KEVIN XAVIER ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
In college football, the backup quarterback is often the fans’ favorite player. It was easy to temper enthusiasm over starter Chris Laviano early in the season. Through the first four games, the sophomore quarterback threw six touchdowns, but his five interceptions for the Rutgers football team had fans and media clamoring for backup Hayden Rettig. Critics claimed Laviano’s league-leading completion percentage through one quarter of the season was a result of a short-range passing scheme and his Big Ten Conference best efficiency rating — a byproduct of high-percentage throws. Forgotten was the fact that Laviano had only lined up under center for three career starts to that point. “I think he’s making progress,” said head coach Kyle Flood. “He’s making progress every week. We’ve seen that. Sometimes the progress is more visible to the naked eye or to the public than others. But we really have seen progress, and we’re pleased with how he’s working.” In his last two times out, the lifelong Long Islander from Glen Head, New York, quelled nearly every critique — at least temporarily. When then-No. 4 Michigan State visited the Scarlet Knights (3-3, 1-2) in Piscataway Oct. 10, Laviano put together the best performance of his career at the time. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder completed 15-of-24 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns against an aggressive Spartans defense acclaimed for its “no fly zone” secondary. SEE DAVID ON PAGE 4
EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR
Gameday Page 2
October 23, 2015
KNIGHTS GAMEDAY RUTGERS VS. No. 1 OHIO STATE GAME 7: High Point Solutions Stadium, 8 P.M. TV: ABC
RADIO: Rutgers IMG Sports Network
INSIDE
Special teams reemerge for Rutgers KEVIN XAVIER ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
For three games, its presence was absent for the Rutgers football team. In a program renowned for its play in the third phase of football, the Scarlet Knights’ special teams unit had yet to block a kick through the first four games of 2015 after leading the country with 42 blocks since 2009. Heading into week six, the three kick returns for touchdowns by junior Janarion Grant in the first two weeks were a distant memor y and the impact of Rutgers special teams had nearly been rendered non-existent. But that all changed in the first quarter against Michigan State Oct. 10. In a scoreless game, senior defensive end Djwany Mera deflected a 34-yard field goal attempt by Spartans kicker Michael Geiger, sending the 50,373 fans in attendance for the Blackout into a frenzy. The Knights eventually fell short of upsetting Sparty, in a gutty 31-24 loss, but the blocked field goal reignited the fire that had become synonymous with Rutgers on special teams. “We’ve got a history to it. We can point to,” said head coach Kyle Flood of special teams. “And we’ve got stuff in the present that we can point to and those add value to the younger players who maybe didn’t realize it when they got here.” In the historic comeback last week at Indiana, the impact of specials showed up in spades for the Knights. Down 17-7 in the second quarter on a 4th-and-8 from its own 27, Rutgers ran its first fake punt of the season. Serving as the protector in the punt team’s formation, senior fullback Sam Bergen caught the snap from center and raced 15 yards off-tackle for a first down on his first collegiate carry. On the next play from scrimmage, sophomore quarterback Chris Laviano launched a deep ball to Leonte Carroo for a 58-yard touchdown, serving as a precursor to the important role special teams would play in determining the game’s outcome.
Later, as Rutgers attempted to rally from 25 points down, the fourth quarter began with a bad snap sent over Hoosiers punter Erich Toth’s head. Sophomore defensive end Kemoko Turay scooped and scored from 26 yards out to put the Knights within 13 of Indiana at 5239, with 14:50 to play. Rutgers went on to match the biggest comeback in school history — a 41-38 win against Maryland from 25 points down — when senior placekicker Kyle Federico drilled a 26-yard field goal as the game clock hit triple zeros for a 5552 win. “We’ve done these two-minute drills — I don’t even know how many times since I’ve gotten here,” Federico said. “And I finally got one.”
“I feel like special teams and defense kind of go hand-and-hand as far as trying to stop people with the ball.” ISAIAH JOHNSON Junior Middle Linebacker
Woven throughout the fabric of the thrilling come-from-behind victory was the performance by the special teams unit, both the good and the bad. Federico didn’t exactly get off to a hot start. The Ponte Vedra, Florida, native had two low extra point attempts blocked, one of which nailed an offensive lineman in the back of the head. But Federico remained poised, coaching himself up on the sidelines. “It was a matter of just going to the sideline and thinking about what I did right and wrong,” the senior kicker said. “Usually I can tell a lot about how a kick felt — kinda the feeling of how it came off the foot. So really just going into the net and kicking off the net and gaining confidence back (made the difference).”
And when it mattered most, Federico finished, splitting the uprights as time expired to give the Knights their first Big Ten win of the season. This week, Rutgers will be the decided underdog when No. 1 Ohio State arrives on the Banks. Facing a dual-threat quarterback in JT Barrett and the Big Ten’s best tailback in Ezekiel Elliott, the Knights will need to continue to impact the game on special teams. After all, the unit is just an extension of the defense, according to junior middle linebacker Isaiah Johnson. “I feel like special teams and defense kind of go hand-and-hand as far as tr ying to stop the people with the ball,” Johnson said. “Being on special teams, I just tr y and do my job and make plays.” Historically, young players and newcomers have made significant contributions on specials, before making a name for themselves from scrimmage. Senior wide receiver Leonte Carroo serves as a prime example. After beginning his collegiate career on special teams as a true freshman, alongside Federico and injured defensive tackle Darius Hamilton, Carroo has blossomed into the Big Ten’s best wideout. But even he lined up in punt block last week in the win over Indiana. “I think being a senior, you really need to grow up and show an example for those younger guys and show that you’re prepared and you know what you’re doing,” Federico said. The pattern is evident when looking at the progression of rising stars like Kemoko Turay and junior wide receiver Carlton Agudosi. But at the Birthplace of College Football, the trend is old hat. “It’s one of the building blocks of our program,” Flood said. “We’ve always felt like special teams is a way we could get an advantage in a game. It’s a way we can win a game. We spend a lot of time on it in meetings, we spend a lot of time on it in practice.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @KevinPXavier and @TargumSports on Twitter.
the
NUMBERS RUTGERS (2-3, 1-2)
PASSING C. Laviano H. Rettig RUSHING R. Martin J. Hicks RECEVING L. Carroo A. Patton J. Grant DEFENSE S. Longa K. Lewis A Cioffi
CMP 69.3% 81.8% NO. 71 78 NO. 21 19 18
YDS 1,388 110 YDS 437 420 YDS 472 274 170
TD 12 1 TD 4 4 TD 9 0 0 TKL 66 31 28
INT AVG 6 231.3 0 110 LNG AVG 35 72.8 31 70 LNG AVG 58 118 38 45.7 25 28.3 SCK INT 1 0 0 1 1.5 3
NO. 1 OHIO STATE (7-0, 3-0)
PASSING C. Jones J. Barrett RUSHING E. Elliott J. Barrett RECEVING M. Thomas E. Elliott J. Marshall DEFENSE R. McMillan J. Perry J. Bosa
CMP 62.4% 61.4% NO. 148 29 NO. 30 20 17
YDS 1,242 249 YDS 988 228 YDS 433 131 284
TD 7 4 TD 11 5 TD 5 0 2 TKL 67 52 27
INT AVG 5 177.4 2 41.5 LNG AVG 80 141.1 40 38 LNG AVG 38 61.9 19 18.7 48 47.3 SCK INT 1 0 3 0 2.5 0
INJURIES OUT: TE George Behr, WR Dontae Owens, RB Desmon Peoples, LB Nick Rafferty, LB Austin Rosa, FB Charles Snorweah, LB TJ Taylor, WR John Tsimis. DOUBTFUL: WR John Tsimis, CB Brian Verbitski. QUESTIONABLE: CB Blessuan Austin, WR Leonte Carroo, WR Janarion Grant, SS Davon Jacobs, MLB Kaiwan Lewis. PROBABLE: WLB Steve Longa.
NJURIES OUT: WR Noah Brown, QB Cam Burrows, LB Nick Conner, DL Tommy Schutt, WR Corey Smith. QUESTIONABLE: WR Parris Campbell, SAF Erick Smith.
SCHEDULE
SCHEDULE
Sept. 5 Sept. 12 Sept. 19 Sept. 26 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 Oct. 24 Oct. 31 Nov. 7 Nov. 14 Nov. 21 Nov. 28
Norfolk State Washington State Penn State Kansas Michigan State Indiana Ohio State Wisconsin Michigan Nebraska Army Maryland
W 63-13 L 37-34 L 28-3 W 27-14 L 31-24 W 55-52 8 p.m. TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA
Sept. 7 Sept. 12 Sept. 19 Sept. 26 Oct. 3 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 Oct. 24 Nov. 7 Nov. 14 Nov. 21 Nov. 28
Virginia Tech Hawaii Northern Illinois Western Michigan Indiana Maryland Penn State Rutgers Minnesota Illinois Michigan State Michigan
W 42-24 W 38-0 W 20-13 W 38-12 W 34-27 W 49-28 W 38-10 TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA
Key Matchup
Rutgers run defense vs. OSU run offense
Ohio State presents the strongest rushing attack that Rutgers will likely face all season long with Ezekiel Elliott and JT Barrett creating problems in the read option out of the spread offense. The mixed looks should be difficult to keep up with, but an ability to slow the run would be key for the Knights’ hopes of keeping the game close.
Senior kicker Kyle Federico’s 26-yard field goal sealed the comeback win for Rutgers at Indiana, equal to the largest comeback ever at RU. EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: OFFENSE
LEONTE CARROO WIDE RECEIVER
KEITH LUMPKIN LEFT TACKLE
DORIAN MILLER LEFT GUARD
DERRICK NELSON CENTER
CHRIS MULLER RIGHT GUARD
JJ DENMAN RIGHT TACKLE
NICK ARCIDIACONO TIGHT END
ANDRE PATTON WIDE RECEIVER
CHRIS LAVIANO QUARTERBACK
SAM BERGEN FULLBACK
PAUL JAMES RUNNING BACK
Junior 6’-1”, 215 lbs.
Senior 6’-8”, 325 lbs.
Sophomore 6’-3”, 285 lbs.
Junior 6’-3”, 290 lbs.
Junior 6’-6”, 310 lbs.
Junior 6’-6”, 305 lbs.
Junior 6’-5”, 240 lbs.
Junior 6’-4”, 200 lbs.
Sophomore 6’-3”, 210 lbs.
Senior 6’-0”, 250 lbs.
Senior 6’-0”, 215 lbs.
BLESSUAN AUSTIN CORNERBACK
ANTHONY CIOFFI FREE SAFETY
KIY HESTER STRONG SAFETY
ISAIAH WHARTON CORNERBACK
True freshman 6’-1”, 185 lbs.
Junior 6’-00”, 200 lbs.
Redshirt-freshman 6’-0”, 215 lbs.
Redshirt-freshman 6’-1”, 210 lbs.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: DEFENSE
QUANZELL LAMBERT DEFENSIVE END
SEBASTIAN JOSEPH NOSE TACKLE
JULIAN PINNIX-ODRICK DEF. TACKLE
DJWANY MERA DEFENSIVE END
STEVE LONGA WLB
KAIWAN LEWIS MLB
QUENTIN GAUSE SLB
Sophomore 6’-6”, 240 lbs.
Sophomore 6’-4”, 295 lbs.
Senior 6’-5”, 275 lbs.
Senior 6’-4”, 265 lbs.
Junior 6’-1”, 225 lbs.
Senior 6’-0”, 230 lbs.
Senior 6’-1”, 220 lbs.
October 23, 2015
Gameday Page 3
KNIGHT NUGGETS BY THE NUMBERS
56
The Rutgers defense was gashed for 56 points in last year’s blowout loss to the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio. One year later, OSU boasts the best scoring offense in the Big Ten with 37 points per game.
20
Ohio State holds the longest active winning streak in the country at 20 games. The Buckeyes have not lost since their 40-35 loss to Clemson in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3, 2014.
3
It was the first time in program history where a one player had three rushing touchdowns while another posted three receiving touchdowns for Rutgers. Senior wide receiver Leonte Carroo and Robert Martin did that for the Knights.
12
Ezekiel Elliott enters Piscataway with 12 consecutive games of at least 100 yards rushing. On the season, the junior running back averages 141.1 yards and has 11 rushing touchdowns seven games into the year.
BIG QUESTION HOW HEALTHY WILL THE RUTGERS SECONDARY BE? Blessuan Austin (questionable, upper body) headlines a pair of injuries to the Knights’ defensive backfield. If Rutgers has to rely on its reserves, JT Barrett could have his way in OSU’s spread.
BLESSUAN AUSTIN True Freshman Cornerback
THE ADVANTAGE GOES TO OFFENSE
Urban Meyer’s spread offense schemes are conducted to perfection by the versailte weapons and depth at his disposal. Ohio State leads the Big Ten in scoring (37 points per game) behind a balanced but up-tempo spread attack.
DEFENSE
Rutgers was torched for 627 total yards and 52 points despite last week’s triumph at Indiana. Ohio State boasts the best pass defense in the Big Ten, limiting opposing quarterbacks to 143.6 yards per game with eight interceptions.
COACHING
The numbers speak for themselves. Since arriving to Ohio State in 2012, Urban Meyer is 45-3 with a National Championship in the inaugural College Football Playoff. Kyle Flood is 26-19 in his fourth year at Rutgers.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Rutgers special teams unit came to life last week with a 26-yard scoop-andscore on a fumbled punt by Indiana and Kyle Federico’s 26-yard field goal sealed the comeback. Janarion Grant still leads the Big Ten in kick return yards (472).
X-FACTOR
Ezekiel Elliott is the definition of a gamebreaker. His big-play ability speaks for itself, averaging 28.3 yards per score. He also has four rushes of 50 yards or more, tied for third in the nation.
MOMENTUM
Despite Rutgers’ valiant 25-point comeback victory at Indiana, Ohio State’s carries unprecedented momentum into this primetime matchup. The Buckeyes surge into HPSS with a 20-game winning streak dating back to Sept. 13, 2014.
RUTGERS WINS IF
OHIO STATE WINS IF
THE KNIGHTS CAN FORCE OPPORTUNISTIC TURNOVERS
THE BUCKEYES PLAY A CLEAN GAME FROM START TO FINISH
It is hard to imagine a scenario where Rutgers dethrones a team this great. But if it can create turnovers and capitalize, the Knights create a chance.
In Ohio State’s lone two scares, the Buckeyes struggled to protect the ball and generate consistency on offense and defense.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK “We just happen to play the No. 1 team. I just feel like it’s an opportunity to shock the world.”
PAUL JAMES Senior Running Back
TARGUM’S FINAL VERDICT OSU WINS, 49-17 Ohio State poses the perfect storm for a decimated Rutgers defense. The balance of tempos and weapons should prove too much for a packed home crowd in Piscataway.
Head coach Kyle Flood returns to the home field sidelines at High Point Solutions Stadium when Rutgers hosts No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday night at 8 p.m. on ABC. EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015
Knights embrace electric environment GARRETT STEPIEN SPORTS EDITOR
Two weeks after the Rutgers football team duked it out with then-No. 4 Michigan State under the lights on national television, another top-five opponent comes marching on into High Point Solutions Stadium. And this time, the stakes are twice as high. For the first time since Miami came to town in 2002, the Scarlet Knights (3-3, 1-2) host the No. 1 team in the country when Ohio State (7-0, 3-0) storms the Banks on Saturday night. As if the pressure of playing college football’s perennial powerhouse wasn’t enough, Rutgers will do it in front of a national television audience on ABC Network for the first time in program history. Factor in the struggle to stay alive for bowl eligibility at the .500 mark midway through the season and the implications are closer than they might feel. But head coach Kyle Flood and the Knights are embracing the spotlight and the weight it carries head-on. “Saturday night will be the best atmosphere in all of college football,” Flood said on Tuesday during the Big Ten Coach’s Week 8 Teleconference. “Anybody who’s ever been to a primetime night game at High Point Solutions Stadium will tell you that.” While Flood’s bold assertion might be a bit of a stretch, the recent environment for night games in Piscataway has not disappointing. When the Knights faced the Spartans (7-0, 3-0) on Big Ten Network, the Blackout crowd of 50,373 poured into the Point and nearly upset the No. 4 team in the country when their home team didn’t stand a chance in the eyes of national analysts. Last year, Rutgers made a splash in its inaugural Big Ten season
with two electrifying atmospheres. There was the Sept. 13 conference opener with Penn State before the historic first Big Ten win in Rutgers athletics history against Michigan on Oct. 4. Prefacing that, Piscataway has witnessed pandemonium in top-five upsets on the primetime stage with a 28-25 upset of No. 3 Louisville in 2006 before delivering a 30-27 stunner against No. 2 South Florida one year later in 2008. From the days of being known as the 41,500-seat Rutgers Stadium to its expansion and sponsorship in its naming rights to High Point Solutions Stadium, much has changed for the Knights’ home field in the past decade.
“Every week in the Big Ten, you’re going to play against really high quality football teams.” KYLE FLOOD Head Coach
And the atmosphere has only grown with it. “Especially when it’s primetime, it’s packed. You got that juice flowing,” said sophomore nose tackle Sebastian Joseph. “It’s a great feeling, it’s a blessing. Not many people can experience it. I’m just thankful for it and I know we’re gonna be ready.” But that might not entirely faze the Buckeyes. Ohio State’s home venue, Ohio Stadium, stands as the third-largest college football venue in the nation with a 104,944-seat capacity. As the lone arenas ranking ahead with Michigan Stadium (109,901) in Ann Arbor and Beaver Stadium (107,282) in State College, the Big
Ten brings some of the best football environments in the country. The level of difficulty that comes with it has stifled Rutgers since it joined its conference peers, but Flood sees the latest opportunity with the No. 1 team in the land as the best shot yet. “It’s another great sign of what life will be like in the Big Ten,” Flood said. “Every week in the Big Ten, you’re going to play against really high quality football teams. And when high quality football teams get together on Saturday, national TV wants to put those games on air.” In their first meeting with the Buckeyes, the Knights were chopped to pieces in an overwhelming 56-17 blowout at the Horseshoe last year in Columbus. Just last month, Penn State ran Rutgers out of Happy Valley, 28-3, in front of a primetime audience of 103,323 at Beaver Stadium. With Ohio State beating its chest, as a winner of 20 consecutive games dating back to Sept. 6, 2014 —the longest active streak in the nation — there’s an obvious reason why the Buckeyes enter as heavy favorites. And despite the turnaround from its 25-point comeback win at Indiana last weekend, Rutgers doesn’t even come close to matching the momentum of a program with a 45-3 mark to its name under the direction of fourth-year head coach Urban Meyer. But if the Knights like their chances anywhere on any stage and in any conditions, it’s primetime on national television at High Point Solutions Stadium. “Every week we go into, it’s a chance to win,” said senior running back Paul James. “We just happen to play the No. 1 team. I just feel like it’s an opportunity to shock the world.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @GarrettStepien and @TargumSports on Twitter.
Gameday Page 4
October 23, 2015
AGAINST
Chris Laviano continues to defy his detractors, leads the Big Ten with 69.3 completion percentage
DAVID Sophomore quarterback Chris Laviano improves in every start for Rutgers CONTINUED FROM BACK But at the game’s conclusion, a blunder on 4th-and-20 gave reason to tear chunks from the 20-year-old’s performance in the previous 59 minutes. Rutgers’ quarterback remained unshaken, backing up his most productive showing through four starts with the best game to date in his fifth. Trailing Indiana, 52-27, with 5:25 left in the third quarter, the comeback didn’t get off to the fastest start for the Knights. Laviano fumbled his first snap from center following Devine Redding’s 66yard touchdown run. But fortunately for Rutgers, he recovered. Six plays later, Laviano linked up with senior wide receiver Leonte Carroo for a 43yard touchdown and the rest was histor y — literally. Laviano led the Knights back from a 25-point deficit to win, 55-52, on Kyle Federico’s game-winning field goal to send Rutgers home happy and humble the Hoosiers. He finished the game 28-of-42, going for 386 yards and three touchdowns. “I think Chris is getting better. I think he’s doing a good job, but I felt that way the entire season,” Flood said. “I felt like he has been using the experiences of each game and you can see the application of that in the next game.” The sophomore signal-caller set career highs in passing attempts and passing yards against Indiana, while tying his career-best three touchdowns
Head coach Kyle Flood has been pleased with sophomore quarterback Chris Laviano’s progression this fall and he expects the improvements to continue. EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015 with the only blemish coming on a third quarter interception. For the season, he has thrown 12 scores to six picks. Now, Laviano must turn his attention to the No. 1 team in the nation — Ohio State. “Now he’s got to go back to work,” Flood said on his weekly teleconference Sunday. “Everything this week — that we do on Saturday — we’ve got to earn that during the week. There’s no carryover in football. It’s a new week.” The Buckeyes (7-0, 3-0) crash the Banks riding a 20-game winning streak, having bludgeoned nearly every opponent in their path. OSU’s defense boasts a bevy of athletes — from arguably the country’s top defensive end, Joey Bosa, to the Big Ten leader in total tackles, linebacker Raekwon McMillan (67). Luckily for Laviano, he has weapons at his disposal. Leonte Carroo is listed as questionable with a lower body injury on Monday’s injury report for the primetime tilt against Ohio State
on Saturday. He landed awkwardly on his third touchdown catch of the game in the third quarter against the Hoosiers. If the Big Ten’s leading receiver in touchdowns (9), yards per catch (22.5) and yards per game (118) is unable to play, Laviano will have to look to the next man up — Carlton Agudosi. Agudosi earned high praise from the coaching staff for his ability to keep his head in the game even when he’s on the sidelines. “Carlton (Agudosi) is a good football player,” Flood said. “Our job every week is to try to put the best players out there that we think will give us the best matchups. When you put one guy on, you gotta take one guy off.” Backing up Carroo, the junior wideout has been feast or famine, catching six balls for 80 yards against Penn State on Sept. 19. In the Homecoming win over Kansas the very next week, he hauled in the first touchdown of his career with three receptions for 28 yards.
But against Michigan State, he didn’t play a single snap. “It’s the job of the coaches to put the players in the best position possible and it’s the job of the players to be ready when they’re called upon. And I’m really happy and proud of Carlton for doing that,” Flood said. “When he was called upon in that game, he came out and he was ready.” When Carroo went down, Agudosi stepped up, hauling in three receptions for 72 yards in a little over a quarter in Bloomington. At 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, Rutgers’ version of Megatron poses matchup problems for the Buckeyes. While Carroo’s health and Agudosi’s role for Rutgers both remain in question, junior wide receiver Andre Patton has quietly begun to put all the pieces together in his third season in Piscataway. Patton is the Knights’ second-leading receiver, with 274 yards on 19 receptions, after catching 20 total balls for 223 yards a season ago. Laviano and
Patton have developed a synergy in 2015, always seeming to be on the same page at the right time. “I definitely feel like the chemistry is there, but also just the trust between us two,” Patton said. “(Laviano) trusts me and he knows that I’m going to be at this certain spot and I know as soon as I come out of my route, the ball is going to be right on me.” The 6-foot-4 wideout believes that rapport is built off the field, just as much as on it. “It’s definitely off the field (also). We have some classes together and off the field, sometimes we hang out on the weekends and stuff like that,” Patton said. “The chemistry also builds there too.” As the curtain comes up at the Birthplace of College Football Saturday night, a raucous sold-out crowd of 53,000-plus fans at High Point Solutions Stadium will be raring to go. “It’s probably gonna be one of the best atmospheres any of us has ever played in,” Laviano said. The Knights’ fourth-year head coach feels confident that his sophomore quarterback can make the adjustments from mistakes at Indiana and take the next step against the best team in the country. But incremental adjustments won’t cut it for Laviano against the defending National Champions. If Rutgers’ quarterback has any visions of David slaying Goliath dancing in his head, he knows he will have to play virtually mistake free. “I definitely feel more comfortable every game,” Laviano said. “I’m learning and trying not to make the same mistakes as I did the game before. I think it’s going pretty well, I just need to continue.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @KevinPXavier and @TargumSports on Twitter.
Sophomore quarterback Chris Laviano leads the Big Ten in completion percentage (69.3) and stands second in the conference in pass efficiency at 156.1. After beginning the season with five interceptions through four games, Laviano has thrown just one pick since, to six touchdowns. EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015
October 23, 2015
Gameday Page 5
ALL ODDS
Robert Martin enters big stage for No. 1 Ohio State as constant progression pays off for patient sophomore
ACTION Robert Martin builds off of 3-touchdown performance entering No. 1 Ohio State CONTINUED FROM BACK But back in the first game of his senior year at Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) High School, Martin’s final season and high school career came to a crushing end when he tore his ACL. Martin, who racked up 12.2 yards per carr y to go with 18 touchdowns as a sophomore before rumbling for 1,812 yards as a junior, could only hit the rehab routine running. The reason why? He envisioned himself taking carries immediately for the Scarlet Knights when it came time for training camp — even after the injury. “Last year, I got to play. I was grateful,” Martin said. “It wasn’t no big deal to me because before I came to Rutgers, I was telling myself I was gonna play as a true freshman — and I’m gonna work my tail off to play as a true freshman.” Now, he looks like the featured back. Ever since he came on for Rutgers with 434 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns last year, Martin hasn’t looked back — he’s only gotten better. In the midst of a crowded running backs rotation, Martin has had to deal with the evenly distributed carries among the three. While the split time with senior Paul James and sophomore
After starting out at the bottom of the unit following his knee injury in high school, Robert Martin has been able to distinguish himself from the pack. EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015 Josh Hicks has arguably given Rutgers a set of fresh legs in each drive, head coach Kyle Flood largely refrained from sticking with the hot hand. That was all until last Saturday. In the Knights’ come-frombehind win, Martin ripped off 124 yards and three touchdowns on 17 touches. A large chunk of the career-high in rushing yards came during the critical stretch of the game in the fourth quarter. Pinned in the middle of that rotation with James and Hicks, Martin didn’t deny he wants the ball in his hands as often as possible. But the dynamic sophomore also mentioned that the competition within the unit has
worked to bring out the best in each running back. “Ever y running back in that room wants the ball,” Martin
“Me playing last year only gave me more confidence. So this year ... I’m just ready to ball out.” ROBERT MARTIN Sophomore Running Back
said. “It’s up to our coaches and we do what they tell us to do and obviously it’s been working out
pretty good. We feed off of each other energy-wise and if we see one running back doing good, we wanna come back in and do the same thing. So I think it’s worked to our advantage.” Flood raved about Martin after the Indiana game, recognizing the hot hand and electing to take that direction with him instead of keeping to the rotation. Heading into Saturday’s 8 p.m. matchup with No. 1 Ohio State on ABC Network, the fourth-year head coach said he could go a similar route depending on the production. “Certainly, if a guy seems to have a little bit better feel, you wanna give him a little more touches to the fourth quarter.
Last week, we did that,” Flood said. “When we start the game, they’re all gonna get an opportunity to touch the ball.” Martin isn’t the only running back in favor of deviating from the original game plan if one hand is hotter than the others. James, who had two carries for 74 yards after a long of 72 on a firsthalf run against then-No. 4 Michigan State on Oct. 10, didn’t record a single carry past that one drive. A week later at Indiana, James initially struggled with five carries for 2 yards before rumbling 40 yards into the end zone to complete the comeback and tie the game up with the Hoosiers at 52 apiece in the fourth quarter. “I feel like the hot hand helps because, as a running back, once you’re going, you’re kind of in there, your kind of zone. You’re making your reads, you know what the defense is doing,” James said. “So when you’re hot like that, I think it definitely helps. It helps the team out, you’re able to create more yards down the field easier.” Whether it is James, Hicks or Martin, Rutgers will need all hands on deck in the running game to keep its offense balanced against an athletic Buckeyes defense. But if it is on No. 7, Martin is more than ready. “Me playing last year only gave me more confidence,” Martin said. “So this year, I’m more relaxed, chilled, I know my assignments and I’m just ready to ball out.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @GarrettStepien and @TargumSports on Twitter.
Junior Paul James and sophomore Josh Hicks have been constants for Rutgers in the running backs rotation, but sophomore Robert Martin made a strong case for an increased role as the feature back after his three touchdowns and 124 yards in the 55-52 win over Indiana. EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015
October 23, 2015
Gameday Page 6
PRIMETIME
RU gets back to basics for OSU GARRETT STEPIEN SPORTS EDITOR
Where do you even start? Among all 128 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in Division I college football, Ohio State has been ranked at the top throughout the course of the 2015 season — and for a reason. While the old adage, “Defense wins championships,” still largely stands true in sports today, the No. 1 Buckeyes (7-0, 3-0) possess some of the top playmakers in the nation. The depth of those athletes at their respective positions has further fueled OSU’s quest for back-to-back College Football Playoff titles. Of course, the Rutgers football team is not in the dark on any of that. “This offensive system … (is) always predicated on getting the ball to your playmakers in space and winning the one-on-ones. And for us, we’ve got to make sure when we get some of those one-onones, we make tackles,” said head coach Kyle Flood. “We try as much as we can trying to make sure they are not one-on-ones by getting guys swarmed to the football the way we do.” The Scarlet Knights (3-3, 1-2) don’t need to look too far back to remember any of Flood’s sentiments there. Last year, Ohio State rolled Rutgers, 56-17, at Ohio Stadium in a brutal welcome to the Big Ten. One glance at the box score is all anyone needs as a reminder that the Knights stood no chance. OSU racked up 585 yards of total offense, and with ease. That all began with the coming out party of JT Barrett. As a redshirt-freshman, filling in while Braxton Miller was out for the season with a shoulder injury, Barrett carved Rutgers up with his arm and his legs. He went 19-of-31 with 261 yards and three touchdowns through the air to complement his 107 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. One year later, he makes his first start of the season for the
Buckeyes after head coach Urban Meyer elected to go with the sophomore over junior Cardale Jones for the eighth game of the fall. As the second man in Bucks’ two-quarterback system, Barrett has 249 yards on 27-of-44 passing with four touchdowns to two interceptions. On the ground, he’s done even more with five touchdowns and 228 yards on 29 carries for an average of 7.9 yards per carry. That is without even mentioning Ohio State’s top weapon in the running game — Ezekiel Elliott. “(An) amazing back, as far as I can say … poses a huge challenge,” said sophomore nose tackle Sebastian Joseph. “We’ve just gotta make sure we keep him on the perimeter. Don’t let him turn
“I think this game is gonna come down to physicality ... you’ve gotta put your big boy pants on.” JULIAN PINNIX-ODRICK Junior Defensive Tackle
his shoulders and get vertical. That’s when he’s most dangerous — when his body’s facing the goalposts.” The Heisman Trophy candidate leads the Big Ten in rushing with 988 yards and 11 touchdowns on 148 attempts. He helped fuel last year’s blowout in Columbus with 12 carries for 69 yards and a score to balance Barrett in read option run schemes. Joseph especially remembers the combination of the two giving the defense fits in its alignments all over the field. “(Barrett and Elliott) both pack a one-two punch,” he said. “Both are athletic … they’re both amazing players, so we’ve just gotta make sure we swarm, we get up there as fast as we can and (make) gang tackles.” For Julian Pinnix-Odrick, his flashback to the OSU rout
remains one the junior defensive tackle is looking to keep in the rear view mirror. “I remember them having their way with our defense and us letting up way too many points and us not playing physical enough,” he said. “I think this game is gonna come down to physicality as most of these conference games do, and you’ve gotta come out there and put our big boy pants on and play football.” For what it’s worth, Rutgers has improved greatly against the run. Through six games, the Knights ranked No. 30 in the nation — behind five more Big Ten teams — yielding 126.2 yards per game. As much as the Knights have already broken down the film and installed various methods to prepare for a high-octane attack that thrives off of big plays in the run game, Pinnix-Odrick tries to simplify the preparations down to the assignments each member of the defense has. He knows Rutgers will have its hands full when the Buckeyes look to run the tempo — that aspect is almost inevitable. But behind the madness that goes into keeping up with top scoring offense in the Big Ten (37 points per game), Pinnix-Odrick said it all comes down to each defender simply carrying out their jobs to add up for the unit’s collective effort. From there, the Knights will let their upset odds play out. “You can’t prepare against a player. Good players are good players, and at the end of the day … you’ve gotta win your one-on-one matchups,” Pinnix-Odrick said. “It comes down to tackling a specific person or defending a specific person or shedding a block on a specific person, and it’s a one-on-one battle that you’ve gotta win when it comes to man-on-man football. But in terms of scheme, as long as we play together as a defense, we should have success.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @GarrettStepien and @TargumSports on Twitter.
With two of the top playmakers in the country entering Piscataway in JT Barrett and Ezekiel Elliott, Rutgers simplifies its defensive approach to slow the Buckeyes. THE DAILY TARGUM / NOVEMBER 2014
Redshirt freshman cornerback Isaiah Wharton made his first career interception last week to spark RU’s comeback win over Indiana. EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015
Rookie corner aims to adjust each week KEVIN XAVIER ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
Redshirt-freshman Isaiah Wharton has been forced to grow up fast for the Rutgers football team. After being listed as a backup cornerback on the spring depth chart, the dismissal of Darien Dailey pushed the rookie corner closer to a starting role. When training camp opened, Wharton was slotted as a co-starter along with junior Nadir Barnwell, before he, along with three other members of the secondary were also dismissed from the team when the arrest of seven Scarlet Knights rocked the program. “That’s why every kid comes to (play) in college,” Wharton said of his rise up the depth chart. “You wanna be the starter, you wanna make plays and everything. So whatever I can do to help the team.” It’s hard to believe that Wharton — who’s only played in six games in his collegiate career, — is the most experienced cornerback on Rutgers roster. “(The coaches) brought me here for a reason. Every time we’re in (the meeting room) they say, ‘You guys are Big Ten athletes. You’re here for a reason,’” Wharton said. “I definitely believe in myself and with each week comes more experience.” Following the scoop-and-score touchdown from sophomore defensive end Kemoko Turay, to put the Knights within 13 at 52-39, the defense needed a stop to keep the possibility of a comeback alive. Wharton delivered, picking off Indiana quarterback Nate Sudfeld to keep the mojo going. “They were running a lot of underneath routes and I let a couple get away in the first half. I knew it was coming again so I just played my man and I sprinted to the ball,” Wharton said. “I just did my job just to make the catch.” It was the first career interception for Wharton. The young defensive back won the support of a pair of veterans on the defense for his efforts. Junior linebacker Steve Longa said he he saw Wharton’s interception as crucial to the comeback. “We had that interception by Isaiah (Wharton) and the defense just rallied up behind it and we fed off of it,” Longa said. “And then we came back.”
Wharton is following the weak side linebacker lead, pointing to Longa as one of the players that has helped him get acclimated to the playbook, scheme and speed of the college game. “One thing is that I’m seeing a lot of different offenses, all for the first time,” the 6-foot-1 cornerback said. “I’m just trying to get used to it and Steve Longa has been helping me a lot.” Strangely enough, facing a 25-point deficit after the Hoosiers surged for 28 unanswered points in the third quarter, Wharton claims the Rutgers sideline remained as cool as the other side of the pillow. “It was crazy because everyone on the sideline was so composed and we’ve been through so much adversity, it was like that was just the beginning,” he said. “We all felt like we could win. We made some stops and the offense did their job.” Junior free safety Anthony Cioffi has been the one constant in the defensive backfield for the Knights, starting all six games and his three interceptions are tied for second-best in the Big Ten. Cioffi is pleased with the progression of the secondary ravaged by arrests and injuries, coupled with its youth and inexperience. “(The younger guys are) coming along good,” Cioffi said. “Each week is a better week, they’re getting smarter and understanding the game a lot better. It’s tough, but when there’s an injury, another guy has to step up.” Wharton’s learning curve will speed up this week, as No.1 Ohio State’s offense has given opponents fits in 2015. JT Barrett will get the nod at quarterback and wide receivers Jalen Marshall, Michael Thomas and Braxton Miller have teamed up for 942 yards and 10 touchdowns combined through seven games. But Wharton welcomes the challenge, while trying not to put pressure on himself. “Everybody wants to be known as a playmaker but right now, I feel like, right now in my career, I wanna be known as someone who the team can depend on and know that I’m always doing my job,” Wharton said. For update on the Rutgers football team, follow @KevinPXavier and @ TargumSports on Twitter
October 23, 2015
Gameday Page 7
KNIGHTS
Rutgers readies line for OSU defensive end GARRETT STEPIEN SPORTS EDITOR
Junior weak side linebacker Steve Longa leads the Big Ten Conference with 11 tackles per game and stands second in the country with 45 solo tackles. EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015
Longa writes storybook script KEVIN XAVIER ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
Early in the second quarter of the Rutgers football team’s game against Indiana last week, linebackers Steve Longa and Quentin Gause converged on quarterback Nate Sudfeld. Longa arrived first, but was unable to wrap up the 6-foot-6 signal-caller. And when Gause joined the party, he ended up landing on his junior teammate’s legs. Longa was immediately helped off the field, but he returned soon after. With under three minutes remaining in the half, the Scarlet Knights’ weak side linebacker brought down running back Alex Rodriguez after an 8-yard gain for his seventh tackle of the game. But Longa visibly struggled to get back to the defensive huddle, as middle linebacker Kaiwan Lewis virtually carried him back to the Knights’ side of the line of scrimmage. It appeared as if Longa wouldn’t make it through another play, let alone remain on the field the rest of the game. “I’m coming back to the sideline and I see him grimacing,” said junior defensive tackle Julian Pinnix-Odrick. “I see the pain in his face and I’m just like, ‘He’s doing it,’ you know? He wants to be out there.” When he first went down, Longa had three tackles. He finished the quarter with nine. The player redshirt-freshman safety Kiy Hester, called “the heart and soul of the defense,” refused to let the pain impede his production. Instead, true to form, Longa collected seven more tackles, en route to a career-high for a single game (16) and Rutgers roared back from 25 points down to hand the Hoosiers a bitter 55-52 defeat. “I think it’s a testament to the type of guys we have in the (locker)
room and type of guys we have to look up to,” Pinnix-Odrick said. It was a heroic performance for one of the top defenders of the program, vaulting Longa to the top of the Big Ten Conference in tackles per game (11). His teammates took notice and followed Longa’s lead. “It was the kind of thing you see in the movies,” Pinnix-Odrick said. “He’s out here grinding and the least I can do as his teammate is to do the best that I can for somebody who’s going to give that much for me.” Longa’s 66 tackles in six games are only one fewer than league-leader Raekwon McMillan of Ohio State, who’s played in seven. The Cameroon native stands second in the nation in solo tackles with 45 this season. “He’s a very productive player,” said head coach Kyle Flood. “He’s been a very productive player for a long time.” Flood has the luxury of a constant at the linebacker position ever since Longa broke out with 123 tackles in his freshman year on the Banks. The Saddle Brook High School (New Jersey) product never experienced a sophomore slump. A move from middle linebacker to the weak side forced Longa to make adjustments, but he still managed 102 tackles in 2014. “As I tell the players, ‘There’s nothing more valuable in life than consistency,’” Flood said. “When you look at every postgame and you look at the stats, he’s consistently at the top of that tackles list.” It would seem odd for Rutgers defense to have reason to celebrate after giving up 52 points through two and a half quarters, but when things got hairy, the Knights hunkered down. Rutgers rendered Indiana’s offense indisposed the rest of the way, holding the Hoosiers scoreless for the remainder of the game.
“We just had to do our job basically. We let up a lot of big plays,” Longa said. “It was nothing crazy. It was just us not putting our eyes in the right place.” There were no specific adjustments or change in tactics responsible for the dramatic turnaround, Longa said. “We just had to talk about it,” he said. “And after we did that, we came back.” As uplifting as the Indiana win was, the Knights will not be the team carrying the most momentum this week. No. 1 Ohio State arrived in Piscataway riding a 20-game win streak dating back to last season. The Buckeyes (7-0, 3-0) continue to power through every opponent set in front of them. When the bright lights cast a halo over the field at High Point Solutions Stadium Saturday night, the home team defense needn’t look any further than Longa for inspiration and leadership. The junior is listed as probable on Rutgers injury report and is expected to make an impact. His track record this fall reminds fans and media alike that Longa is an elite player, registering a sack and three tackles for loss along with leading the league in tackles per game. But for Flood, this comes as no surprise. He has seen Longa put the work in — not only on gameday, but throughout the course of the week. “He does that because he prepares the right way,” Flood said of Longa. “He does that because he’s been blessed athletically, he runs very well. And he puts in the work during the week to make sure he can have the right reactions on gameday.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @KevinPXavier and @TargumSports on Twitter.
With as much firepower as Ohio State brings to the field with an offense ranked atop the Big Ten, the Rutgers football team doesn’t lack far behind. The Scarlet Knights (3-3, 1-2) quietly enter Saturday night’s primetime matchup against the No. 1 Buckeyes (7-0, 3-0) ranked second in the conference with 34.3 points per game. On the surface, that number is a reflection of the balance brought the offense with a versatile running game to complement the constant growth of sophomore Chris Laviano in his first year as the starter. But one unit that does fly under the radar for the Knights’ success is the cohesion established along the offensive line. After yielding five sacks to Penn State on Sept. 19, Rutgers moderately cleaned up its protection of Laviano with four sacks over the span of the next three games. Perhaps the bigger progression came with the running game. After 43 yards on 32 carries at the Nittany Lions, the Knights reestablished the focal point of their pro-style offense with 221 rush yards per game starting with 312 yards on 58 carries against Kansas on Sept. 26. But with a physical counterpart in OSU’s front seven swarming their way into High Point Solutions Stadium led by top NFL prospect Joey Bosa, head coach Kyle Flood expects Rutgers to have its hands full along the line of scrimmage. “He’s a tremendous player. As live a body on film as I’ve seen,” Flood said of Bosa. “Everything he does is explosive. So if you’re just a little bit off from a technique standpoint, you’re going to be in trouble.” There’s a reason why the junior defensive end has been atop the big boards of analysts and scouts alike for the 2016 NFL Draft since logging 13.5 sacks and 55 tackles in Ohio State’s national championship season. At 6-foot-6, 275 pounds, Bosa poses a physical specimen on top of his strong football IQ. In between rushing off the left and right ends,
Bosa mixes in looks lining up inside to shoot up the a-gap and b-gap to stuff the run and get pressure on the quarterback. Senior left tackle Keith Lumpkin said Bosa’s versatility and athleticism forces Rutgers to stay honest in what should be their tallest individual task of the season. “He’s a great player. He’s a guy, you know, coaches feel like he demands attention, so we’ve got stuff to handle him to make sure we matchup against him,” Lumpkin said. “So it’s gonna be a great matchup with whoever’s on him … I feel that we’re prepared. We prepared all week for it, we know what to expect. We just gotta go out there and execute.” Considering Bosa’s tendency to line up on the defense’s left end on the line of scrimmage, that likely leaves junior right tackle JJ Denman to contain him for majority of the night. That means just two weeks after Shilique Calhoun of Michigan State collected three tackles and 0.5 sacks, the Knights and Denman go right back to the drawing board for Bosa. But if the 6-foot-6, 305-pound Denman is tasked with the challenge, his battery mates in the trenches like their odds. “I think JJ stacks up well against Bosa,” said junior right guard Chris Muller. “JJ’s an extremely, incredibly strong human being. He’s able to take a bullrush, he’s able to take a speed-to-power rush and it’s gonna be a challenge for JJ.” Lumpkin admitted the attention for Bosa is well-deser ved, but the 6-foot-8, 325-pounder reaffirmed that Rutgers has to account for the rest of the pass rush and run defense scattered in the Buckeyes’ box. “They’re very good,” Lumpkin said. “They have a lot of upperclassmen on the front line, a lot of experience, a lot of guys who have played a lot. As a team defense, they’re good. They’re active, they fly to the ball. It’s gonna be a good challenge to the guys up front.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @GarrettStepien and @ TargumSports on Twitter.
Senior left tackle Keith Lumpkin, right, said Joey Bosa’s versatility along the line of scrimmage poses a threat to the offensive line. EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015
GARRETT STEPIEN SPORTS EDITOR
It wasn’t always this easy for Robert Martin. One glance at the box score of his line in the Rutgers football team’s 55-52 comeback triumph past Indiana last week might lead to the idea that the sophomore running back has been doing this from the moment he crossed the Delaware River from Pennsylvania and into Piscataway. After playing the wait game behind a bevy of running backs, nothing stopped Martin when he got his chance midway through his true freshman season in 2014. SEE ACTION ON PAGE 5
EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR