On Saturday night in Piscataway, NJ, the Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) open the conference schedule at Rutgers University’s High Point Solutions Stadium, welcoming the Scarlet Knights (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) over from the American Athletic Conference.
Penn State comes off a 21-3 victory in its home opener against Akron, improving to 2-0 on the season. This will be the first true road game, as the season opener was played against Central Florida on a neutral field in Dublin, Ireland. Rutgers was victorious at Washington State in its opener, winning a 41-38 high-scoring thriller. The Scarlet Knights moved to 2-0 last week, as well, defeating FCS opponent Howard. Penn State now faces a second straight opponent that played Howard the week prior. Akron had defeated Howard 41-0, while Rutgers won its matchup 38-25, indicating that Rutgers is not as strong as Akron when comparing a common opponent.
Regardless, the home team will be amped up for this one, hosting a Big Ten opponent for the first time as a new member in one of the NCAA’s major football conferences. Maryland also joined the Big Ten for the 2014 season. Those three schools currently lead the Big Ten’s East division with 2-0 records, while Indiana is 1-0 and Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State all sit just behind with 1-1 starts. No team in the Big Ten has played a conference game yet and only the Penn State-Rutgers matchup is a conference duel in this, the third week of the college football season.
Penn State is fueled by a dangerous air attack which ranks fifth in the nation at 386.5 yards per game. Christian Hackenberg, the sophomore starting quarterback, is 54-83 for 773 yards through two games. He has four touchdowns, but also four interceptions. The Nittany Lions ground game has been less stellar, with Zach Zwinak (62 yards) and Bill Belton (52 yards) each averaging under three yards per carry. Rutgers is led by senior QB Gary Nova, who has completed 67.4 percent of his passes for 563 yards, six touchdowns and just one interception. Junior Paul James has averaged over five yards per carry en route to 216 yards and four touchdowns. He also has proven to be dangerous in the passing game, turning two receptions into 100 yards and two touchdowns.
The high-powered Rutgers offense has kept the Scarlet Knights afloat in the early going, as the defense has certainly struggled. Allowing 63 points to two winless opponents, it may be realistic to expect Penn State to be able to score at will in this matchup. Rutgers has collected four turnovers and Penn State has struggled in that department thus far, so it may very well be the difference between a close game or a blowout.
Head coach James Franklin’s Nittany Lions received the news Monday that the NCAA was immediately lifting the school’s postseason ban, making Penn State eligible for a Big Ten championship game berth and bowl game consideration. With a renewed energy knowing the potential to play beyond the regular season, the team has an opportunity to take a seat atop the conference standings early in the season. The Rutgers program, led by head coach Kyle Flood, has moved from the Big East to the American Athletic Conference to the Big Ten in just a few years. This latest move provides the Scarlet Knights the chance to play against and host major programs regularly, including Penn State. Flood’s team finished last season 6-7 but was invited to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankees Stadium, where they lost to Notre Dame.
Kickoff Saturday is at 8 pm and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
