A struggling program travels to the Pacific Northwest to face a ranked foe in a Power Five matchup. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights try to start their season off on a positive note as they face the #14 Washington Huskies Saturday afternoon. The game kicks off at 2:00 pm ET from Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington and will be televised on the Pac-12 Network. The current odds in the contest currently show Washington as a 26.5 point favorite in the contest with the over/under set at 54 points.
Rutgers finished the 2015 season with a 4-8 record. The struggles of the Scarlet Knights led to the demise of the Kyle Flood era as the head coach. He left the program with a 27-24 record and three bowl appearances in four seasons. Washington finished the 2015 season with a 7-6 record as they got hot down the stretch. The Huskies were victorious in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, downing Southern Miss 44-31 in a high scoring affair.
This is the first meeting between the schools in history.
To take a look at our other picks from the week 1 schedule, click here to get the rundown.
Rutgers didn’t really beat anyone of substance last season. Their wins came over Indiana in a conference game along with non-conference wins over Norfolk State, Army and Kansas. Rutgers only had four contests decided by single digits last season. The team was 1-3 in those contests. All of the other games Rutgers had on their slate were blowouts. Coach Chris Ash has his work cut out for him taking over the program. Rutgers brings back seven starters on the offensive side of the ball as they make the transition to a spread offense. Ash’s biggest move was bringing in Drew Mehringer as the offensive coordinator.
The Scarlet Knights bring back seven starters on defense from a year ago but the team needs help. Rutgers was just 105th in scoring defense last year by allowing 34.9 points a game. The Scarlet Knights were 120th in the nation in sacks with 14, which was less than Carl Nassib had by himself for Penn State last season. The Scarlet Knights do have a pair of big corners that have talent but they can ill afford to be hung out to dry forever. Rutgers has to improve their run defense after giving up 186.2 yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry.
Washington won three straight games to close out the season, piling up 141 points in those contests. The Huskies were just 1-3 in games decided by seven points or less. With a year of solid experience under their belts, you have to think that Washington is better prepared for close games than they were last season. The Huskies bring back nine starters on the offensive side of the ball, led by quarterback Jake Browning. Washington finished 55th in the nation with an average of 30.6 points per game. Running back Myles Gaskin was a revelation as a freshman, becoming the first Washington freshman to run for more than 1,000 yards.
The Huskies were good defensively as they ranked 13th in the nation in scoring defense. Washington allowed 18.8 points a game. The Huskies bring back seven starters from last year’ s defense, including Budda Baker (49 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 picks) at safety. He’s considered by many as a preseason Pac-12 Player of the Year candidate. Corners Sidney Jones and Kevin King are back in the secondary from last year’s defense. Washington has to come up with capable replacements for Travis Feeney and Cory Littleton. That duo combined for 119 tackles, 28.5 tackles for loss and 14 sacks last year. Washington has to fill those shoes on the defensive line.
Washington is 4-0 ATS in their last four non-conference games, 4-1 ATS in their last five on fieldturf and 4-1 ATS in their last five in September. Rutgers is 1-5 ATS in their last six overall and 1-5 ATS in their last six on fieldturf.