BATTLE OF THE TURNPIKE LUOYE WONG
Gameday Page 2
November 1, 2013
KNIGHTS GAMEDAY RUTGERS VS. TEMPLE GAME 8: High Point Solutions Stadium, noon TV: SNY
RADIO: 710-WOR, 1450-WCTC, 610-WIP
INSIDE the
NUMBERS RUTGERS (4-3, 1-2)
PASSING G. Nova C. Dodd RUSHING J. Goodwin S. Huggins RECEVING B. Coleman T. Kroft L. Carroo DEFENSE S. Longa K. Snyder L. Waters
Redshirt freshman linebacker Steve Longa (3) said tomorrow’s game against Temple is just like any other. If Temple beats Rutgers, it will have three league losses for the first time since 2011. SHAWN SMITH
Rutgers aims to correct mistakes By Bradly Derechailo Associate Sports Editor
No member of the Rutgers football team will admit how crucial a win in tomorrow’s game against Temple is. “A victory is important against anybody,” said redshirt freshman middle linebacker Steve Longa. “Every week we prepare to be 1-0 and that’s our main focus right now.” But a loss to the Owls (1-7, 0-4) would push the Scarlet Knights (4-3, 1-2) to its first .500-or-worse record after eight games since the 2008 season, when they finished 4-8. Though Temple possesses the worst record of any Knights opponents this season, head coach Kyle Flood was quick to point out whatever positives he could about the Owls. “They’ve got a new coach there, Matt Rhule, who has done an excellent job,” Flood said. “Unfortunately for them, their record doesn’t show it yet. But I will say this, you watch them on film go through the year and what you see in every phase of their game is a football team that’s getting better.”
Flood’s team seems to be moving in the opposite direction. Rutgers’ defense produced its worse performance of the season last Saturday against Houston yardage-wise, as the Cougars went up and down the field at High Point Solutions Stadium with ease to the tune of 611 total yards. Four hundred of those resided through the air. Houston quarterback John O’Korn tossed five touchdowns — three to wide receiver Deontay Greenberry — against the Knights’ inexperienced secondary. “It sparks a heavy fire,” said junior cornerback Gareef Glashen on the secondary’s most recent outing. “It’s embarrassing.” Rutgers also allowed 211 rushing yards, the second time in two games the nation’s No. 12 rush defense allowed more than 150 yards on the ground. Louisville produced 151 yards Oct. 10 against the Knights. But the defensive woes may not even be Rutgers’ biggest problem. For the first time since 2010 training camp, junior quarterback Gary Nova’s starting job behind center is in jeopardy.
Nova tossed seven interceptions to just one touchdown in his past two games. Against Houston on Homecoming, Flood pulled Nova in the third quarter for senior Chas Dodd after his third interception. Flood opened up the position this week before naming Nova the starter late last night. He also said both could see time against Temple’s 119th-worst pass defense. Temple’s poor output against the pass could bode well for Rutgers’ receivers, who have proven to be one of the deepest units for Rutgers this season. But whether a quarterback can get them the ball consistently is one of many questions facing Rutgers as it tries to avoid losing three conference games for the first time since 2011. It hopes to get some answers tomorrow when the Owls visit Piscataway. “We’re certainly not changing a culture here,” Flood said. “I think they have expectations to win, and we have expectations to win. So we’re looking at a great challenge this week as we get ready to play a good football team.”
CMP 56.5% 60.0% NO. 73 65 NO. 20 19 17
YDS 1511 123 YDS 392 210 YDS 286 299 308
TD 14 0 TD 4 1 TD 2 3 7 TKL 68 49 33
INT AVG 11 215.9 1 41.0 LNG AVG 30 78.4 20 30.0 LNG AVG 56 40.9 42 42.7 69 44.0 SCK INT 3 0 1 0 0 1
TEMPLE (1-7, 0-4)
PASSING CMP YDS P.J. Walker 60.8% 891 C. Reilly 51.4% 771 RUSHING NO. YDS Z. Williams 78 427 K. Harper 90 439 RECEVING NO. YDS J. Fitzpatrick 26 327 R. Alderman 24 347 R. Anderson 19 373 DEFENSE T. Matakevich A. Smith N. Smith
TD 9 2 TD 2 8 TD 3 2 2 TKL 103 58 41
INT AVG 3 178.2 2 128.5 LNG AVG 50 53.4 29 51.8 LNG AVG 45 40.9 51 43.4 83 62.2 SCK INT 0 1 0 0 0 0
INJURIES OUT: OL B. Arcidiacono (shoulder), FB S. Bergen (ankle), WR J. Gignac (hamstring), DB B. Gross-Armiento (hamstring), RB P. James (lower leg), DT S. Joseph (ankle), DT K. Kirksey (tricep), TE T. Marini (shoulder), DL J. Pinnix-Odrick (knee), CB L. Toler (arm) PROBABLE: CB A. Cioffi (upper body) DOUBTFUL: SS L. Waters (ankle)
INJURIES QUESTIONABLE: WR D. Miller (undisclosed), LB R. Devoracek (toe)
SCHEDULE
SCHEDULE
Aug. 29 Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Oct. 5 Oct. 10 Oct. 26 Nov. 2 Nov. 16 Nov. 21 Nov. 30 Dec. 7
Fresno State Norfolk State Eastern Michigan Arkansas SMU Louisville Houston Temple Cincinnati UCF Connecticut USF
L, 52-51 W, 38-0 W, 28-10 W, 28-24 W, 55-52 L, 24-10 L, 49-14 noon TBA 7:30 p.m. TBA TBA
Aug. 31 Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Oct. 11 Oct. 19 Oct. 26 Nov. 2 Nov. 16 Nov. 23 Nov. 30
Notre Dame Houston Fordham Idaho Louisville Cincinnati Army SMU Rutgers UCF Connecticut Memphis
L, 28-6 L 22-13 L, 30-29 L, 26-24 L, 30-7 L, 38-20 W, 33-14 L, 59-49 noon TBA TBA TBA
Key Matchup P.J. Walker vs. Rutgers’ front seven
The Temple quarterback rushed for 92 yards on 14 carries in his last game against Southern Methodist. While the Knights will be more worried about preventing long completions, the defense’s lower level will be tasked with getting pressure on Walker.
LUOYE WONG
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: OFFENSE
QURON PRATT WIDE RECEIVER
KEITH LUMPKIN LEFT TACKLE
KALEB JOHNSON LEFT GUARD
BETIM BUJARI CENTER
CHRIS MULLER RIGHT GUARD
ANDRE CIVIL RIGHT TACKLE
TYLER KROFT TIGHT END
BRANDON COLEMAN WIDE RECEIVER
GARY NOVA QUARTERBACK
MICHAEL BURTON FULLBACK
JUSTIN GOODWIN RUNNING BACK
Senior 6’-0”, 190 lbs.
Sophomore 6’-8”, 315 lbs.
Junior 6’-4”, 305 lbs.
Junior 6’-4”, 295 lbs.
R. Freshman 6’-6”, 300 lbs.
Senior 6’-3”, 285 lbs.
Sophomore 6’-6”, 240 lbs.
Junior 6’-6”, 220 lbs.
Junior 6’-2”, 220 lbs.
Junior 6’-0”, 235 lbs.
Freshman 6’-0”, 180 lbs.
GAREEF GLASHEN CORNERBACK
JEREMY DEERING FREE SAFETY
JOHNATHAN AIKEN STRONG SAFETY
DELON STEPHENSON CORNERBACK
Junior 5’-10”, 180 lbs.
Senior 6’-2”, 200 lbs.
Junior 5’-11”, 190 lbs.
Freshman 5’-11”, 190 lbs.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: DEFENSE
MARCUS THOMPSON DEFENSIVE END
ISAAC HOLMES NOSE TACKLE
DARIUS HAMILTON DEF. TACKLE
DJWANY MERA DEFENSIVE END
KEVIN SNYDER OLB
STEVE LONGA MLB
JAMAL MERRELL OLB
Senior 6’-2”, 290 lbs.
Senior 6’-3”, 280 lbs.
Sophomore 6’-4”, 260 lbs.
Sophomore 6’-4”, 260 lbs.
Junior 6’-3”, 235 lbs.
R. Freshman 6’-1”, 220 lbs.
Senior 6’-4”, 220 lbs.
November 1, 2013
Gameday Page 3
KNIGHT NUGGETS BY THE NUMBERS
9
The Knights threw nine interceptions as a team in the past two games. Junior signal caller Gary Nova tossed seven of them, while Chas Dodd and Savon Huggins have each thrown one. Huggins’ came on a tailback option.
96
The Owls allow 200.3 rushing yards per game this season, good for 96th nationally. In its last game against Southern Methodist, Temple allowed 190 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
161
Freshman running back Justin Goodwin ran for 161 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries last weekend against Houston. The Madison, N.J., native now has 392 yards this season and two 100-yard games in his past three.
10.3
Temple outside linebacker Tyler Matakevich leads the country in solo tackles with 10.3 per game. Matakevich leads the Owls with this season with 103 tackles and registered nine solo stops last season in a 35-10 loss against Rutgers.
BIG QUESTION How long will Gary Nova be left in if he continues to struggle? Head coach Kyle Flood pulled the junior quarterback in the third quarter last weekend after throwing his third interception of the game and seventh in his past two. If he cannot find a rhythm early, Flood could insert Chas Dodd.
Gary Nova Junior Quarterback
THE ADVANTAGE GOES TO OFFENSE
Though Rutgers has scored 24 points in its past two games compared to Temple’s 72 in that same span, the Knights have proven to possess the more consistent offense. Rutgers averages 32 points per game.
DEFENSE
The Knights experienced struggles from all levels of their defense during their homecoming loss. But the unit still possesses the country’s 12th-best rush defense. Temple gave up 59 points to Southern Methodist in its last game.
COACHING
SPECIAL TEAMS
Temple has yet to return a kickoff for a touchdown. Its longest takeback was 43 yards by Jahad Thomas against Fordham. The Knights have two touchdown returns this season, one each by Janarion Grant and Quron Pratt.
X-FACTOR
In his last game against Southern Methodist, quarterback P.J. Walker threw for 293 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another 92 yards. In five games this season, Walker has rushed for 191 yards and one TD.
MOMENTUM
Both teams enter tomorrow after losses to AAC programs from Texas. But Temple owns the more recent victory of the two, a 33-14 home victory Oct. 19 against Army.
RUTGERS WINS IF
TEMPLE WINS IF
THE KNIGHTS FIND A WAY TO STOP TURNING THE BALL OVER.
WALKER GETS IN A RHYTHM AGAINST RUTGERS’ SECONDARY. The quarterback passed for six touchdowns in his past two contests. He will get chances to continue his success against the Knights’ young corners.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK “There is no pity or sympathy [for secondary issues]. ...There is no team in the country who is going to feel KYLE FLOOD Head Coach bad for us.” TARGUM’S FINAL VERDICT RUTGERS WINS, 28-13 Rutgers’ ground game carries the day as the Knights get back on track.
Rhule preps for scheme challenges By Greg Johnson Associate Sports Editor
Head coach Kyle Flood has one more year of experience under his belt than the Owls’ Matt Rhule. Rhule has had a rough start to his first head-coaching gig with six straight losses to start the season, including to Fordham, an FCS program.
Rutgers has coughed up the ball 10 times in its last two games. If it can keep ball possession, its running game should be able to move the ball.
Junior strong safety Lorenzo Waters is doubtful to play tomorrow. Temple head coach Matt Rhule said despite injuries, he knows RU’s makeshift secondary will be talented. ENRICO CABREDO
Whether the perceived quarterback controversy at Rutgers football practice this week was legitimate or merely a gamesmanship ploy means little to Temple head coach Matt Rhule. Knowing the Scarlet Knights intended to split practice reps between junior Gar y Nova and senior Chas Dodd, Rhule saw no reason to alter the Owls’ game preparations. “They have tremendous weapons on the outside, regardless of which quarterback is in,” Rhule said Monday via teleconference. “Both quarterbacks are similar in the fact that they can make the deep throw, they have tremendous speed on the outside. And so I think for us scheme-wise, we have to find a way to deal with all the things that [offensive coordinator Ron Prince] and his staff do.” Rutgers’ schematic philosophies garner Rhule’s respect so much so that he pays less attention to personnel, even with the Knights’ weak points. Injuries, transfer and a suspension made for an uncertain makeshift secondary, but that also does not concern Rhule. Rutgers’ recent recruiting classes have Rhule betting whoever sees significant time tomorrow in the secondary will be talented. “We see the guys they take, how highly rated and recruited they are, so we know the caliber of players they have, even at their first, second and third positions back there,” Rhule said. “The biggest thing that we have to do is just prepare our guys for the coverages and the blitzes and all the different things that Rutgers defense does, because they are ver y multiple.” But those schemes proved more tailored toward pro-style of fenses, which are not par ticularly up-tempo. The Knights’ struggles against spread offenses, meanwhile, are well documented. After Houston churned 611 yards of total offense Saturday
for 49 points, Rutgers is trending downward against teams that employ more expansive receiver sets. Southern Methodist produced 558 yards Oct. 5, while Fresno State compiled 537 yards in the season opener against the Knights. Temple does not run a complete spread, and Rhule said the Owls likely will not jeopardize any of their own style to try what has worked against Rutgers’ defense. That decision is for the good of a youthful program that features freshman quarterback P.J. Walker. Temple is still in the early phases of building around its dual-threat signal caller. “I think we’re at the point now where we’re just trying to get really good at what we do, and so maybe a year or two from now we’ll be able to kind of copycat and steal what works on film,” Rhule said. “But right now it’s basically just kind of, ‘Hey, we’re going to do what P.J. feels really comfortable with and see how that works on game day.’” Rhule also wants to keep the team’s young prospect out of harm’s way. The Knights have produced 21 sacks this season, which Rhule is well aware of.
“They do a great job especially on third down of attacking, protections and blitzing you and bringing people from all over,” Rhule said. “We have to make sure that P.J. understands how to protect himself and scheme-wise so that he is in a good position where he’s not getting hit upside his head when he doesn’t expect it.” The Owls, winless in three conference games, have larger issues. Eliminated from bowl contention, Temple is pushing for national prominence. Rutgers, which has started down that path over the last decade, provides a template. Rhule said it begins with implementing infrastructure centered on preaching work ethic. “Add to that recruiting, and you start to have a great mix of getting better players and getting better people, and teaching them how to be successful,” Rhule said. “When people say culture, the biggest thing I think of besides work ethic is expectations. We expect to win, and maybe that hadn’t been the case [in the past], but you have to change that right off the bat.”
Junior quarterback Gary Nova’s status as starting QB this week was uncertain, but Rhule says he treats Nova and Dodd the same. LUOYE WONG
Gameday Page 4
November 1, 2013
AERIAL
Flood names Nova as starting quarterback but keeps possibility open for both to take snaps next game By Josh Bakan Sports Editor
Junior Gar y Nova and senior Chas Dodd contested so evenly at quar terback, Rutgers head football coach Kyle Flood could not even name the star ter after the Scarlet Knights’ final practice before Saturday against Temple. “I thought both quarterbacks got better today and certainly neither was perfect, nor did I expect them to be,” Flood said yesterday post-practice. “We’ll go back and review the tape, and we’ll get word to you guys in a couple hours in terms of how we will start the game and what we think we’ll do here early on.” It took six hours. Then Flood announced Nova will make his 21st straight start, but his job is not completely safe. For the second straight day, Flood opened the possibility of both playing. If he uses both, Nova would likely play the first two drives before Dodd executes the third drive. Then Flood would decide who to distribute the playing time. “I generally don’t like the first drive, second drive deal,” Flood said yesterday post-practice. “I like to give a guy two drives and then give somebody else the third drive when I’m going to do some type of rotation. That’s probably just more my own comfort level than anything.” Nova and Dodd have not been available for comment since Wednesday, since only Flood is available the last practice before games.
If senior Chas Dodd, center, and junior Gary Nova split time at quarterback tomorrow against Temple, Dodd might only have one drive to prove himself in his final year. LUOYE WONG Although each quarterback’s first drives serve as an audition, past history is also important. “I don’t know if it ever can exclude history, recent history more so than anything else,” Flood said. “We’ll look at how we did during the week and how we progressed and when mistakes were made were they corrected and were they processed and were better decisions made the next time.” To maintain a more complete control of his job, Nova needs to reduce mistakes in his opening drives.
Nova threw seven interceptions in the last two games. That contributed to Rutgers’ poor turnover margin — negative-eight, which places second-to-last in the AAC ahead of only Southern Methodist with negative-10. The Don Bosco (N.J.) Prep product still has critics who doubt his abilities to handle pressure situations, and just Nova’s opening drives could help either argument. Dodd’s position is even less enviable, as he might get only
one drive in perhaps his last chance for significant playing time at Rutgers. The Byrnes (S.C.) High School product keeps the pressure off by staying occupied on the bench. “If I was not in, [I focus on] tr ying to take the mental reps and really tr ying to stay involved into what the defense was doing,” Dodd said Wednesday. “If that’s the case, then that’s the approach I’m going to take this week.”
Both quarterbacks still hold a vital responsibility of fixing Rutgers’ vertical struggles. Nova leads the AAC with 11 interceptions, and he completed only 56.5 percent of his passes so far this season. Flood said accuracy and decision making would decide the competition. “I saw improvement and I see areas where we can still improve, but that doesn’t surprise me,” Flood said of those aspects. “As long as we’re making improvement that’s really all we can ask of the players.” Temple’s defense makes Nova’s task easier. The Owls only intercepted two passes this season — last in the conference — and allow 316.1 passing yards per game — second-to-last in the AAC ahead of only Rutgers, which allows 320.1. If Nova needs help escaping the mindset that the first drives will impact his future playing time, a weak Temple defense could be all he needs. “When I’m in there, I’m not going to be thinking about things like that,” Nova said of impressing on early drives. “I’m going to try to move the ball and score and be in there for my guys.” The adage goes that when you have two quarterbacks, you have none. Nova dislikes the situation, but he needs his performance against Temple to prove the saying does not apply in Piscataway. “It’s not the best thing for a quarterback, but I support coach [Flood’s] decision and when I’m in there, I’ve got to perform my best,” Nova said.
PHOTO BY SHAWN SMITH DESIGN BY NISHA DATT / PHOTO EDITOR
November 1, 2013
Gameday Page 5
ISSUES
Secondary continues to lose bodies from injury, arrest as unit ranks 121st nationally against the pass By Bradly Derechailo Associate Sports Editor
There is a real possibility Ruhann Peele will see time at cornerback tomorrow against Temple. Peele played in all seven games for the Rutgers football team this season, including the Scarlet Knights’ opener. He is the Knights’ third-leading receiver. “I’m a football player. I’ll do what’s best for the team,” Peele said. “If [head coach Kyle Flood] thinks it’s going to help the program this week, that’s what is going to help the program.” The redshirt freshman’s move from receiver, which he said is just a temporary move for now, is just an attempt by Flood to fix what has become Rutgers’ biggest concern on the defensive side of the ball. Injuries, departures and poor off-field decision-making also factored into the lack of depth in the Knight’s last line of defense. Yesterday’s news about Lorenzo Waters did nothing to help Flood’s concerns. The junior strong safety is listed as doubtful on the team’s injury report with a high ankle sprain sustained last Saturday against Houston on Rutgers’ first defensive series. “I had him as probable earlier in the week, probably doubtful right now, not out,” Flood said. “But [Waters] didn’t make the progress I thought we would see earlier this week.” The secondary already lost two corners with starting
experience — senior Lew Toler and redshirt freshman Ian Thomas — earlier this season. Another, freshman Nadir Barnwell, was arrested early Sunday morning after he was involved in a single-car crash on the corner of Route 18 and Campus Road in Piscataway. Flood suspended Barnwell, who was charged with driving while intoxicated and careless driving, for this week and tomorrow’s game. Junior Gareef Glashen and freshman Anthony Cioffi are listed as the Knights’ starters, but even that is not set in stone. Flood stated Wednesday night on his weekly radio show that freshman Delon Stevenson may start ahead of Cioffi at corner. “He hasn’t had his opportunity yet to do that, but Delon gets a little bit better every day,” Flood said. “And I thought he got a little bit better every day this week.” The only other cornerback on the two-deep besides Glashen, Cioffi and Stevenson is redshirt freshman Jevon Tyree. For Tyree, who has only seen time this season in the fourth quarter Sept. 7 against Norfolk State, his ascent up the depth chart by way of attrition has been surprising. “It’s tough. I didn’t play. I have no idea what it’s really like out there,” Tyree said. “But like I said, I’m going to give what I got and I’m going to be fine. I’m not going to let the coaches down and I have to show myself.” He will not be the only one playing significant
Junior Gareef Glashen is one of just five cornerbacks available for Rutgers tomorrow against Temple. LUOYE WONG
oppor tunities at corner for the first time. Peele, who Flood said played more safety than corner at Linden (N.J.) High School, will also debut at corner against the Owls. Although not listed on the Knight’s two deep, there is a reason Flood felt comfortable with moving Rutgers’ third-leading
receiver to the defensive side of the ball. “I don’t think you can move him over there and take him away from the offense and not play him,” Flood said. Whoever plays will be responsible for making sure the Knights’ secondary statistics improve instead of decline, though there is
PHOTO BY SHAWN SMITH DESIGN BY NISHA DATT / PHOTO EDITOR
not much room left below them. Only Troy and California allow more passing yards per game. While Temple does not possess a consistently effective passing offense that the Knights have seen in their last three games — Southern Methodist, Louisville and Houston — the Owls showed last week they are capable of attacking a weak secondary through the air. Quar terback P.J. Walker produced four passing touchdowns in Temple’s 59-49 loss to SMU as the Owls threw for 367 yards. Wide receiver Robbie Anderson burned the Mustangs’ 118th-worst passing defense for 239 yards and two touchdowns by himself. He should get his oppor tunities to duplicate those numbers again. The Knights allowed 1,194 yards in their past three games, averaging just less than 400 yards per contest. Three freshmen, a junior and a redshirt freshman wideout will be responsible for shutting down Temple’s receivers, while an uncertain combination at safety will attempt to provide Rutgers’ last line of defense. Tyree believes improvement can happen. The rest of the defense hopes he is right. “If one player performs good, it’s going to feed off,” Tyree said. “That’s how players start to perform better. It’s contagious. They see one player start doing something good and then everyone else starts to do good.”
November 1, 2013
Gameday Page 6
NCAA GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 18 Oklahoma St. at No. 15 Texas Tech The Cowboys, winners of three straight, travel to Lubbock, TX., to play the Red Raiders, who possessed a undefeated record until last week’s 38-30 loss to Oklahoma.
PREDICTION: Texas Tech, 45-40 No. 21 Michigan at
Miami (Fla.)
Florida St.
No. 7 Miami visits No. 3 Florida State in a battle of undefeated ACC teams. The Seminoles enter the game after last week’s 49-17 thrubbing of NC State.
No. 22 Michigan St. The Wolverines look to take complete control of the Big Ten Legends Division with a victory against Michigan State. The Spartans lost, 12-10, to Michigan last season in Ann Arbor, Mich.
PREDICTION: Michigan St, 21-13
AAC STANDINGS FOOTBALL
Florida State freshman quarterback Jameis Winston will attempt to take down his third ranked AAC opponent in his past four outings. GETTY IMAGES
Key Matchup
PREDICTION
The Heisman Trophy candidate has shined behind center during his freshman season, tossing for 23 touchdowns with just four interceptions. The Hurricanes rank third in the ACC in pass defense.
The Seminoles pick up a home victory against Miami in their quest for a National Title.
Jameis Winston vs. Miami’s passing defense
Florida St., 31-27
TEAM 1. Houston 2. UCF 3. Louisville 4. Cincinnati 5. SMU 6. South Florida 7. Rutgers 8. Connecticut 9. Memphis 10. Temple
RECORD 3-0 3-0 3-1 3-1 2-1 2-1 1-2 0-2 0-3 0-3
PRE-RANK 6TH 4TH 1ST 2ND 8TH 5TH 3RD 7TH 10TH 9TH
2011 5-7 10-4 11-2 10-3 7-6 3-9 9-4 5-7 4-8 4-7
Greene’s relative presents running, passing threat By Josh Bakan Sports Editor
Temple will bring the tiniest bit of former Rutgers football linebacker Khaseem Greene’s blood tomorrow to High Point Solutions Stadium. The Chicago Bears linebacker’s and freshman quarterback P.J. Walker’s mothers are cousins. Considering the Scarlet Knights defense’s recent struggles, that
gene pool can continue to raise mayhem in Piscataway — this time against Rutgers. “He throws a beautiful ball,” said Greene, who visited Rutgers’ match Saturday against Houston. “He’s just a young kid, but he’s shown that he could be somebody special. … He’s a workaholic. If you ask anybody over there, he’s always been like that his whole life.” Head coach Kyle Flood said Rutgers tried to recruit Walker out
of Elizabeth (N.J.) High School, Greene’s former school. He would be useful. Walker has steadily improved as a true freshman who has started Temple’s last three games. He averaged 55.7 rushing yards per start, and his completion percentage keeps improving. Walker’s completion percentage for each start went from 54.5 to 62.5 to finally 70.3 Saturday against Southern Methodist.
Mechanically, one might confuse him for a relative of Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater rather than Greene. The difference between Walker and a freshman Bridgewater is their offensive playbooks. “I think they’re different types of players,” Flood said. “I think P.J. runs around. They have more designed runs for him. Teddy is more the traditional pocket passer. I don’t know that I’ve seen enough
Temple freshman quarterback P.J. Walker received comparisons from Philadelphia media to Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, above, when he was a rookie. But Louisville’s pro style and Temple’s spread offense makes their playing styles different. JOVELLE TAMAYO
of them back-to-back to say that I would compare them.” Bridgewater operates Louisville’s pro-style offense, which creates fewer opportunities for quarterback runs than Temple’s offense, which occasionally spreads out receivers. Temple’s receiver setups force opposing defenses’ structure to give Walker open running lanes. Rutgers forced Bridgewater’s second-least accurate performance of the season Oct. 10 with 21-for-31 passing — still 66.7 percent completions, but better than his 73.7 rate this season. But junior linebacker Kevin Snyder said the game plan against Walker bears few similarities to stopping Bridgewater. “Their of fense is dif ferent in terms of the way they run things,” Snyder said. “Their run game’s dif ferent. If you just do your job and understand the game plan completely, you can contain anybody.” That means the Rutgers defense cannot suffer against a spread, which it did against Fresno State, SMU and Houston to allow a combined 153 points. Rutgers’ problems against spreads relate more to poor form, especially eye placement, than a lack of scheme, Snyder said. But Walker complicates Rutgers’ scheme as the first regularly running starting quarterback Rutgers faces this season. Houston wildcat quarterback Greg Ward Jr., with 91 yards off 11 rushes Saturday against Rutgers, showed Walker could be a challenge for the Knights. “I think what that does is it forces you to play assignment football,” Flood said. “The run‑pass options are becoming more and more common in college football offenses and just about every team has some element of it that they utilize now.”
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Redshirt freshman middle linebacker Steve Longa (3) is unsure what caused Rutgers’ season highs in rushing yards allowed in its last two games. Longa leads the Knights with 68 tackles this season and said all 11 defenders must communicate better to stop the Owls’ running game, which ranks 79th nationally. SHAWN SMITH
Run ‘D’ hopes to redeem worst performance of season By Greg Johnson Associate Sports Editor
The Rutgers football team’s patchwork in its secondary has become such a contagious issue that now even the nation’s 12th-ranked run defense is struggling. Successively in their last two games, the Scarlet Knights have allowed season-high totals in rushing yards. Yet few seem to know why. Most recently, Houston steamrolled Rutgers’ defensive front for 211 yards on the ground. And 91 of them came courtesy of Cougars backup true freshman quarterback Greg Ward Jr. “It doesn’t feel good at all,” said redshirt freshman middle linebacker Steve Longa. “But it’s just something we’ve got to move past and try not to do the same mistakes we did. That’s how you learn, that’s how you grow as a defense.” The problem is the Knights have difficulty pinpointing exactly what those mistakes are. Longa, who leads the team with 68 total tackles, offered little more than a generic assessment of what has changed. Before facing Louisville, the Knights allowed 70.6 rushing yards a game in five contests. Rutgers’ conference competition stiffened it. Still, this defense predicates itself on stopping the run. The Knights also held the best running game on their schedule — Arkansas, ranked 28th in rushing offense — to barely 100 yards. So tomorrow against Temple, which features only the 79th-best ground attack, Rutgers wants to get back to the basics. “All 11 guys have got to be on the same page,” Longa said. Houston’s dynamic spread offense created countless one-on-ones in
space, opening more holes in the running game. As a result, eight Cougar handoffs went for at least 10 yards. “When you have some of the bigger plays that they had, we have people who can make those plays, and [Saturday] we didn’t win those one‑on‑ones,” said head coach Kyle Flood. “That’s partially our issue that we have to look at and make sure we’re putting the right people in the right places. I think some of that has to be credit to them, to the athletes on their football team.” Yet Longa dismissed the possibility of the spread offense being the culprit of poor run defense. After all, Rutgers held both Fresno State and Southern Methodist — its first two spread opponents — to less than 100 yards rushing. Persistent tackling issues became one emphasis to prevent explosive runs. “We just have to go over technique more and really get down our basics,” said freshman cornerback Anthony Cioffi. “We have great players and we just have to produce.” Flood said an abundance of missed tackles is concerning, but that defensive issues are always more complex. As with improved pass protection last week alleviating prior sack woes, Flood knows it is not a matter of fixing one glaring blemish. The Knights have many little things to clean up. “Every week on defense we’re going to put the best players out there,” Flood said. “We’ve got to coach them as well as we can. The evaluation for us I think has to be, OK, do we have the right pieces in the right place? If we have the best pieces in our football program in the best places for them, I do believe that when we execute, we’ll play better defense.”
Head coach Kyle Flood said the Knights must win more one-on-ones in space and sharpen tackling to reduce big plays on the ground tomorrow against Temple. SHAWN SMITH
LUOYE WONG