T.J. Birkel 
Greg Schiano runs onto the field Friday night.
After Nebraska overcame a sluggish start in West Lafayette to defeat Purdue handily (28-10), the Huskers return home Saturday to face Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights will come into Lincoln at 4-0, their best start in over a decade. Most betting lines currently have Nebraska favored by between 5.5 and 7 points.
I talked to Larry Krayn, host of the Knight Watch Podcast, to get the Rutgers perspective on the upcoming game.
Interview with Larry Krayn, Host of the Knight Watch Podcast
Rutgers is 4-0, the school’s best start since 2012. What are the vibes like around the fan base right now? What are the expectations for the remainder of the season?
Having started 4-0 for the first time in many years, the vibe around the program right now is very good. That was evident in our gameday experience this past Friday night vs. Washington. The crowd and loudness, etc. is the biggest and best I’ve seen since 2014, and the blackout might have been the most consistent color matching I’ve ever seen at Rutgers, with Michigan 2014 being the only one that comes close in my memory. That all being said, expectations for this season were pretty high amongst the fanbase due to Rutgers turning the corner last season, and many starters returning for their senior seasons. The Defense has not necessarily been where many fans would want it thus far, and so there is a bit of “wait and see” going on right now. Expectations are to finish the season with 8-10 wins, but a lot will depend on the game this week, as well as how strong teams like Illinois remain later in the year.
Rutgers has the #12 rushing offense in the country. What has been the key to their success on the ground?
You’ve got a stable of effective running backs. Kyle Monongai runs like a beast on a mission. Not only can he absorb hits, but he can be shifty, and knows how to find a crease by setting up defenders after a few plays of going the other way. Sam Brown has a bit of a different style but showed glimpses his freshman year before dealing with injury. He can cut back and find lanes, and once he gets to the second level, he’s very difficult to bring down. That isn’t even mentioning guys like Antwon Raymond and Ja’shon Benjamin who have shown flashes. As with anything in football, it comes down the trenches too. Rutgers has done an impressive job finally getting their offensive line up to size, quite literally, and up to Big Ten caliber. The starting line features massive humans of NFL caliber like Hollin Pierce, and angry maulers like Bryan Felter. A friend who coaches in D1 recently told me that upon reviewing Rutgers’ tape, he was blown away with how far the line had come in the last handful of years. Rutgers is going to dominate the line of scrimmage against non-BIG teams, and be formidable in conference in that respect.
The Scarlet Knights beat Virginia Tech 26-23, followed by a 21-18 victory over Washington. What has head coach Greg Schiano done to help his team close the deal in close games?
This is an interesting question that has an obvious answer that I’ll get to, but first I want to mention that in both contests, Rutgers had bigger leads that they let slip away in the second half. The Knights have to do a better job of being consistent. That being said, Virginia Tech was at home and has explosive players, and Washington is a very good team that after seeing in person, I expect to be in postseason conversations in terms of standings and bowl games or beyond. This is a good segue into my actual answer though – while the Huskies moved the ball up and down the field between the 20s, and the Hokies seized all momentum in front of the home crowd, Greg Schiano constantly preaches “chop,” and “chopping the moment.” He constantly says that “the biggest thieves are the past and future.” What he means is that staying in the immediate moment mentally, looking at that huge tree and just taking that axe and giving the best single chop you can in that moment, will eventually lead to fighting one’s way out of the forest, but thinking about the forest is detrimental. Rutgers did a great job in both games of forgetting the past and not worrying about the future. On key plays where they needed to execute, they did so. They stopped Washington in the red zone on key plays several times, and they converted red zone trips and opportunities themselves in order to bring the game home. As to the Virginia Tech game, Robert Longerbeam tipped a ball in the air and picked it off, and Kyle Monongai converted key first downs to end the game. They saw opportunities on single plays and did not allow them to slip away despite the overall ebbs and flows of the game. I’m not being a homer when I discuss this – I believe in Coach Schiano’s philosophies, and they are showing real results.
Who have been some key contributors for the Scarlet Knights so far this season? Who should Husker fans be worried about?
Obviously Kyle Monongai and Sam Brown at running back, but Athan Kaliakmanis has been sneakily very good this season. He passes accurately and efficiently in key moments, including third down, and he knows when to use his legs. Dymere Miller, a transfer wide receiver who led the MAC last year, understands the craft of the position and runs good routes, finding ways to get open. Chris Long is a deep threat, and Ian Strong is quickly becoming a fan favorite, big play wide receiver. Watch for Wesley Bailey to put pressure on the QB and Shaquan Loyal or Eric Rogers to snatch a ball out of the air, but the defense has struggled at times so far.
I’ve always admired how physical Greg Schiano’s teams are. Is that once again a trait of this year’s team?
In a word, yes. Rutgers is a very physical team, and going up against a very big and physical Washington team, they showed grit and persistence. Oddly for a Schiano team, I’m seeing more physicality from the offense than the defense right now, and if that doesn’t change along the defensive line and with the linebackers, Rutgers could face some serious adversity.
Rutgers is one of the few schools that has been in the Big Ten for less time than Nebraska. The teams have only played a handful of times. How do Rutgers fans view the Huskers? Is this considered a big game in the Scarlet Knight Common Fans’ eyes?
In the eyes of Rutgers’ fans, Nebraska is a storied program and a very difficult place to play. Fans in the New Jersey area remember several recruits, especially in the late decades of the 20th century and early 2000s that went to Nebraska to play big time college football. Fans are familiar with Matt Rhule, who obviously has a history in the Northeast and is a Northeastern guy. They have a lot of respect for the Huskers’ young quarterback and their fan base. Rutgers fans definitely view this as a very big game, and a win would mean a lot to them, as Rutgers has been notching victories against programs that historically have been on a higher plane, and it’s been part of the Knights’ resurgence/emergence as a legit big time college football program in the Big Ten.
What have you seen from Nebraska and does it make you feel better or worse about Rutgers’ chances on Saturday?
I’ve seen a team with a very talented, but young QB. A team with a ton of promise that has at times not looked as great running the football, but when they put it together can be dominant. I think Illinois is a much better team than anyone thought preseason, and I don’t think that game affects my perception of Nebraska. I think Dylan Raiola is concentrating more on tossing the ball around than getting out and running, which might somewhat limit an offense that otherwise might be even more explosive. Still, he’s completing passes at a very high clip, near 70% most games and is developing nicely. I feel slightly better than pre-season only because I had the Huskers looking nearly unbeatable at home pre-season with Raiola lighting it up even more yardage wise. But that doesn’t take into account what I’ve seen from Rutgers defensively which has counter-balanced that to an extent.
Rutgers wins if ______.
They can run the ball the way they have been, getting chunk plays and tough yards from their two top running backs, and balance that running game with efficient passing that takes advantage of opportunities which may be present when Nebraska loads in to stop the run. On the other side of the ball, Rutgers needs to limit big plays and do much better stopping the run and attempting to make the Huskers’ one dimensional, putting the game on the shoulders of a young QB.
Nebraska wins if ______.
Nebraska wins if they can take advantage of Rutgers’ “bend but don’t break” defense, and use this game to get their run game going the way they were able to do vs. Purdue but struggled to do vs. Illinois. If Raiola can take advantage of issues with Rutgers’ linebackers in the intermediate passing game, and work his way down the field, he will have chances to score and chances to convert big plays against an RU defense that has shown it allows a handful per game. If Nebraska’s defense can limit Rutgers’ ability to run, putting them behind the sticks or generally behind schedule, they can limit the effectiveness of Kaliakmanis’s passing attack, which will limit the arsenal Rutgers has to score points.
Final score prediction?
Preseason, I predicted this to be Rutgers’ first loss of the year, and I’m sticking to that. This will be a very difficult environment, and Rutgers is coming off of a home win high. The Knights’ defense has struggled this year, and relied on clutch plays to escape both Virginia Tech and Washington. The Knights have lacked QB pressures and definitely lacked sack numbers this year, and with a talented quarterback, that may be a problem. It was a problem vs. Will Rogers, but penalties, key stops, and a home crowd helped to mitigate it. The crowd won’t be on the same side this week, and penalties and key plays can’t be relied upon every week. I think this matchup will be a fun one, but I’m not convinced RU can stop Nebraska’s offense enough to win. I obviously hope I’m wrong. I’m predicting a 27-21 Nebraska victory.
Author’s note: Thanks to Larry Krayn, host of the Rutgers’ Knight Watch Podcast, for sharing his expertise with the Common Fans. Both the Common Fan Podcast (Nebraska) and the Knight Watch Podcast (Rutgers) are members of The College Huddle, the largest fan-led online college sports podcast community, made up of one podcast from each fan base represented.
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