41 47

INT AVG 5 127.6 LNG AVG 80 5.2 30 4.2 LNG AVG 75 12.5 68 15.7 25 10.4 SCK INT 1 0 4.5 0 0 2

For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @EricMullin_ and @TargumSports on Twitter.

CMP 55.4% NO. 200 111 NO. 39 37

YDS 2390 YDS 1113 304 YDS 591 499

TD 16 TD 13 6 TD 7 2 TKL 82 34 46

INT 5 LNG 81 26 LNG 52 53 SCK 0 6.5 0

AVG 239 AVG 5.6 2.7 AVG 15.2 13.5 INT 0 0 2

SCHEDULE

SCHEDULE Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Nov. 5 Nov. 12 Nov. 21 Nov. 28

PENN STATE (8-2)

PASSING T. McSorley RUSHING S. Barkley T. McSorely RECEVING C. Godwin M. Gesicki DEFENSE M. Allen G. Sickels B. Smith

Washington Howard New Mexico Iowa Ohio State Michigan Illinois Minnesota Indiana Michigan State Penn State Maryland

L 48-13 W 52-14 W 37-28 L 14-7 L 58-0 L 78-0 L 24-7 L 34-32 L 33-27 L 49-0 8 p.m.

TBA

Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sep. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5 Nov. 12 Nov. 19 Nov. 26

Kent State Pitt Temple Michigan Minnesota Maryland Ohio State Purdue Iowa Indiana Rutgers Michigan State

W 33-13 L 42-39 W 34-27 L 49-10 W 29-26 W 38-14 W 24-21 W 62-24 W 41-14 W 45-31 8 P.M. TBA

Key Matchup

Saquon Barkley vs. Rutgers’ front 4 Rutgers has failed to contain some of the Big Ten’s top backs this season. On Saturday, they’ll face the top back the conference has to offer in Saquon Barkley, who runs behind a stout ofensive line.

Rutgers’ front four has a tall task in front of them in trying to contain the engine that propels Penn State’s lethal offensive attack.

Rutgers Athletics Creed We are Scarlet Knights, the most PASSIONATE fans in college athletics.

We CHEER our teams, win or lose.

We STAND when our teams enter and exit the field of play.

We WELCOME our opponents and their fans as guests in our university home.

We RESPECT all student-athletes and celebrate their efforts.

We know our ENTHUSIASM on game day helps to recruit the nation’s best.

We STRIVE to make everyone’s experience enjoyable.

We are the STATE UNIVERSITY and BIG TEN proud.

This is RUTGERS.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: OFFENSE

ANDRE PATTON WIDE RECEIVER

TARIQ COLE LEFT TACKLE

DORIAN MILLER LEFT GUARD

DERRICK NELSON CENTER

CHRIS MULLER RIGHT GUARD

JJ DENMAN RIGHT TACKLE

NICK ARCIDIACONO TIGHT END

JAWUAN HARRIS WIDE RECEIVER

GIOVANNI RESCIGNO QUARTERBACK

JOHN TSIMIS WIDE RECEIVER

ROBERT MARTIN RUNNING BACK

Senior 6’-4”, 210 lbs.

Sophomore 6’-6”, 313 lbs.

Junior 6’-2”, 294 lbs.

Senior 6’-3”, 295 lbs.

Senior 6’-6”, 312 lbs.

Senior 6’-5”, 315 lbs.

Senior 6’-4”, 244 lbs.

Redshirt Freshman 5’-9”, 192 lbs.

Sophomore 6’-3”, 224 lbs.

Senior 5’-11”, 194 lbs.

Junior 5’-11”, 210 lbs.

BLESSUAN AUSTIN CORNERBACK

ANTHONY CIOFFI STRONG SAFETY

SAQUAN HAMPTON FREE SAFETY

ISAIAH WHARTON CORNERBACK

Sophomore 6’-1”, 198 lbs.

Senior 6’-0”, 203 lbs.

Sophomore 6’-1”, 207 lbs.

Sophomore 6’-1”, 202 lbs.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: DEFENSE

DARNELL DAVIS DEFENSIVE END

SEBASTIAN JOSEPH NOSE TACKLE

JULIAN PINNIX-ODRICK DEFENSIVE END

DARIUS HAMILTON DEF. TACKLE

TREVOR MORRIS WLB

DEONTE ROBERTS MLB

TYREEK WILLIAMS SLB

Junior 6’-2”, 250 lbs.

Junior 6’-4”, 295 lbs.

Senior 6’-5”, 274 lbs.

Senior 6’-3”, 286 lbs.

Sophomore 6’-1”, 226 lbs.

Sophomore 6’-1”, 238 lbs.

Freshman 6’-0”, 214 lbs.

November 18, 2016

Gameday Page 3

KNIGHT NUGGETS

BY THE NUMBERS

5.2

Sophomore Michael Cintron is 10 punts away from setting a new Big Ten record for most punts in single season. With 78 punts, he is also 15 away from breaking the Rutgers’ program record.

10

This so-called rivarly has been one-sided for the past 20 years, with Penn State taking the last nine matchups. The Nittany Lions hold a 24-2 advantage of Rutgers all-time, with the Knights last securing a win all the way back in 1988.

In it’s seven conference games Rutgers is surrendering an average of 5.2 yards per carry, which is worst in the Big Ten. On Saturday, the Knights will be matched up with the conference’s fifth-best rushing attack in Penn State.

Saquan Barkley is 10 rushing touchdowns away from breaking Evan Royster’s program record of 30 career rushing touchdowns.

After finding the end zone seven times on the ground as a freshman, Barkley has added 13 more in 2016.

10 9

BIG QUESTION CAN RUTGERS SCORE ENOUGH TO REMAIN IN STRIKING DISTANCE? Penn State’s offense comes to Piscataway on fire, scoring 38-plus points in four of its last five games. The Nittany Lions are going to put up points, the question is whether Rutgers will be able to match them for four quarters.

Drew Mehringer Offensive Coordinator

THE ADVANTAGE GOES TO OFFENSE

After appearing to be turning a corner against Minnesota and Indiana, Rutgers offense stalled against Michigan State, being held scoreless for third time this season. Penn State has scored at least 41 points in last three games.

DEFENSE

Rutgers has given up at least 24 points to all but one of its 10 games this season.

The Knights are giving up 440 yards per game, including 251.3 on the ground.

Penn State held Ohio State, which averages 46.5 points per game, to 21.

COACHING

Penn State was only 14-12 overall, 6-10 in the Big Ten and 1-1 in bowl games during James Franklin’s first two seasons in Happy Valley, but he has the Nittany Lions playing at high level during this impressive six-game winning streak.

SPECIAL TEAMS

While Rutgers has nearly double the amount of total punts, Penn State has a better net average. In the kicking game, Tyler Davis has connected on 16 of his 18 field goals, with a long of 40.

The weekly edition of ‘Rutgers’ opponent has dynamic player-x and Rutgers doesn’t, featuring Saquon Barkley. Barkley can alter games in both directions, as Indiana nearly pulled off the upset last week by limiting Barkley to 55 yards.

MOMENTUM

Penn State has won its last six games, including a 24-21 upset over then-No. 2 Ohio State. The Nittany Lions have a chance to win the Big Ten East if they win out.

Rutgers, on the other hand, has little more than pride to play for.

RUTGERS WINS IF

PENN STATE WINS IF

THE KNIGHTS RUN THE BALL BETTER THAN PENN STATE

THE NITTANY LIONS ARE FOCUSED, PLAY CLEAN GAME

Indiana provided the blueprint for how to limit PSU’s ground game. If RU wins the rushing gameon both sides of the ball, it’ll be in position for an upset.

While Penn State doesn’t control its own destiny, it does have a clear path to a Big Ten East title. As long as it isn’t looking ahead, PSU should dominate.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

CHRIS ASH Head Football Coach

TARGUM’S FINAL VERDICT PENN STATE WINS, 49-14 Saquon Barkley gashes Rutgers’ defense for 250 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.

The Knights’ offense continues to sputter as Rutgers falls to 0-8 in the Big Ten.

Battle in trenches key for RU’s success Eric Mullin

X-FACTOR

“Well I started a petition to the NCAA to see if we could play with 15 players (against Saquon Barkley).”

Junior defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph and the rest of Rutgers’ defensive line will try to contain Penn State’s lethal rushing attack led by Saquon Barkley. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / NOVEMBER 2016

Associate Sports Editor

Since his arrival on the Banks, head football coach Chris Ash has harped on Rutgers being a line of scrimmage football team.

With the two most experienced position groups lying on each of the front lines, the Scarlet Knights (2-8, 0-7) were structured in a way where winning the battle up front on both sides of the ball, especially when it comes to the running game, would be integral to having success.

So after Michigan State had dominated that the Knights in the essential battle in the trenches on Saturday, the final scoreboard that read 49-0 in favor of the Spartans was indicative of just that.

Rutgers rushed for just 109 yards across 36 carries, good for an underwhelming 3 yards per carry. On the other side of the ball, running back L.J. Scott and Michigan State gashed the Knights for 277 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

“I think they came out with a great gameplan,” said senior defensive tackle Darius Hamilton after Rutgers’ loss to Michigan State.

“Things they did they executed well.

We just didn’t play very well today and we just gotta go and get better.”

It’s no coincidence that in the four Big Ten games that the Knights have had a legitimate chance of winning in the fourth quarter, they were competitive in the trenches.

In those four games — against Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and Indiana — Rutgers has averaged a solid 3.65 yards per carry while surrendering 4.5 yards per rush.

Even though they’ve held a negative rush differential in tight losses, that number pales in comparison to the Knights’ disadvantage in their blowout losses to Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State,

which saw them give up 7.2 yards per carry while gaining a measly 2.03 yards themselves.

The closer that run differential has been in conference games, the more competitive Rutgers has been, which is why that battle will be key with No. 8 Penn State coming to High Point Solutions Stadium Saturday night.

Following a shaky 2-2 start to their season, which included a loss to Pittsburgh, a tight win over Temple and a blowout loss to No. 3 Michigan, the Nittany Lions have reeled off six straight games, highlighted by a 24-21 upset over thenNo. 2 Ohio State Oct. 22.

What’s helped propel Penn State to a tie with the Buckeyes and Michigan at the top of the Big Ten East standings has been the play of the Nittany Lions’ fronts.

During Penn State’s current six-game streak, opponents are averaging 3.2 yards per carry. That includes holding Iowa to 1.2 yards per carry and Ohio State — the conference leader in rushing at 6.1 yards per attempt — to a 4.5 average.

“They play with great effort,” said offensive line coach A.J. Blazek of Penn State’s defensive front. “They got some good players. They fight their tails off, I mean they play hard.

So for us it’s gonna have to be a street fight of hey who’s gonna show up and keep swinging and keep swinging.”

On the other side of the ball, the Nittany Lions’ offensive line has helped position running back Saquon Barkley as a dark horse candidate for the Heisman Trophy. Barkley, who originally committed to Rutgers before venturing out to Happy Valley, has amassed 1,113 yards for 13 scores on the ground while gaining an average of 5.6 yards per carry.

“I would say he’s just a complete back,” said defensive coordinator Jay Nieman. “He can run through you, he can run around you, he can

jump up over you. I mean you’ve seen him do all those things if you’ve watched him play. He’s elusive, he’s tough, he catches the ball out of the backfield. I can’t imagine there’s something that he can’t do that they would want him to do. If there was I’d sure like to know what it is cause he’s a real impressive player.”

During an impressive freshman campaign that saw him gain 1,076 yards on the ground and reach the end zone seven times, Barkley recorded 195 yards and two touchdowns on the ground en route to the Nittany Lions’ 28-3 romp of the Knights in State College last year.

Led by Barkley and an improving sophomore quarterback in Trace McSorley, Penn State’s offense comes to Piscataway riding a hot streak, scoring 38-plus in 4 of its last 5 games.

If Rutgers is going to knock the Nittany Lions off their game, and ultimately off their path to a Big Ten Championship game berth, the Knights are going to have to find a way to limit Barkley.

Easier said than done.

“Well I started a petition (to) the NCAA to see if we could play with 15 players so that’s where it will start,” Ash said jokingly on “The Chris Ash Show” Wednesday when asked about how to go about stopping Barkley. “Saquon Barkley is a great player. ... I watch what he’s doing this year and he’s made some very impressive runs. You have to have gap integrity (and) make sure you leverage the ball on the outside cause he’s got really good speed. You have to have tremendous pursuit and do a great job of gang tackling if you’re going to be able to limit the yards that a running back like this has.”

For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @EricMullin_ and @TargumSports on Twitter.

DAY OF

Gameday Page 4

November 18, 2016

Rutgers has opportunity to spoil Penn State’s slim hopes of winning Big Ten East for first time ever

TIME

17 Knights will have their last chance to suit up for Rutgers in front of their fans at High Point Solutions continued from back

the title and a spot in the Big Ten Championship game.

The shock comes in that team not being Michigan State, a team a year removed from a Big Ten conference title and a spot in the four-team College Football Playoff, but Penn State, a program seemingly at a standstill in the third year of head coach James Franklin’s tenure.

The Nittany Lions (8-2, 6-1) started the same way the Rutgers football team, their next opponent, did, splitting the first four games of the season, including their first Big Ten games of the year.

The results of those first conference games were promising for the Scarlet Knights and worrying for Penn State, with Rutgers nearly upsetting defending Big Ten West division champions Iowa at home and the Nittany Lions getting blown out at the Big House by the Wolverines, but the roles reversed as the conference schedule played out.

As the Knights went on to lose every other Big Ten game it has played, falling to the Spartans, the Buckeyes and the Wolverines by a combined score of 185-0, Penn State has run the table in its last 7 conference games, shooting itself up the playoff committee’s rankings to No. 8.

With two weeks remaining in the season, the Nittany Lion’s path to improbably winning the East is simple — win their final two games and hope Michigan loses one of its last two contests.

That’s where the Knights come in.

Hosting a program that’s rapidly become the most bitter Big Ten rival among its fanbase, Rutgers has little more than pride to play for. Without a bowl game to look forward to at the end of the season, it’ll have to work with the next best thing.

“I think any time you get to go out and play a game of the significance of a ranked opponent, I think that’s all you really you need to have at stake,” said senior defensive tackle Darius Hamilton, 1 of 17 seniors to be honored in a pregame Senior Night ceremony.

“Obviously the season’s not going the way we want, at a certain point, it’s going to be up to us to change it. So that’s something we’re looking forward to going out there and being able to do.”

While most in Happy Valley, including Franklin, hesitate to

call the matchup a rivalry game, there’s no doubt that those east of the Delaware River see it as one.

When Penn State came to Piscataway in 2014 for Rutgers’ first ever Big Ten conference game, it was the fans who made headlines.

There were t-shirts at tailgates with “Ped State” on them, referencing the infamous Jerry Sandusky sexual assault scandal involving the former defensive coordinator and hall of fame head coach Joe Paterno, who knew of Sandusky’s inappropriate behavior and failed to report it for decades. The night also spawned the birth of a now-infamous chant Rutgers’ fans sing on third down that forced University President Robert L. Barchi and then-athletic director Julie Hermann to apologize to the president of Penn State.

Current Athletic Director Pat Hobbs sent out a letter to the Rutgers community urging them to heed to the University’s Athletic Creed, saying supporters’ “signage, tee shirts and language should support Rutgers football, not denigrate our opponent.”

The fact Hobbs was compelled to both send out the letter and produce a video alongside various student leaders pleading for fans to be respectful shows how heated the rivalry is, not an ideal scenario for a team a week removed from a 49-0 loss in which

head coach Chris Ash said his team was distracted by “extra-curricular activities” and bickering with the other team.

“That’s not an issue. It was not a major issue. But it was one that was concerning to me because I hadn’t seen that so far this season,” Ash said of his team losing focus against the Spartans. “But it’s been addressed. It’s behind us and we’ll move forward and don’t anticipate that being an issue that we have to discuss again.”

Beyond the buzz being generated off the field, the game presents another chance for Rutgers to get a first Big Ten win of Ash’s tenure in Piscataway on it.

Prior to the blowout loss in East Lansing, the Knights appeared to be trending in the right direction, losing their previous two games at Minnesota and home to Indiana by a combined 8 points.

Ash pinned the loss on Rutgers inability to win the line of scrimmage on either side of the ball, an area it’ll have to dominate in on the defensive end to contain running back Saquan Barkley. The fringe Heisman candidate has been a wrecking ball in his sophomore year, leading the Big Ten in rushing with 122 yards per game to go along with his 7 touchdowns on the ground.

“He’s really good. He’s an outstanding running back,” Ash said of Barkley. “He’s got quickness,

great change of direction, he’s got bursts and he’s got flat out speed.

He’s got it all and he’s got some power too. So really impressed by him.”

Stop Barkley and give sophomore quarterback Giovanni Rescigno, who had his worst performance since taking the starting job from junior Chris Laviano midway through the season in East Lansing, enough time to work and the Knights have a chance of pulling off an improbable upset in an otherwise dismissable season.

Expecting to be where Penn State is right now in the first year under Ash was always a lofty goal, and while the results and eye test appear to paint a different picture, everyone in the program feels it turning in the right direction.

“Through this coaching change, a lot of the guys are wishing they could be back for another two or three years because these guys, they know what they’re talking about,” said senior strong safety Anthony Cioffi, who hopes to defeat the Nittany Lions to spoil his Penn State alum sister’s birthday.

“They’ve been around football a lot, they’ve been around winning programs and it’s a culture that is going to grow here and continue to grow for years coming.”

For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @briannnnf and @TargumSports on Twitter.

Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Darius Hamilton said having a ranked opponent coming into town is all the team needs to be amped for the game. The fact that it’s Penn State, a team Rutgers fans are quickly making their biggest rivals, only adds to the environment Saturday. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / OCTOBER 2016

FIRSTS

Gameday Page 5

November 18, 2016

Rutgers, Princeton square off in first ever outdoor wresling dual meet in either school’s history

Birthplace

Ashnault, Gravina, Theobold will compete in matches against Princeton ranked opponents on Saturday continued from back

participate in the first ever Battle at the Birthplace, Ayres said “oh, yeah.”

The long-awaited bout between the two New Jersey rivals came to be and on Saturday at 11 a.m. at High Point Solutions Stadium, two wrestling juggernauts in No. 10 Rutgers (3-0) and Princeton (0-0) will duke it out in an unprecedented outdoor dual meet.

The Scarlet Knights preceded the upcoming weekend with a trip to California, where they went undefeated, taking care of San Francisco State, CSU Bakersfield and Cal Poly.

As for Princeton, Saturday’s meet will be their first of the regular season, as they have been entertaining preseason tournaments for the past few weeks, including the Virginia Tech open.

Between the two sides, the Tigers are determined to end a streak spanning over a decade in which they have come up winless against the Rutgers, and in which the Knights have won 20 consecutive matches over the Ivy Leaguers.

“It’s our senior season, we want to go out with a bang and stomp Rutgers,” said senior 149-pounder Jordan Laster. “I think it’s about time we did it. And we wanna be known as the best sport at Princeton University, and I think this can really put us there.”

No. 20 Laster will most likely come up against No. 13 Ken Theobold for the Knights, as most of the lineups seem set ahead of Saturday’s affair.

Though there are a few spots here and there that are up in the air for either side — the 165 slot for Princeton, namely — both sides are confident in who they’ll face come the weekend.

As for Theobold, he had nothing but praise for the event and hopes to do well.

“It’s going to be a great experience,” Theobold said. “It’s my last year here, and we’re wrestling in front of hopefully 20,000 people. You can’t ask for a better senior year than that. It’s an

amazing experience. I’m grateful to be a part of it.”

Perhaps the most highly-anticipated bout of the day is in the 141-pound weight class. Junior No. 3 Anthony Ashnault and Princeton freshman No. 11 Matthew Kolodzik will take the mat for the first time since their two unattached matches in which each took one apiece.

Creeping up the rankings step-by-step, Ashnault knows any slip up against a wrestler just below him will bring a multitude of consequences.

“He’s a great opponent, and I’m looking forward to competing against him,” Ashnault said. “At the end of the day, I’m going out there to get my hand raised and really, I wanna show how much better I’ve gotten since (we wrestled).”

In Goodale’s mind, there are not many “gimmes” on the docks for Saturday’s event.

Ashnault is projected to win his match, though as Goodale confesses, in a dual like this, it would not take much for the favor to switch hands.

“It’s a tremendous matchup, it really is,” Goodale said. “On paper, it’s probably a five-five split.

The way we see it, we’re favored in three, they’re favored in three,

and there’s probably four really, really good tossups.”

But the question on everybody’s minds is whether these matches will even take place.

Regardless of the forecast for the day, it’s a late morning start time at the tail end of autumn in New Jersey, a state which isn’t exactly a paragon of predictable weather.

Goodale has the boys up for the challenge though and has been preparing specifically for these conditions for some time.

For years, the team has participated in 7 a.m. Friday practices at High Point Solutions Stadium and in the weeks leading up to this weekend, it has been no different.

Another point to consider is that with how long these wrestlers have been waiting for this event, their adrenaline may carry them over any obstacles Mother Nature has in store. And it has made training in these conditions a lot more meaningful.

“It’s just really exciting, it makes it a lot easier to train for, a lot easier to get up for,” Ashnault said. “Everyone is really excited to be a part of it.”

As of a week prior, 14,000 tickets have already been sold, and the walk-up crowd is expected to raise that number to

a groundbreaking amount for a mid-season collegiate wrestling match. Everyone involved in the proceedings is planning (and hoping) for an audience of 20,000-plus.

Ayres was adamant on this event being a vehicle to launch collegiate wrestling into the mainstream, as both the Rutgers and Princeton wrestling are some of the better programs each school has to offer.

“You have to showcase the sport, that’s what I’ve been preaching the whole time,” Ayres said. “I think where wrestling has fallen short is that we don’t give ourselves enough credit and we don’t get out there and promote enough.”

As far as promotions go, Battle at the Birthplace sells itself — the two best wrestling programs in the Garden State squaring off and continuing a rivalry that began on a cold November afternoon under the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant.

On that fateful day in 1869, Rutgers and Princeton created a sport.

This Saturday, they evolve one.

For updates on the Rutgers wrestling team, follow @jon_spilletti and @TargumSports on Twitter.

Junior 141-pounder Anthony Ashnault will battle Princeton’s No. 10 Matthew Kolodzik in one of the most anticipated matchups for either side this season. An All-American, No. 3 Ashnault squares off against the highest ranked freshman in the weight class in Kolodzik. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / MARCH 2016

Gameday Page 6

FRESH DAY

November 18, 2016

Sunny weather forecast for historic outdoor dual meet Jon SPilletti

the day after the event may continue that trend.

Princeton head coach Chris With the Battle at the Birthplace, Ayres would certainly like to go by a dual meet against in-state rival forecasts, especially with how posiPrinceton to be played outdoors at tive they are looking.

High Point Solutions Stadium, fast “The weather’s cooperating,” approaching, one would think the Ayres said. “I’ve been checking it Rutgers wrestling team has spent as obsessively for the last two weeks much time preparing for the weather basically, and it looks like it’s gonna conditions than it has the Tigers. But be really nice.” with a tradition of practicing outside Wet or dry, outdoor conditions on Friday mornings and the forewill still have an efcast for early Saturday fect on the abilities of morning at sixty de“I would like to think when the lights come on and two guys put their foot on the line, it’s going to be about– the wrestlers come grees and sunny, the Saturday.

There’s elements will be one of forget the weather and what it feels like– trying to score points and win matches.” merit in following the last things the No. the forecasts, as 10 Scarlet Knights are Scott goodale many within the two worried about.

Head Wrestling Coach programs have done, “We’ve had it, a but not much can be couple outdoor pracat 7 o’clock in the morning ... I know weekend, we started talking about done in light of them. It is a day-bytices to prepare for it,” said head then-No. 4 Nebraska.

“Seven a.m. stadiums are not when I step on the line (Saturday), bringing tents. We really wanna wres- day thing, and though it looks like coach Scott Goodale. “Fridays traditionally, since I’ve been here for a first year thing,” said junior I’m probably not going to even no- tle this thing outside, but it’s important the weather may hold up now, on match day, that could change.

10 years, we train at the football 184-pounder Nicholas Gravina, tice (the weather). I’m just going to for the fans to be able to see the mat.”

“We don’t really know what the The question of weather has stadium. I think three weeks ago, it ranked 14th in his weight class by be looking to win the match and put been hammered into the minds of weather’s going to be like even was 38 degrees on a Friday morn- Intermat. “I think it was nice to get up points for my team.”

But as Goodale has stressed, the all involved in the months leading though the forecast says it’s going ing, and our shirts came off and we out there and start wrestling in the started wrestling to prepare for that stadium, because I feel like I got a weather should not pose a problem up to this historic dual, and if it to be 60,” Ashnault said. “You never cold. There was no sun out at 7 a.m., little more confident with it. And I once the guys step on that line and takes one of two extremes, the end know, I don’t think weathermen are result may be folded mats and at always too true on their word.” so it’s going to be nicer than it was.” think that it made us get used to the bell sounds.

“I would like to think when the least 14,000 disgruntled fans.

The current forecast for Satur- the weather a little bit, and it was For updates on the Rutgers wresIn the week prior, showlights come on and two guys put day’s affair is encouraging for the really helpful.”

Gravina will most likely wrestle their foot on the line, it’s going to ers have splotched across New tling team, follow @jon_spilletti and Knights and their opponent, but of course, weather is fundamentally junior No. 17 Ian Baker on Saturday. be about— forget the weather and Brunswick, and as forecasts go, @TargumSports on Twitter.

Staff Writer

fickle and predictions of it should always be taken with a grain of salt.

Goodale said that as long as there is no precipitation, his troops will be ready to wrestle. Even without rain, though, the outdoors are a far cry away from an insulated and heated basketball arena in the Rutgers Athletic Center, the usual home venue where the Knights went 7-2 last season, snagging the one of the biggest upsets in program history over

Another Rutgers wrestler who will square off against a ranked opponent this weekend is junior 141-pounder Anthony Ashnault, and he testified to ongoing Friday morning practices that have shaped the Knights’ preparation for Saturday.

“It’s nothing new that we did,” Ashnault, ranked No. 3 by Intermat, said. “It was definitely a little testing of our minds to have to take our shirts off in 40 degree weather

what it feels like— trying to score points and win matches,” Goodale said. “And ultimately, get your hand raised.”

But in order to win matches and put up points, those matches need to occur first. In the event 62 degrees and sunny does not hold up, Goodale said that he has discussed alternative plans, but nothing is concrete.

“We’ve had some contingency plans along the way,” Goodale said. “Last

No. 14 Nicholas Gravina will take the mat against Princeton’s No. 17 Ian Baker Saturday, barring any inclement weather. Gravina said the team has been preparing for the weather even before the event was announced, as 7 a.m. Friday practices have been a staple of the Rutgers wrestling program. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / MARCH 2016

SENIOR NIGHT November 18, 2016

Gameday Page 7

Fifth-year senior defensive end Julian Pinnix-Odrick said he’s going to use all the adversity and setbacks the Knights have faced in his final season on the Banks to add to the excitement of Senior Night, his last home game at High Point Solutions Stadium, against No. 8 Penn State Saturday night. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / NOVEMBER 2016

Senior Knights play final home game of careers at Rutgers Brian Fonseca

Looking at their final season on the Banks, Pinnix-Odrick and 17 of his teammates likely wish things had gone differently. The Knights are 2-8, winStorylines surrounding the less in Big Ten play and a weekly pun Rutgers football team’s final home of jokes made by national media memgame of the season are abundant. bers. They rank in the bottom third of With their postseason aspirathe conference in nearly every statistitions done and dusted, the Scarlet cal category and have been outscored Knights host No. 8 Penn State, a 185-0 in three games against two of the fringe rival on the edge of returnnation’s top programs and a team having to the level of glory it hasn’t ing a meltdown of a down year. had since the Jerry Sandusky scanWith one last chance to suit up dal shook the program to its core. at home, one last time With a bit of to run out of the tunnel luck, the Nittany Liat High Point Solutions ons (8-2, 6-1) could “I love this place, I love the relationships and people I’ve met here, the football I’ve played here. It’s been a Stadium and see their become another ungreat time and it’s honestly flown by.” families in the stands, likely champion in one final time to hear a year full of them, Darius Hamilton the home crowd, they’ll winning the Big Senior Defensive Tackle be looking to channel all Ten East and reachthe frustrations of weeks ing the conference gone by to have one last title game if they The Montclair, N.J., native is night to remember in a five-year or significant as the first. The Nitbeat Rutgers and Michigan State side of the line Darius Hamilton tany Lions crushed the Knights dedicating this game not only to stretch full of them. and have Ohio State defeat Michiand Julian Pinnix-Odrick — as well “I’m gonna enjoy every bit of 28-3, but it was a game in which the senior class he’s leaving the gan in “The Game.” as significant contributors in runHamilton had the ultimate display program with, but to the one be- it,” Pinnix-Odrick said of his final The Knights (2-8, 0-7) have no ning back Justin Goodwin, safety of respect for the program he fore him who he feels didn’t have 60 minutes of action at High Point possibility of playing after their Anthony Cioffi, wide receivers a proper ending to their careers on Solutions Stadium. “It’s gonna be came to Piscataway to build. regular season ends against MaryCarlton Agudosi and Andre Patton, real violent. When you sit back in After missing all of training the Banks. land Nov. 26, so they could take the right tackle J.J. Denman and tight “The way they had to go out, retrospect and think about all the camp and the first two games of opportunity to ruin Penn State’s end Nick Arcidiacono. the season with a knee injury, they went out with a loss,” Pin- things and all the emotions that aspirations as a bowl game of sorts.

They’ll all go full circle against he was cleared to play in Happy nix-Odrick said. “We ended up build up inside of you, all the things But they won’t. They’ve got oththe Nittany Lions, the first Big Ten Valley and started the game de- not having a team banquet. Coach that you felt should’ve went better er things to play for in their final opponent that they faced after joinspite not being in game shape. He Flood was gone the next day. It was and the all the things you know home game of the year. ing the conference in 2014 and now didn’t factor a single tackle in the just a lot of turmoil at that point, and went right, you get after it. That’s “It’s playing for the seniors. the last they’ll host in their collegiate game, but he did show what kind I don’t think they went out the way what I’m thinking about.”

That’s it,” said head coach Chris careers. In a season without much they should have. That’s something of teammate he is.

Ash. “We’re not talking about spoilcharm, they’ll hope the third meetFor updates on the Rutgers foot“I love this place, I love I still really think about … It’s not ers. We’re playing for ourselves ing with Penn State will be the one. the relationships and people just about us. It’s about all the se- ball team, follow @briannnnf and and we’re playing for our seniors “It’s going to be an emotional @TargumSports on Twitter.

I’ve met here, the football I’ve niors before us.” ... A lot of them that have done a week, obviously. Last time getting Sports Editor

tremendous amount positive things here at Rutgers, and that’s what our focus is and we want to go out and play our best for them.”

Saturday night will be the last time 17 seniors will have a chance to take the turf at High Point Solutions Stadium donning the block “R” on their chests.

Those include all four team captains — offensive lineman Chris Muller and Derrick Nelson and their counterparts on the other

to play at High Point Solution (Stadium) with a lot of the guys I came in with,” Hamilton said. “I don’t know how much of a rivalry we have. Obviously we haven’t won any of the battles against them yet, but Saturday’s a new day, so we’re gonna go out and give it all we got.

Obviously they’re playing for a lot, we’re playing for a lot too.”

The second meeting between the teams as conference opponents last season wasn’t as close

played here,” Hamilton said. “It’s been a great time and it’s honestly flown by.”

Pinnix-Odrick, who Hamilton called one of his best friends earlier this week, expressed his love for Rutgers vocally this week. He said that he loves what the “R” on his helmet stands for and hopes his enthusiasm for the program becomes contagious to the young players he’s leaving behind when his time in Piscataway ends in a pair of weeks.

Jon Spilletti Staff Writer

On Nov. 6, 1869, Rutgers College and the College of New Jersey played the first game of intercollegiate football on a plot of ground in New Brunswick. The Knights won 6-4.

The institutions now known as Rutgers University and Princeton University will meet again 147 years and 13 days later in another monumental battle in the same location, but this time in another sport.

When Princeton wrestling head coach Chris Ayres received a phone call from the Knights wrestling head coach Scott Goodale, asking to See BIRTHPLACE on Page 5