On Saturday Nebraska faces off against an undefeated Rutgers. Rutgers is coming off a close win versus Washington this past week. Rutgers is a steady opponent and has been one that through the offseason many had picked as the toughest game leading up to the Ohio State game. Greg Schiano seems to always have Rutgers in position to win games and with former Minnesota quarterback Kailiakmanis at the helm the Scarlet Knights have a serviceable passing game. Defeating Howard, Akron, Virginia Tech and Washington, Rutgers seems to have found their stride of typical Big 10 Football which entails running the football and grinding out wins. At 4-0 it is expected that whichever team wins this weekend will be ranked heading into week six.
Rutgers is going to run the ball hard and run the ball often. Scarlet night running back Kyle Monangi is leading the Big Ten with 589 rushing yards on 97 carries. The 5’9, 209 pound running back is on track for an impressive season and will all but certainly become a 1,000 yard rusher this season. Averaging over six yards per carry the black shirts will have to lay off the defensive line stunts and blow up gaps to ensure Monangai is held to under 150 yards rushing on Saturday. If the Huskers can hold Monangai to that number the game should end with a Husker victory, if not then we could very easily end up in another dogfight. Nash Hutmacher has been relatively quiet this year accumulating 13 tackles, two tackles for loss and only one sack. Nash will have to increase his performance as the year goes on to stifle the run game of Rutgers, Ohio St, Wisconsin, USC and Iowa. John Bullock will also have to look to have another big game to help quiet the pivotal rushing attack of Rutgers.
Kaliakmanis has beaten the Huskers before and has the game management abilities to do it again. He is no Luke Altmyer which the Huskers struggled with in the Illinois game but he is a formidable opponent that will not make a unforced mistake, so our defensive line and defensive backs will have to work for their numbers this week.
On the offensive side, Nebraska will need to score on every chance they get. Unless the Blackshirts can stuff the Rutgers run game, possessions will be limited. A balanced attack, building off a combination of the run and pass early to wear down the Scarlet Knights as the game wears on. Raiola has been a sight for sore eyes so far this season, limiting turnovers and giving fans the hope that even 3rd and 30 isnt too much to overcome. Raiola will need to continue his outstanding freshman performance and maintain a low turnover rate. That paired with the Law firm of Dowdell, Johnson & Johnson getting an adequate amount of carries could easily see the Huskers pull ahead in a 31-21 victory on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Nebraska.
