| This one is for the sickos. Rutgers and Iowa are both in the top 3 or 4 of the Big Ten in all of the traditional defensive stats, while ranking #13 and #14 in offensive ypg. Spencer Petras showed some signs of life for the first time all season in Iowa's 27-0 win over Nevada. The bar was low, considering he was completing just 45% of his passes, for 100 passing ypg, no touchdowns and 2 picks. But he nearly doubled is ypa from the Cy-Hawk loss the week before, and considering how bad Iowa has been running the ball, Petras needs to at least be serviceable, particularly against the Rutgers front seven. The Scarlet Knights lead the Big Ten in run defense in ypc, while the Iowa offense ranks #14 in the stat. Getting back three receivers from injuries can't be overlooked as a factor either, there is something tangible to point to in Petras' performance. While Rutgers' raw defensive numbers pop, their opponents can't be overlooked as a factor. While Iowa sits #4 nationally in defensive SP+, Rutgers remains #38, which is actually 10 spots lower than a Mississippi State defense that just gave up 21 4th quarter points to LSU; 5 spots lower than a Michigan State defense that just got shredded; and 2 spots lower than Arkansas, which just gave up 27 to FCS Missouri State. Rutgers' two FBS opponents (Boston College and Rutgers), actually put up more points against Rutgers than they did against their other FBS opponent. And while Iowa's offense appears to be getting healthy, and trending in the right direction, Rutgers' offense is doing the opposite. They failed to score an offensive touchdown in beating Temple 16-14, with three field goals and a defensive touchdown. I questioned last week whether Schiano would eventually go from Gavin Wimsatt to Evan Simon at quarterback, but that he appeared to prefer Wimsatt's ceiling. Well, Simon got more of the playing time Saturday, and 9-15 for 52 yards doesn't really signal that it was because he was doing anything to win it. In fact, it was his worst game. The play design has to help him. Aron Cruickshank caught 5 passes...for 18 yards. For an athlete with that talent and burst, that's almost impossible to design. This one's in Piscataway, but that hasn't seemed to help Rutgers lately, who hasn't won a Big Ten home game in 5 years. |