GARRETT STEPIEN SPORTS EDITOR
As the Rutgers football team retreats home from the Midwest after its third straight drubbing to a Big Ten opponent, the Scarlet Knights find themselves lost in a corn maze. With Nebraska (4-6, 2-4) bringing the momentum of their 39-38 upset where it handed then-No. 7 Michigan State its first loss of the season, the Cornhuskers go from on the verge of chaos in Lincoln to being one game closer to reaching the postseason with a bowl game. The Knights are right where the Huskers were about a week ago. With its back against the wall, Rutgers (3-6, 1-5) has one last legitimate shot at getting to its 10th bowl game in the past 11 years when it hosts Nebraska at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at High Point Solutions Stadium. “We take a lot of pride. Everybody wants to get to a bowl game at the end of the year,” said senior running back Paul James. “It’s a huge goal for all of the teams, so we take a lot of pride in getting there.” Like the rest of the seniors in his class, James has been to a bowl game each year in his time on the Banks. Rutgers hasn’t missed the postseason since 2010 when it finished the season 4-8. “You feel (the pressure to get to a bowl game) more because you want that extra game,” James said. “It’s your last year, you wanna get that extra game and go out on a good note.” Given how poor the Knights have looked in their past three times out on the gridiron, it might be difficult to imagine a scenario where they keep their dwindling bowl dreams alive. SEE LOST ON PAGE 4
EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR
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KNIGHTS GAMEDAY
November 13, 2015
RUTGERS VS. NEBRASKA GAME 10: High Point Solutions Stadium, 3:30 P.M. TV: BTN RADIO: Rutgers IMG Sports Network
INSIDE
Rutgers aims to bridge gap in Big Ten KEVIN XAVIER ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
One visit to Ann Arbor is all it takes to see the massive margin between the Rutgers and the University of Michigan, beginning with the structure in which each team plays. The Wolverines’ stadium is named for the school, seating nearly 110,000 in the center of town. The Rutgers football team’s stomping grounds are named for a corporate sponsor, seat 52,000-plus and sit across the river from the downtown campus, in another town, nearly three miles away. “The Big House” was built in 1927, but appears immaculate, with gates to hide its hallowed grounds. Enclosed in brick, the stones build up the character of the largest stadium in the United States and the third-largest in the world, according to Business Insider. The University first erected its venue as Rutgers Stadium in 1938, but was dramatically refurbished and reintroduced as High Point Solutions Stadium in 2009. The grounds are guarded by a parking lot on one side, a four-way intersection to its north, a street to its south and another parking lot on the other side. Both the program and the stadium in Ann Arbor represent the goal for the Knights, not only in football but as a university. Schools like Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio State serve as pillars of both the academic and athletic community in the Big Ten. In order for Rutgers to raise its national profile, the Birthplace of College Football joined the league
last fall as the power-five conferences began to monopolize the sport. After the Wolverines walkover win of the Knights last Saturday, head coach Kyle Flood’s opening statement at his postgame press conference all but confirmed Michigan as a model for Rutgers’ ascension in the Big Ten. “For us as a program, I think it’s a great vision of where we wanna go,” Flood said. “And I think this Michigan football team this year is a great example of how quick you can get there.” For players like junior Julian Pinnix-Odrick, the opportunity to play in historic venues like Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin and “The Big House” in Michigan are the reason recruits want to play at the collegiate level. “I mean, that’s what you love. Man, that’s what you would love to do,” Pinnix-Odrick said of playing in front of 109,789 fans clad mostly in maize and blue. “Obviously we have a lot of respect for those types of programs who are at that level. We still have to understand what we have to do to get there.” The program in Piscataway has shown marked improvement since the arrival of former head coach Greg Schiano in 2002. The Knights have played in eight bowl games in nine years, including five straight bowl appearances. Flood arrived on the Banks in 2005 as an assistant on Schiano’s staff. Now serving in his fourth season as head coach, Flood has been subject to scrutiny throughout the 2015 campaign after a slew of controversies swirled around the program
Head coach Kyle Flood has come under fire in his fourth year at the helm for Rutgers. Without a win Saturday, the pressure may mount. THE DAILY TARGUM / NOVEMBER 2015
since the season opener when five former players were arrested. Flood’s seat grew warmer when he was suspended as a result of a scandal he started by contacting a faculty member in the hope of altering a player’s grade back in August. University President Robert L. Barchi handed down Flood’s punishment on Sept. 17 and the Knights’ head coach served a threegame suspension before returning to the sidelines on Oct. 17 at Indiana. The play on the field has been only a minor improvement over the distraction off of it. Flood’s postgame comments after the loss to Michigan almost insinuated that a coaching change could be the driving factor in turning around a program, since his coaching seat has nearly caught fire. Asked directly if he believes his team can mimic the success displayed by Michigan, Flood did not offer a direct answer. “Those are big picture questions that are always tough to answer in the heat of the season,” he said. “I just know that our eyes need to be focused on Nebraska.” The Cornhuskers should be the focus. A loss at home Saturday would quell any possibility of positive feelings toward the 2015 season. It could also mean the end of the Kyle Flood’s tenure. But Pinnix-Odrick thinks the game looms larger than the job security of his head coach, a streak of bowl appearances or the quieting of Rutgers’ critics. The junior feels the only motivation for victory should be the name on the front of their jerseys, not the names on the back. A loss Saturday could affect the program, past, present and future. A loss could render the program’s progress obsolete. “It’s so much bigger than just us,” he said. “You gotta play for the ‘R.’ You gotta understand that so many people came before us and so many are gonna come after us. Our mark is so small but it’s so significant. We have to understand where we are on that timeline and we have to pass the torch. We have to keep it up.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @KevinPXavier and @TargumSports on Twitter.
the
NUMBERS RUTGERS (3-6, 1-5)
PASSING C. Laviano H. Rettig RUSHING R. Martin J. Hicks RECEVING L. Carroo A. Patton J. Grant DEFENSE S. Longa Q. Gause K. Lewis
CMP 61.9% 56% NO. 96 108 NO. 24 28 24
YDS 1,633 233 YDS 582 552 YDS 527 362 207
TD 12 2 TD 4 4 TD 9 1 0 TKL 102 76 48
INT AVG 9 181.4 0 58.2 LNG AVG 54 64.7 31 61.3 LNG AVG 58 105.4 38 40.2 25 23 SCK INT 1 0 1 0 0 2
NEBRASKA (4-6, 2-4)
PASSING CMP T. Armstrong 53.9% R. Fyfe 61.8% RUSHING NO. T. Newby 133 T. Armstrong 72 RECEVING NO. J. Westerkamp 58 B. Reilly 32 A. Moore 20 DEFENSE N. Gerry J. Kalu F. Akinmoladum
YDS 2,372 440 YDS 705 276 YDS 801 650 321
TD 18 5 TD 5 6 TD 6 4 5 TKL 64 57 21
INT AVG 9 263.6 5 220 LNG AVG 69 70.5 32 30.7 LNG AVG 38 80.1 52 65 43 35.7 SCK INT 1 3 1 2 4.5 0
INJURIES OUT: TE George Behr, SS Davon Jacobs, DT Darius Hamilton, RB Desmon Peoples, LB Nick Rafferty, DL Kenneth Roman, LB Austin Rosa, FB Charles Snorweah, LB TJ Taylor, WR John Tsimis, DE Eric Wiafe. QUESTIONABLE: CB Blessuan Austin, WR Leonte Carroo, SS Najee Clayton, RB Paul James. PROBABLE: WR Carlton Agudosi, WR Janarion Grant, SS Kiy Hester, MLB Kaiwan Lewis, WLB Steve Longa, LT Keith Lumpkin.
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 L 49-7 L 48-10 L 49-16 3:30 p.m. 12:00 p.m. TBA
SCHEDULE Sept. 5 Sept. 12 Sept. 19 Sept. 26 Oct. 3 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 Oct. 24 Oct. 31 Nov. 7 Nov. 14 Nov. 27
Brigham Young South Alabama Miami Southern Mississippi Illinois Wisconsin Minnesota Northwestern Purdue Michigan State Rutgers Iowa
L 33-28 W 48-9 L 36-33 W 36-28 L 14-13 L 23-21 W 48-25 L 30-28 L 55-45 W 39-38 3:30 p.m. TBA
Key Matchup
Rutgers pass defense vs. NU pass offense
In its past four games, the Rutgers defensive backfield has had to grow up quick. The depleted unit gave up an average of 310.5 pass yards per game in that stretch. With a daul-threat in Tommy Armstrong coming to Piscataway and a top wide receiver in Jordan Westerkamp, a pass-first, pro-style attack could continue the poor trend for the Knights.
MICHELLE KLEJMONT / MANAGING EDITOR / OCTOBER 2014
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.
November 13, 2015
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KNIGHT NUGGETS BY THE NUMBERS
6
As its offense has struggled lately, Rutgers is up to six touchdowns on special teams or defense in the 2015 season. The Knights have three kickoff returns, a punt return and an interception return for touchdowns.
11
Nebraska has not had a bye week in 11 games, making the Cornhuskers 1 of 12 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision to play at least 11 consecutive weeks without an idle week. Nebraska’s next bye week is Nov. 20.
49.5
In its past four games, Rutgers is yielding 49.5 points per game on defense. To accompany that number, the Knights have been torched in the passing game as well during that stretch, surrendering 310.5 pass yards per game.
21
The road trip from Lincoln to Piscataway marks Nebraska’s first time in New Jersey since 1994, or 21 years ago. The Cornhuskers played in the 1994 Kickoff Classic at The Meadowlands and beat West Virginia in a shuout.
BIG QUESTION CAN LEONTE CARROO SAVE THE DAY? Senior wide receiver Leonte Carroo has been absent from an offense that desperately needs him. Will the deep threat open up the game plan for the Knights despite being slowed and listed as questionable with a lower body injury?
LEONTE CARROO Senior Wide Receiver
THE ADVANTAGE GOES TO OFFENSE
Mike Riley’s pass-first, pro-style attack got off to a rough start, but the Cornhuskers look like they might finally be getting it after posting 39 points up on previously-unbeaten Michigan State in a thrilling comeback last weekend.
DEFENSE
Pick your poison. As poor as Rutgers has been in the passing game. Nebraska just as bad. But given the Knights’ 310.5 yards per game in the last four contests compared to the Cornhuskers’ 275 yards per game, Nebraska earns the edge.
COACHING
One week ago, Mike Riley was the one on the hot seat just nine games into his tenure at Nebraska. But after another rout of a loss and a GoFundMe page created by fans to buyout his contract, Kyle Flood doesn’t have the advantage here.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Rutgers boasts one of the top special teams units in the country, largely due to kick returner Janarion Grant. The junior won Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time this season after his big day at Michigan.
X-FACTOR
Leonte Carroo’s impact to Rutgers cannot be understated. Nothing has been the same since the senio wide receiver was sidelined with a lower body injury. He has the ability to alter the game and spark scoring for the Knights when healthy.
MOMENTUM
This one is a no-brainer. With three straight blowout losses, Rutgers is reeling hard despite its return to High Point Solutions Stadium. Nebraska, meanwhile, just saved its season with an upset over then-No. 7 Michigan State last weekend.
RUTGERS WINS IF
NEBRASKA WINS IF
THE KNIGHTS CAN SUSTAIN SCORING DRIVES FOR TOUCHDOWNS
THE CORNHUSKERS KICK THE KNIGHTS’ DEFENSE WHILE IT’S DOWN
Rutgers hasn’t scored a touchdown with Chris Laviano at quarterback since Oct. 17 at Indiana. The Knights need to put points on the board to have a shot.
If Nebraska stays hot, it doesn’t matter if Rutgers comes back to life on offense. The Knights’ defense is far too thin at this point to keep up in a shootout.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK “It’s so much bigger than just us. You gotta play for the ‘R’. ... We have to pass the torch.”
Julian Pinnix-Odrick Junior Defensive Tackle
TARGUM’S FINAL VERDICT NEBRASKA WINS, 41-21 Rutgers picks up its offense with a pair of touchdowns and one on specials, but can’t keep up with Nebraska. The Cornhuskers continue to surge and keep their bowl hopes alive while killing the Knights’ bowl dreams as the nightmare continues.
Junior free safety Anthony Cioffi headlines the most experience in a decimated defensive backfield. The Knights hope to rebound against Nebraska Saturday. MICHELLE KLEJMONT / MANAGING EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015
Secondary comes together for RU GARRETT STEPIEN SPORTS EDITOR
Not too long ago, Anthony Cioffi was a 180-pound cornerback thrown into the fire as a true freshman on a historically bad secondary for the Rutgers football team. In the 2013 season, Cioffi and a handful of others in his freshman class were burned by NFL prospects and spread offenses in the Scarlet Knights’ lone year in the AAC. They faced the likes of current NFL starting quarterbacks Derek Carr (formerly Fresno State, currently Oakland Raiders), Teddy Bridgewater (formerly Louisville, currently Minnesota Vikings) and Blake Bortles (formerly Central Florida, currently Jacksonville Jaguars). The three first-rounders headlined a year in which Rutgers couldn’t catch a break against the pass, surrendering 312 yards per game through the air. Fast-forwarding two years later, Cioffi finds himself in a similar situation now as a junior leader. Bulked up to 200 pounds and starting at free safety, Cioffi is the veteran of a struggling secondary. “It’s not something that we wanna go out and do,” he said. “It’s just that we have to continue to correct things and go over everything that’s going on.” In their second season as a part of the Big Ten, the Knights (3-6, 1-5) are yielding eerily similar numbers at 303.1 pass yards per game. Largely due to the lack of depth that has been tested from the arrests of three former potential starting defensive backs to the subsequent injuries that have forced more freshmen into game action than usual, Rutgers went from expecting this to be the year of an experienced and seasoned secondary to right back where it was in 2013.
While the injuries and depth have been challenged all across the roster, head coach Kyle Flood said he couldn’t remember a time where the next-man-up mentality has been tested this much. “I haven’t tried to put that in perspective,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve had a health situation maybe the way we’ve had this year.” Strong safety Davon Jacobs has been out for the past few weeks now with an upper body injur y. When Nebraska (4-6, 2-4) comes to High Point Solutions Stadium on Saturday, the latest injur y report released by Flood on
“It’s kind of just all of us stepping up together. We don’t really have that one guy that we all look up to.” ANDRE HUNT Sophomore Safety
Monday indicates that Jacobs will miss another game as he is listed as out. That has bumped up redshirt freshman Kiy Hester into the mix as starter in place of his former teammate at DePaul Catholic (New Jersey). In his first full year at Rutgers since transferring over from Miami, Hester has an interception and five pass breakups. He’s just one of the youngsters seeing time. True freshman Blessuan Austin and redshirt freshman Isaiah Wharton have both been starting at cornerback since the season opener, with Austin missing one game on Oct. 24 against thenNo. 1 Ohio State with an upper body injury.
As other freshmen are thrown into the fire, with Jarius Adams, Ronnie James and Najee Clayton seeing their time on the playing field increased on defense and special teams, Rutgers has had no other option. Given the extreme circumstances and a lack of seniority, assumptions might lead one to believe that the newcomers to the secondary lack the cohesiveness necessary to put up a fight against opposing offenses on a weekly basis. But sophomore safety Andre Hunt said that hasn’t been the case. With Cioffi serving as a threeyear starter between his move from cornerback to free safety, his lead-by-example approach provides some sense of direction for the younger Knights around him. The Springfield, New Jersey, native went from an undersized freshman getting steamrolled by Storm Johnson to land atop SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays the next day to putting the likes of Heisman Trophy candidate Ezekiel Elliott and 6-foot-2, 216-pound Michigan wide receiver Amara Darboh on their backs in technically sound, touchdown-saving, open-field tackles. But when it comes down to the overall preparation that the defensive backs need to go through leading up to their weekly war on Saturdays, it doesn’t matter to them who is with them and who isn’t. “It’s kind of all of us just stepping up together,” Hunt said. “We don’t really have that one guy that we look up to. It’s just all of us as one unit. I think it works better with us just working together, really, because we’ve coordinated when we come in (to watch film), communicating stuff, so I think we’ll be fine.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @GarrettStepien and @TargumSports on Twitter.
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November 13, 2015
MUST-WIN
Tumbling through uncompetitive 3-game losing skid, Rutgers tries to save season for bowl game
LOST Knights return home with bowl implications on line as Nebraska enters CONTINUED FROM FRONT Since overcoming a 25-point deficit in a 55-52 comeback win at Indiana on Oct. 17, opponents have outscored Rutgers by an average margin of 48.7-11. The Knights haven’t scored an offensive touchdown since Oct. 24 and sophomore quarterback Chris Laviano hasn’t led a touchdown-scoring drive since his career-high performance against the Hoosiers. Without senior wide receiver Leonte Carroo, whom head coach Kyle Flood upgraded to probable on Thursday, the Knights have looked clueless with the ball. As defenses have loaded the box to stuff the run, a thinning defense has been forced back onto the field without catching its breath. The end result is a Rutgers team fighting to keep its season alive with a fourth-year head coach trying to cool his hot seat. After the loss to Michigan, an anonymous “concerned alumnus” created an unauthorized GoFundMe account to raise money on behalf of the University for the buyout of the $1.4 million left on Flood’s contract if he is fired before February 2019. It accumulated $8,431 by Tuesday morning. While Flood’s fate remains to be seen, the Knights’ head man focused on his trademarked “10” mantra and said he doesn’t feel that bowl eligibility is tied to his job security.
Head coach Kyle Flood’s “1-0” mantra has been repeated all week long despite all the team’s many troubles, but Rutgers needs to win out to become bowl eligible. THE DAILY TARGUM / NOVEMBER 2015 “I don’t think of it. I would tell you — and this is after 22 years of coaching — if you’re looking for job security, being a college football coach is probably not the profession you should be looking for,” Flood said. “This is a high-performance industr y. I think ever ybody gets into it with open eyes, and I don’t feel that way. I feel fully supported by the administration here at Rutgers.” Turbulent times are nothing new to Rutgers this season. Five players were arrested and dismissed before the season opener, and Flood served a three-game suspension after a University investigation revealed his impermissible contact with a professor violated policy. But as far as the playing field is concerned, Flood and the Knights still have a shot to right the wrongs of the fall and
keep the dim light on their season glimmering. Just last week, Nebraska went through similar tensions when first-year head coach Mike Riley came under fire for a disastrous 3-6 start at a program coming off a 9-4 season under former head coach Bo Pelini. The Cornhuskers’ faithful grew restless in Lincoln and Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst penned a letter to the fan base giving Riley a vote of confidence. What ensued the subsequent Saturday was one step closer to the end of the wild season’s maze after dethroning the Spartans and their previously unblemished record. Rutgers now has an opportunity to do much of the same. As prideful of a program Nebraska is, the Cornhuskers are still a long way removed from the team that pounded the Knights
in a 42-24 blowout at Memorial Stadium last year. Gone is Ameer Abdullah, now with the Detroit Lions after earning a first round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, who torched Rutgers to set the Nebraska program record for all-purpose yards (341) on his way to 225 rush yards and three touchdowns on the ground. “It’s a new year, it’s a new game, new scheme,” said junior defensive tackle Julian Pinnix-Odrick. “We’re watching film and doing what we gotta do just like we do ever y week. We’re not really comparing (Nebraska) to last year’s team. Obviously, we were out there and it wasn’t the game we enjoyed. So obviously, we get to play (at home) this year and we look to be successful.” Tommy Armstrong provides a dual-threat option at quarterback
to keep the Knights’ defense honest, but the other side of the ball provides some optimism for Rutgers. After facing three of the consensus top-10 defenses in Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan, the Knights catch a breather with the Cornhuskers’ 124thranked pass defense (319.1 yards per game) in the country and the 95th-ranked total defense (431 yards per game). Rutgers doesn’t bode much better with the No. 122 pass defense (303.1 yards per game) and No. 111 total defense (458.3 yards per game) in the nation, but the Knights normally don’t get too caught up in the numbers. “It’s gonna be the same things,” Pinnix-Odrick said. “It’s gonna be the details, it’s gonna be the stuff we haven’t done successfully and we’re gonna try to get better at them. We’re gonna work to get better at them.” With that in mind, Rutgers understands what’s on the line — one loss all but eliminates a bowl, leaving the final two regular season games against Army and Maryland as a pair of consolation prizes. But Pinnix-Odrick refuses to look that far ahead. “We can only focus on what we can control right now with this Saturday,” he said. “You can’t really focus about the past or the future. But I mean, if we really hone in on right now, it’s gonna yield the results that we want. So it’s just one of those things you gotta attack full-speed and know what’s on the line and go after it.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @GarrettStepien and @TargumSports on Twitter.
Once a season filled with Rose Bowl dreams, Julian Pinnix-Odrick and the Knights now look to save their last glimmer of hope for postseason football when they take on the Cornhuskers. The junior defensive tackle remains confident in his team’s ability to come together facing adversity. EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015
November 13, 2015
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SITUATION
Linebackers serve as strong point on defense plagued by youth, injuries, inexperience at all position groups
STRENGTH Steve Longa leads corps of linebackers who are all having career-high years CONTINUED FROM BACK Luckily for them, it’s at the second level where Rutgers best position group resides — the linebacking corps. Junior Steve Longa along with seniors Kaiwan Lewis and Quentin Gause have plugged the holes in a defense that has been leaking like a sieve since three potential starters were dismissed from the team Sept. 5 after their arrests. Lewis, a graduate transfer, points to the experience and dedication to diagnosing opposing offenses as the main factor for the elevated play of the linebackers this season. “We try to study as hard as we can everyday,” Lewis said. “I feel like coming from South Carolina and then being here, this is the hardest I’ve ever studied. Sunup to sundown, we watch as much film as we possibly can and pride ourselves on preparing as much as we can.” The preparation did not appear evident in week one. The opening drive against the Spartans served as a precursor to a forgettable defensive effort from the Knights over the course of their first nine games. NSU, a Division I-AA opponent, knifed through Rutgers on the opening series, needing only four plays to cover 75 yards before quarterback Greg’s 16-yard touchdown pass put the Spartans ahead, 7-0.
Senior middle linebacker Kaiwan Lewis said he has done more studying in the film room in his one year on the Banks than he did while at South Carolina. EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015 The home team would go on to win 63-13, but it was the struggles in the first quarter that revealed a noticeable chink in the Knights’ armor. Gause has done his part for the defense, registering 76 tackles for Rutgers thus far in 2015, after finishing last season with 72 tackles in total. His 10 tackles for loss lead the Knights and his lone sack sits just behind Rutgers’ leading pass-rusher, sophomore Kemoko Turay, who has only managed to tally two, a year after his 7.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss garnered Freshman All-American honors. “It’s a mental game,” Gause said. The Rochester, New York, native views the progression of the youth on defense as a testament to the theory of trial-by-fire education. Gause remains convinced that the Knights’ young defense is progressing, regardless of whether or not media and fans
can see the results on tape or in the team’s record. “I feel like as a team, we got lots of young guys, so young guys are stepping up to the plate,” he said. “I feel like each week — you may not see it on the film, or the score may not tell you, but on the field, I feel like guys are getting better.” Lewis sees Rutgers’ opponent Saturday as one that sits in a similar position. Like the Knights, Nebraska enters Saturday’s matchup needing a win to keep the prospects of bowl eligibility alive. But as Rutgers limps home on a three-game losing streak after a 49-16 drubbing at the hands of No. 16 Michigan, the Cornhuskers spirits have been lifted. Nebraska arrives on the Banks coming off the biggest win for the program in recent memory, toppling a titan of the Big Ten by handing then-No. 7
Michigan State its first loss of the season, with Tommy Armstrong’s touchdown pass to Jordan Westerkamp securing victory with under a minute to play in Lincoln last week. “They’re kind of having a similar season,” Lewis said. “They’re going out there just to go as hard as they can so that way they can try to get as many wins as they can to continue for postseason.” No one has questioned the focus, execution or effort of Rutgers’ weakside linebacker this fall, evidenced in the Knights 25-point comeback win against Indiana. Longa fought through injury to tally 16 tackles and anchor a defense that allowed Rutgers to rattle off 28 unanswered points for the win. But the following week, then-No. 1 Ohio State blew the doors off his team, 49-7, in front of 53,111 fans at High Point Solution Stadium.
The lopsided loss started a downward trend for the Knights, but Longa has maintained a positive attitude. “I don’t think frustrating or frustration is the right word,” Longa said. “It starts with practice. Guys come everyday, just ready to compete. At this point in the season — obviously, the outcome is not the same (as last year). But we’re still working and we never put our head down, no matter what happens.” Longa sits atop the conference in total tackles (102), solo tackles (65) and tackles per game (11.3). He understands the Knights have hit bumps on the road to disappointing results in his junior season, but that has not deterred the native of Cameroon. Instead, he has raised his play to new levels. Unfortunately for Rutgers, Longa’s performance has not rubbed off on the rest of the defense. “We play this game to win. But we’re growing, this is a process,” he said. For Gause, there is no time to sulk. His message to the team is simple — execute your assignment, he said. And as far as making a personal impact, the strongside linebacker feels the only way he can affect the Knights outlook is to take a few deep breaths before giving a maximum effort. “Just going out there and being calm and playing my heart out,” Gause offered as the solution. ”It’s my last year and I’m just doing everything I can on the field. I love this game and every time I’m out there, I’m going to play with passion.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @KevinPXavier and @TargumSports on Twitter.
Junior Steve Longa has tallied 102 total tackles this season, equaling his total in all of 2014. Longa leads the Big Ten in total tackles (second nationally), solo tackles (fourth nationally) and tackles per game (11.3). Longa is the second Knight to record three consecutive 100 tackle seasons. MICHELLE KLEJMONT / MANAGING EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015
November 13, 2015
Gameday Page 6
WIN OR
Skid presents problems for QB GARRETT STEPIEN SPORTS EDITOR
Chris Laviano remembers it like it was yesterday. Roughly one year ago, then a wide-eyed redshirt-freshman, Laviano trotted out to the field at Memorial Stadium in the second half of the Rutgers football team’s Big Ten road battle at Nebraska. After Gary Nova went down with a knee injury with less than a minute left until halftime, Laviano led Rutgers on offense for the third quarter and beyond in front of 91,088 in Lincoln. The Glen Head, New York, native flashed signs of promise here and there, throwing for 49 yards on 4-of-7 passing and adding 54 yards — with a long of 46 — on five carries rushing, but couldn’t provide enough of a punch as then-No. 16 Nebraska ran Rutgers out of the building in a 42-24 rout. “I remember we were pretty competitive in the second half and they’re a tough group, they’re really physical,” Laviano said. Much has changed for both parties since that afternoon on Oct. 25. Now Nova’s successor as the starting quarterback at Rutgers (3-6, 1-5) one year later, Laviano’s sophomore season has been a turbulent ride full of growing pains. After sitting atop the Big Ten in completion percentage and pass efficiency, Laviano peaked in his career-high evening in the Knights’ 55-52 triumph at Indiana on Oct. 17. Since then, his numbers are ugly, with 25-of-60 (41.7 percent) passing for 245 yards (81.7 per
game), three interceptions and a fumble to zero touchdowns. To top it all off, Laviano hasn’t led the offense to a touchdown on a scoring drive since the 25-point comeback in Bloomington. But head coach Kyle Flood has backed the first-year starter through thick and thin, sticking with Laviano despite fan calls for sophomore backup quarterback Hayden Rettig. “Chris is a competitor. And like anything else, you play three of the top-five defenses in the country back-to-back-to-back ... I’ve seen pretty much everything to this
“It’s a new week, process. Corrections we made ... now, as we go forward, we begin to embrace the game plan.” KYLE FLOOD Head Coach
point in the season,” Flood said. “So now, as we go forward, I think every time you’ve seen those things in a game, the next time you see it, it’s not quite as fast. The game slows down a little bit for you.” After the latest blunder — a 4916 massacre at then-No. 16 Michigan — Flood defended his decision to leave Laviano in until the fourth quarter by saying he thought the signal-caller could grow from the most experience as possible against a top-ranked defense.
Laviano, who was 11-of-26 against the Wolverines with 97 yards and a pick, wanted to remain on the field. “I like the fact that I was left in the game,” Laviano said. “I love to play. I don’t wanna come out, ever ... the more snaps you take, the best learning experiences you have.” While the numbers might not reflect productive performances, senior running back Paul James said he has seen Laviano mature in his first year under center. “He’s grown a lot — that’s a lot of tough situations he’s been put in and that’s really gonna help him as a player and as a person,” James said. “I feel like with that experience, that’s gonna help him in the future. It’s helped him so far a lot.” With the Cornhuskers (4-6, 2-4) boasting a pass defense that ranks 124th out of 129 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, yielding 319.1 yards per game, Laviano receives the best possible opportunity to get his season back on track when he makes his eighth career start. In order to keep Rutgers’ season from continuing in its downward spiral, Laviano might need to make the most of it. “For him, it’s just important to start the preparation over again,” Flood said. “It’s a new week, process. Corrections we made. And now, as we go forward, we begin to embrace the game plan and against what we’re gonna see this week.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @GarrettStepien and @TargumSports on Twitter.
After sitting atop the Big Ten in completion percentage and pass efficiency, sophomore quarterback Chris Laviano has strung together career-worst efforts. THE DAILY TARGUM / NOVEMBER 2015
Junior right guard Chris Muller has been entrenched in offensive line for Rutgers, offering leadership along the line of scrimmage. MICHELLE KLEJMONT / MANAGING EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015
Junior calls shots for offensive lineman KEVIN XAVIER ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
It was one of his first days on campus. A burly freshman offensive lineman was about to start a successful year for the Rutgers football team, but he didn’t know it then. Instead, he was anxious for his first meeting with teammates, so in order to ingratiate himself with the upperclassmen, he made a last second stop before showing up at the football house. Pressed for time and ideas, he frantically searched for food to feed a houseful of growing 18 to 22-yearolds. The only available option was a Subway on the College Avenue campus. And on a freshman’s budget, Chris Muller had neither the time, nor the funds to purchase several footlong subs, so he improvised. Scraping together the cash he could, the offensive lineman bought as many cookies as his funds would allow. “I decided to buy all the subway cookies and take them to the house because I didn’t wanna show up empty-handed,” Muller said. “I just didn’t wanna make a bad first impression.” Four years later, Muller has been a constant for the Scarlet Knights’ offensive line. His streak of 34 straight starts at right guard are second on the team only to Keith Lumpkin at left tackle, a senior who began his run just one game before the Pennsylvania native. Muller is a small-town guy raised in Perkiomenville, a sleepy town with a population of less than 6,000, located nearly 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia and about 30 miles east of Reading, in a state he claims “has the best players.” The 6-foot-6, 310-pounder is arguably the most outgoing and vocal member of the Knights, with a personality to match the size of his frame. “(Muller) is definitely one of the best leaders on the team,” said sophomore quarterback Chris Laviano. “He really pushes the line and he pushes the offense.” The junior guard can be found shouting signals to his linemates on Saturdays. No. 70 directs traffic along the line like a member of the NYPD standing in the middle of Times Square. He can be seen pointing and frantically gesturing with
his hands to confirm his teammates are aware of the pre-snap reads. “We’re just bouncing calls off of each other,” Muller said of his gyrations prior to the snap of the ball. He is more like a quarterback for the offensive line, Laviano said. “He’s just a big part of keeping everybody together,” the sophomore signal-caller said. “He’s a big part of the communication with the offense of line.” Muller visited Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame during his high school recruitment, but chose Rutgers instead with no regrets, he said. “I never had an allegiance to any schools in Pennsylvania,” the junior said. “So I guess I can call Rutgers my home. I feel the same amount of pride that the (New) Jersey players do running out representing this university because at the end of the day, I’m a Rutgers student and a Rutgers football player.” After the departure of graduating center Betim Bujari, he and Nelson were locked in competition late into August. Assessing the position battle, head coach Kyle Flood said then that he would be comfortable with Muller at either position. “It’s nice to have a guy who’s played as many games as he has, who can go in if you need him to,” Flood said back in August. Fast forward to week 11, Muller and his teammates face a win or go home scenario. With three games to play, Rutgers must win out to secure bowl eligibility for a sixth straight season. Muller will have a hand in the outcome, both in setting protections and keeping Nebraska away from his quarterback. But even if he were to make the block that springs the game-winning touchdown, the protection shift that allows for a big game or recovers a fumble to keep a drive alive, Muller has no interest in the limelight. He prefers to live vicariously through his teammates. “I’m okay with it because I don’t really like living in the spotlight,” he said. “I’ve been an offensive lineman all my life. I like to see other people get the glory. As long as I know I got my job done, I’ll be satisfied like that.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @KevinPXavier and @ TargumSports on Twitter.
November 13, 2015
Gameday Page 7
NO BOWL
Special teams pick up production for Rutgers GARRETT STEPIEN SPORTS EDITOR
Senior captain Quentin Gause has saved his best for last, posting a career-high 76 tackles and leads the team with 10 tackles for loss in his final season on the Banks. EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015
RU plays for seniors, postseason KEVIN XAVIER ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
As much as they try their best to regurgitate the company line, reality has begun to sink in for members of the Rutgers football team. Mired in a three-game losing streak, the Scarlet Knights (3-6, 1-4) enter Saturday’s matchup at High Point Solutions Stadium with Nebraska. They are faced with an ultimatum: win or go home. And the circumstances look all too familiar. Two days shy of a year ago, the Knights hosted Indiana needing a win to clinch bowl eligibility. Rutgers ripped the Hoosiers, 45-23, to secure the chance at a bowl berth. From there, they finished the season with a flurry in a dramatic 25-point comeback win over Maryland, allowing the Knights to secure an invitation to the 2014 Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit, Michigan. Rutgers ran roughshod over a decent North Carolina team in that game, 41-20, last December, a belated Christmas present for a team that just three weeks prior appeared as if it were walking dead. Fast-forward to 2015, and although some of the parts have changed, the storyline entering the final quarter of the season is nearly the same. The Knights need to win out in order to become bowl eligible, and they will have to start that streak against a Nebraska team sitting in the same wobbly boat. “We have three games left, but you focus on one game at a time,” said senior linebacker Quentin Gause. “That’s the mindset that you gotta have at this point in the season.” Gause has done his best to try and keep his team focused on the immediate future, but as the window in his career — and that of the rest of the seniors — begins to creak closed, he can’t help but
relinquish his stoicism regarding the daunting task Rutgers will face. “I mean, we’re all human. We’re going to talk about it,” Gause said. “But our main focus is being 1-0. That’s all you can think about.” Middle linebacker Kaiwan Lewis has already graduated from college. Lewis left South Carolina with one year of eligibility remaining to return home to the Garden State in the hopes of helping the Knights expand on the promise they flashed in the final four games of 2014. The Pleasantville, New Jersey, native has put together the best season of his career this fall totaling career highs in tackles and interceptions, but he has been asked about these do-or-die games before. “As I said before, after the Kansas game (Sept. 26), coming off a loss, every game is a must-win game,” Lewis said. “Every time I go out there, I don’t go out there (like), ‘It’s okay if we lose this one.’ I go out there to help my team win.” Junior defensive tackle Julian Pinnix-Odrick has been forced to fill some big shoes along the defensive line in 2015. After a lower body injury put senior Darius Hamilton on the sidelines for the remainder of the year, Rutgers turned to Pinnix-Odrick to pick up the torch. The 6-foot-5, 275-pounder has taken Rutgers’ recent struggles to heart, but he has managed to maintain his view of the present as a chance to right previous wrongs. “It’s just one of those things where you gotta come in and strap it up one more time and keep going. And then the next week — strap it up one more time and keep going,” he said. “As the season wears on, you just have to keep pushing.” It has been a struggle for JPO and the defense, surrendering 2,728 yards through the air and an average of 155 yards per game on the ground through the first three
quarters of the year. In the last four games, the Knights have been rendered non-competitive, giving up an average of 49.5 points per contest, a fact not lost on No. 53. “You don’t wanna look at it like that, but at the same time, we’re not naive,” Pinnix-Odrick said. “We’re not naive to what’s going on in the bigger picture.” That picture has not been pretty, but Gause won’t let the failings of the first nine games allow his defense to roll over in the face of adversity. The team’s second-leading tackler (76) feels that it is his responsibility to keep Rutgers focused on the task at hand and control only what the team has the ability to control — a positive mindset and the effort the Knights put forth. “You keep being positive,” the senior captain said. “You lead by example and you continue to play your heart out. You play your hardest ever y game. That’s the mentality.” Pinnix-Odrick eyes a different approach, a different motivation for getting a win on Saturday. He sees it as an opportunity to pay respect to Gause, Lewis and the rest of Rutgers’ seniors. It’s a shot to give them the chance to keep playing, after all they have sacrificed to put the program in a position to extend the streak of five consecutive bowl appearances. “We wanna win for the seniors, we wanna win for guys who are not gonna play again,” the junior said. “That’s what it means to a lot of us, to most of us, because those guys have contributed so much of their time. They contributed their bodies and their effort and their heart. We definitely wanna win for those guys.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @KevinPXavier and @TargumSports on Twitter.
For as much as the Rutgers football team has struggled on offense and defense, one area has been producing as much as possible. By default, that’s been the special teams unit. A pillar in the Scarlet Knights’ brand of football for years now, the role of special teams has had a new meaning in Piscataway in the midst of a three-game losing skid. The Rutgers offense hasn’t found the end zone since sophomore backup quarterback Hayden Rettig threw a touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Andre Patton with 13 seconds left in a 49-7 shellacking to then-No. 1 Ohio State on Oct. 24. The drought delves deeper with its starting quarterback, Chris Laviano. The sophomore has been blind of the end zone ever since his career-high 386 yards and three touchdowns led the Knights to a 25-point come-from-behind victory at Indiana on Oct. 17. Given the struggles of the offense finishing off scoring drives with six points, Rutgers has relied on Kyle Federico to put points on the board increasingly. The senior placekicker split the uprights on three kicks relatively referred to as chip shots with his conversions for 32, 29 and 27 yards out in the Knights’ 49-16 loss to then-No. 16 Michigan on Nov. 7, but Federico said he doesn’t approach any of those as givens. “I feel good. I always think, no matter the distance of the kick, a field goal’s a field goal, a game-winner a game-winner,” he said. “You still gotta go out there and make your kicks and really, it’s just about going out there and doing my thing, no matter where I’m put out there in what position and make my kicks.” That mentality is what has the Ponte Verde, Florida, native letting it fly in his final year on the Banks. Through nine games, Federico has shown the ability to convert in the kicking game, going 9 of 12 (75 percent) with a long of 48 yards. But Federico’s role to the special teams unit is only the beginning. Donning the same No. 1 jersey, but with the tips of his dreadlocks
dyed and an ability to slip and slide his way through defenders on kick returns, Janarion Grant’s contributions have come in eruptions. The junior speedster took matters into his own hands in Ann Arbor, taking a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown before nearly striking twice on a 67-yard punt return to set up a Federico field goal. Capping a day where he notched 263 all-purpose yards, Grant continues to rack his program record in career kick-return yardage (2,235) in a year where the Trilby, Florida, native is second in kick return yards (808) and tied for first in touchdowns (3). “It feels good to hold that title,” Grant said. “I’ve been working hard for it, each and every day, each and every game, trying to be the best at what I can do and I guess it’s improving. So that feels really good. I’m really excited about that.” Named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time this season and the first time since his school-record 337 all-purpose yards with a pair of touchdowns on a 100-yard kickoff return and a 55-yard punt return in a 37-34 loss to Washington State on Sept. 12, Grant has proven his worth when the ball finds its way into his hands. “It’s exciting for Janarion, and it’s exciting for our team,” said head coach Kyle Flood. “I think it’s really exciting for the other 10 players that are on those units. I think they all share in that award.” On top of Grant’s four kick returns for touchdowns, sophomore defensive end Kemoko Turay’s 26yard scoop-and-score in the third quarter on a botched punt from Indiana was the first domino to fall in the late rally. From all facets of the game, the unit has shown its ability to alter the game in the right situations. “Definitely on special teams, you see games won and lost ... and I just think it’s up to special teams to keep doing our thing,” Federico said. “Just, given the situations, to just do what we can. That’s all we can really do and all we can really do to help the team win.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @GarrettStepien and @TargumSports on Twitter.
Senior placekicker Kyle Federico and junior kick returner Janarion Grant headline a special teams unit producing for Rutgers recently. EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR / OCTOBER 2015
KEVIN XAVIER ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
On a defense that ranks at the bottom of the Big Ten against the pass and in total defense, it’s hard to believe that three defenders are having career years for the Rutgers football team. Two seniors and a junior have surpassed all expectations this season and they all happen to play in the same position group. After injuries have plagued the Scarlet Knights’ defensive line this fall, players were forced to switch positions or step into new roles. The loss of senior defensive tackle Darius Hamilton was a big blow to a defensive unit playing only its second year in the Big Ten, a conference that brims with talent on the offensive side of the ball. The Knights have demonstrated an inability to generate a pass rush, coupled with a general lack of penetration that has allowed teams to throw at will and run through the first level with the ground game. SEE STRENGTH ON PAGE 5
EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR