Rutgers Football

Rutgers might sit alone atop the Big East conference, but there's simply too much football yet to be played for the Scarlet Knights to be playing in a BCS Bowl game.

After watching the Scarlet Knights score 21 unanswered fourth-quarter points to dispatch the Black Knights of Army on Saturday, Sports Illustrated's Stuart Mandel projects Rutgers to land in the Orange Bowl:

How's this for a revised BCS: Title: Oregon-KState. Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. A&M. Rose: Nebraska-ND. Sugar: UGA-Clemson. Orange: FSU-Rutgers.

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) November 11, 2012

Getting to the Orange Bowl won't be an easy proposition for the Scarlet Knights, who are entering the toughest part of their schedule.

Rutgers has to travel to both Cincinnati (7-2) and Pittsburgh (4-6) over the next two weeks, and while neither team is ranked in the Top 25, they both pose a significant challenge to the Scarlet Knights.

Cincinnati has beaten Rutgers in five of their past six meetings, and the Bearcats' offense, which averages 34 points a game and runs the ball (227 yards per game) nearly as well as it throws the ball (229 yards per game), is easily the most dangerous unit that the Scarlet Knights' defense has faced all season.

While Rutgers has had Pittsburgh's number as of late, winning four of their last six games against the Panthers, Pittsburgh hung with Lousiville earlier this season and took Notre Dame to triple overtime before falling—they're no cakewalk for the Scarlet Knights either.

Taking care of business in each of those games would be ideal, but a split would give Rutgers the same end result—a meeting in Piscataway with Louisville that will see the winner advance to a BCS Bowl and the loser relegated to the Russell Athletic Bowl, against the third-ranked team in the ACC.

Could there be a sequel to "Pandemonium in Piscataway"?

Sure, there could.

But like their BCS Bowl chances, it's far from a sure thing.

Rutgers has plenty of work left to do before making that dream a reality.

On the heels of their first loss of the season, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights return to action this weekend when they host the Army Black Knights. Despite the defeat by a surprising Kent State team, the Knights are still No. 23 in the BCS rankings and chasing down No. 9 Louisville (9-0) for the Big East title.

“These last four games will definitely define this Rutgers football team,” said linebacker Kaseem Greene (as quoted by Tom Luicci of The Star-Ledger on NJ.com). "There's something special about this team that I feel this year that I haven't felt any other year."

While the team has stumbled, it has not fallen. The perfect season may be gone, but Rutgers may be able to do something this season that it has never done before—win the Big East. If that's going to happen, its defense (ranked sixth overall in points against) will need to continue to choke out its opponents in case the offense has another turnover meltdown.

With two weeks to ruminate over his six-interception performance against Kent State, quarterback Gary Nova knows that there is no room for error as the team heads into the final third of the season. “Right now we control our own destiny,” explained Nova (as quoted in The Star-Ledger). “We can’t ask for anything more.”

This week's "Battle of the Knights" may seem to be a slam dunk for a 7-1 Rutgers team against the 2-7 Army squad, but a prolific Army running attack (first overall in the nation) could wear down the Scarlet Knights defense. Averaging over 375 yards per game, the Black Knights are led by option QB Trent Steelman (911 yards, 12 TDs) and RB Raymond Maples (907 yards, two TDs).

"They're athletic up front on the offensive line," head coach Kyle Flood explained during his weekly press conference (per the transcript on ScarletKnights.com). "That is going to be one of the keys to the game for us on defense is staying on our feet."

Despite averaging over 26 points per game, Army's weakness is its passing attack, which ranks 123rd in the nation. For all his talent as a runner, Steelman is just 29-of-61 passing this season for just 494 yards and one touchdown.

While their focus may be on the last three games of the season against Big East rivals (especially the season-ending clash with Louisville), the Scarlet Knights know that this week's opponent cannot be overlooked.

"You can expect to be in a battle, a very tough-fought battle for the duration of the game," Flood said of Army (per the transcript on ScarletKnights.com). "Regardless how that game goes, and you're always going to get an extremely spirited effort from their football team."

Game Time: 12 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 10, High Point Solutions Stadium, Piscataway, N.J. Television: ESPNU

The Kent State Golden Flashes neutralized Rutgers star quarterback Gary Nova and forced him into six turnovers to knock off the unbeaten Scarlet Knights two weeks ago.

That’s given the team time to lick its wounds and prepare for a patriotic Veterans’ Day weekend matchup against the Army Black Knights.

Rutgers, if you haven’t heard, will be donning these flashy new helmets to show their support for the country’s armed forces.

With a season-finale showdown with No. 9-ranked Louisville looming, this season is far from over for Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights have still got everything riding on winning out their remaining schedule until the Cardinals come to Piscataway to presumably fight for the Big East Championship.

Motivation from a possible BCS bowl appearance and the two-week rest they’ve just enjoyed should be enough to correct the mistakes and make adjustments for Army’s first-ranked rushing offense. Rutgers hasn’t played a very tough schedule to this point, but is sixth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 14.3 points per game.

Stopping the run has been a huge contributor to that success.

The Scarlet Knights boast the fourth-ranked rushing defense in the league, allowing just 88.5 yards per game on the ground. They’ve surrendered an average of just 171.3 yards per game on the ground in the previous seven matchups against the Black Knights.

No matter what happens this weekend, the Scarlet Knights would like to win their final nonconference matchup before a tough stretch of Big East games to finish their season. They’ll travel to both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh before hosting the finale date with Louisville.

Who better to have on the schedule than an Army team that Rutgers has beaten eight consecutive times by an average of 21 points?

Keeping their Top 25 ranking and building momentum after the disappointing loss to Kent State are also strong motivators for the team. If it can get back on track with an impressive performance, Rutgers may be able to get back the confidence that helped it to eight consecutive wins to begin the season.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights saw their undefeated season evaporate last week, but are still tied with Louisville at 4-0 in the Big East. They host the Army Black Knights in a second straight non-conference contest on Saturday.

Army is flying high after a surprising win over Air Force last weekend. They could have an upset on their mind as they make their way to New Jersey.

Rutgers won't be easily surprised this weekend. Their surprising 35-23 loss to Kent State cost them an undefeated season and the coaches will push them in practice this week to avoid a flat performance. 

When: Saturday, Nov. 10 at 12 noon ET

Where: High Point Solutions Stadium, Piscataway, New Jersey

Watch: ESPNU

Live Stream: Watch ESPN

Radio: Free Football Radio

Betting Line (via Covers)

Over/Under: OFF, Spread: Rutgers -18

The problem with an 18-point spread is Rutgers just doesn't score many points. They've scored 35 twice this season, but they tend to fall in the mid-20's.

Their defense should be able to shut down Army, but even a 13-point output will make it hard to cover 18 points. I would give up 15 to bet on Scarlet, but at 18 I'm going with Black.

Injury Report (via USA Today)

Army
Player	Pos.	Injury	Status
Marques Avery	DB	Undisclosed	Questionable
Ty Shrader	DB	Leg	Questionable
Terry Baggett	RB	Knee	Out
Hayden Pierce	DB	Collarbone	Out for Season
Rutgers
Player	Pos.	Injury	Status
Kyle Federico	K	Hip	Questionable
Max Issaka	DE	Personal	Out
Daryl Stephenson	DL	Foot	Out
Al Page	DL	Leg	Out for Season

BCS/Top-25 Implications

This game holds very little meaning relative to BCS status. Rutgers is still alive for a BCS bowl game but their fate lies in a showdown with Louisville on Nov. 29th.

It is implausible that Rutgers will get selected for a game prior to the last selection, where the Orange Bowl will slate the Big East winner.

Army Player to Watch: Trent Steelman, QB

The Army offense starts and ends with Steelman. He's the quarterback, a term I use loosely, and top rusher on the team.

The senior signal-caller holds just a four-yard lead in rushing distance over junior running back, Raymond Maples. Steelman averages 5.1 yards per carry vs. 8.1 yards per pass attempt. 

Granted, he has only attempted 61 passes, completing 29 with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Rutgers Player to Watch: Khaseem Greene, LB

Greene is an emerging defensive talent and was recently selected as a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, honoring the best defensive player in college football.

Greene is the team leader in tackles with 75, sacks (4.0) and forced fumbles (4). He also has a pair of interceptions. 

Recognition is nothing new for Greene. He was the Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year last season. The Bednarik Award is a stretch considering the defensive talent across the country but the nomination demonstrates what he brings to the field.

Rutgers will lean on Greene to shut down Steelman and the Army offense.

Prediction: Rutgers 30, Army 13

This prediction comes in with Rutgers just missing the cover on an 18-point spread. This should be a comfortable win for the home crowd, but the Scarlet Knights just don't score that many points.

Greene will control the Army ground attack and his offense should open up a lead by halftime. But the starters will likely get a bit of a rest, allowing a late touchdown for Army to spoil the spread.

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Darin Pike is a writer for Bleacher Report's Breaking News Team and a Featured Columnist covering the NFL and the Seattle Seahawks.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights will unveil a new patriotic helmet for this Saturday's game against Army in Piscataway, New Jersey.

First off, I have to commend Rutgers for paying their respects to the United States military this weekend. Although both sides will be gunning for a victory once the ball is kicked off, it's important to be aware of the sacrifices others make for our safety and well-being, especially in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Here's a look at what the Rutgers players will suit up with this weekend.

The Star-Ledger's Tom Luicci confirmed that the helmets were designed to honor all those who serve via Twitter:

Rutgers will have Stars and Stripes on helmets vs. Army on Saturday. Coach Kyle Flood said it's a way to honor all service men and women.

— Tom Luicci (@TomLuicci) November 5, 2012

The helmets will feature the Rutgers "R" decked out in an American flag pattern, very similar to what North Carolina did earlier this season.

So far, the Twitter reaction has been all positive for the special occasion helmets. This tweet from JDH captures the feelings of many about Rutgers' patriotic headgear: 

I wanna buy one of those Rutgers helmets just to wear around the house to feel like a badass. #America

— J D H (@jdhawes17) November 5, 2012

It's hard to knock Rutgers' new-look helmets considering they are a tribute to the men and women who defend our freedom on a regular basis. But I will say that I'm not the biggest fan of the scratches and faux damage, which makes the helmet look more recycled than fresh out of combat.

As for the pattern, the theme and the overall attention they will draw this weekend, there's not a thing I don't love. I know I'll be rooting for Rutgers this Saturday and beyond.

The Stars and Stripes theme never gets old and has never been more appropriate given the incredible amount of devastation many folks on the East Coast, and especially in New Jersey have experienced over the past week. 

Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter. 

Rutgers had a huge setback last week, but the season is far from over.

The Scarlets Knights lost 35-23 at home to Kent State in a game that derailed their perfect season. Fortunately, the team is still in good position to reach a BCS bowl by winning the Big East title.

With a 4-0 conference record, the team is currently tied with Louisville on top of the Big East. Rutgers controls its own destiny, but it will need to follow these keys in order to keep putting marks in the win column. 

Avoid Turnovers

It is almost impossible to win when you turn the ball over seven times in a game. That is exactly what happened when Rutgers suffered its first loss of the season to Kent State.  

The normally accurate Gary Nova threw six interceptions, and it gave his team no chance to win the game. 

Nova had only thrown three picks heading into the game, so this is not something that should be a concern going forward. However, it showed a blueprint of what it takes to beat this team.

Louisville and Cincinnati are both good at forcing turnovers, so the Scarlet Knights have to be very careful with the football in order to keep winning.

Get the Ball to Jawan Jamison

Jamison broke out at the end of last season with 131 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the Pinstripe Bowl. Since then, the running back has been on a tear, with six 100-yard games out of eight this season.

In the two games that the junior finished with less than 100 yards, Rutgers had its only loss and its closest win of the year over Syracuse.

Nova is a solid quarterback, but the offense is much more effective when it goes through the running game. The Scarlet Knights must continue to get the ball to its best player in order to control the clock and score points. 

Stop Getting Penalties

Although the team has gotten better in recent weeks, penalties have been a killer to the Scarlet Knights this season.

They are currently ranked No. 114 in nation with 8.38 penalties per game, costing them an average of 67.38 yards.

With an elite defense, the penalties are rarely a problem. However, the offense is not good enough to afford the type of mistakes that it has suffered.

The schedule gets more difficult in the coming weeks, so the team cannot beat themselves with penalties.

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Rutgers has two weeks to look back at the mistakes it made during an upset loss to Kent State and the Scarlet Knights must learn and improve before taking the field against Army.

Quarterback Gary Nova threw six interceptions and Rutgers had seven turnovers as a team in the 35-23 stunner. The Scarlet Knights were undefeated and ranked No. 18 in the country heading into the game.

Even though the disappointing loss ruined the team’s perfect record, Rutgers still has a chance to enjoy a successful season if it can bounce back.

Here is what the Scarlet Knights must do to move past the loss and continue winning. 

Take Care of the Ball

Turnovers completely killed the Scarlet Knights’ chances to beat Kent Sate, and the team must take care of the ball against Army.

Nova had just three interceptions entering the game, but tripled his total with an abysmal performance. The mistakes continued to pile up throughout all four quarters and the sophomore signal-caller now has extra time off to focus on what he must do to avoid making the same mistakes.

He was unable to stay calm under pressure, and must get used to throwing the ball effectively when blitzed.

If the team plagues itself with giveaways like it did against Kent State, it will certainly have more than one loss on its record when the season is over.

Establish the Run

Rutgers has not been overly successful running the ball this season, but now that Kent State has provided a blueprint to take down the Scarlet Knights, the rushing game must become a larger part of the offense.

If Jawan Jamison can get comfortable early in the game, it will take a significant amount of pressure off of Nova. He will not feel that he has to force throws, and a successful running game will neutralize opposing pass-rushers.

Pounding the ball on the ground will also allow Nova to sell play-action passes more effectively. These fakes will cause linebackers to jump and the middle of the field will be more open for the young quarterback.

Nova will show vast improvements from his previous performance if the Scarlet Knights are able to move the ball on the ground. 

Dominate on Defense

While the offense was certainly the weak spot in the Scarlet Knights’ performance against Kent State, the strength of this team is on defense. Rutgers must dominate on this side of the ball.

Khaseem Greene and the other senior leaders must set the tone on defense and ensure that the unit lives up to its vast potential every game from this point on.

Rutgers is still alive and in control of its own destiny in the Big East, as Kent State was not a conference opponent. 

If the Scarlet Knights do win out, it will all start with how the team plays on defense. The performance on all three levels will make or break the rest of the season. 

Seven turnovers—six of them interceptions thrown by quarterback Gary Nova—sealed the fate of Rutgers in their game against Kent State, and ended the hopes of an undefeated season for the Scarlet Knights. Things started well for Rutgers, taking a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. But the game turned as Kent State took full advantage of Rutgers' miscues, scoring 21 unanswered points before the Knights finally mustered a touchdown with just four seconds left in the first half.

"It's a terrible feeling," said Nova about the 35-23 loss and the end of the undefeated season (as reported by the Associated Press on ESPN.com). "You've just got to take the punches and keep going."

Nova, who has shown steady maturity and improvement as the season has progressed, never appeared to get on track until the second half. Down 28-17, the Knights were driving in the third quarter when Nova (25-of-46, 313 yards) hit Quron Pratt running free in the Kent State secondary. While running after the catch, Pratt simply fumbled without being hit—ending the drive.

Rutgers running back Jawan Jamison was held under 100 yards (15 carries for 84 yards, one TD) for the second time in three weeks. Indicative of the type of day the Knights had, Jamison was also the team's leading receiver with eight catches.

"It happened, we can't dwell on it," said Jamison about the defeat (via Tom Luicci of The Star-Ledger on NJ.com). "We've got to keep pressing forward." 

The Golden Flashes, who had never beaten a ranked opponent in their history, kept possession for more than 37 minutes in the game, pounding the ball for 224 yards on the ground. While the Rutgers defense held Kent State to just 5-of-13 on third downs, the seven Rutgers turnovers simply gave the Flashes more possessions than the Knights could stop.

"This is a great win for our program," said Kent State head coach Darrell Hazell (via the AP). "Rutgers kept fighting back, and our guys kept fighting them off."

The loss leaves Louisville (8-0) as the only undefeated team in the Big East. Now at 7-1, Rutgers is still 4-0 in the Big East with games against conference foes Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Louisville remaining. The Scarlet Knights have a bye week upcoming, and are next in action against the Army Black Knights on Nov. 10.

"There's a goal that is in front of us that's never been done at Rutgers, the Big East Championship," Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood (via the AP) said. "I think we'll be very motivated, there's no doubt about that."

No. 15 Rutgers entered Saturday undefeated, but Kent State ensured that it wouldn't remain that way, defeating the Scarlet Knights 35-23.

Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova pretty much handed the game to the Golden Flashes. With six interceptions on the day, including one that was returned for a touchdown, Nova's poor performance was the main reason that his team couldn't take care of business at home. 

Other than the team's seven total turnovers, Rutgers played relatively well. The Golden Flashes were opportunistic and used a consistent run game to gain yards and and put points on the board.

After a Spencer Keith touchdown toss gave Kent State a 7-3 lead after the first quarter, Rutgers fell apart. Keith's score was the first of three consecutive touchdowns, putting the Scarlet Knights in a 21-3 hole until Nova found wide receiver Tim Wright for a score with four seconds remaining in the half.

The second half was more evenly matched—Trayion Durham gave Kent State a 28-10 lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the third quarter before Nova answered with a touchdown to Brandon Coleman—but the damage was already done. Trading scores with a team when you're down by two possessions makes the mountain you're climbing that much steeper.

If the Scarlet Knights had been able to get stops, or hold onto the ball, that might have been enough. However, Keith's second touchdown toss of the game, this time to wide receiver Josh Boyle, put Kent State up 35-17 with a little less than 12 minutes remaining.

Rutgers' star running back, Jawan Jamison put the score at 35-23 with just over 10 minutes left, but it wasn't enough. Neither team scored in the game's remaining minutes, sealing the win for the Golden Flashes.

Aside from Kent State's six interceptions, Durham's 131 yards paced the offense. Keith took care of the ball, and the Golden Flashes did a good job of allowing Rutgers to beat itself.

For the Scarlet Knights, the loss damages their already-small BCS hopes. A Big East title is still in play, but the undefeated mystique is gone.

Kent State (7-1) will play Akron next week, while Rutgers (7-1) looks to bounce back against Army in two weeks.

Last week's victory over Temple did little to convince those who feel that Rutgers is a pretender in the BCS standings.

This week, however, brings Kent State—a team currently 6-1 with a five game winning streak. In all likelihood, Kent State will be heading to a bowl game this postseason.

A big part of the Golden Flashes' success this year is senior quarterback Spencer Keith. The 6'3" native of Little Rock, AR sports a QB rating of 114.8 this season (95-of-171 for 1,042 yards) with six TD passes.

Two favorite targets of Keith are freshman wide receiver Josh Boyle (20 receptions for 280 yards and two TDs) and running back Dri Archer. With 20 receptions so far this season, Archer has also scored three touchdowns as a receiver.

But Kent State has lived on the run this season with two talented backs.

Archer, a 5'8" junior from Laurel, FL is also the team's top rusher, having amassed 687 yards and eight touchdowns already this year. The second half of the Golden Flashes' one-two punch is sophomore Trayion Durham, whose 649 yards and seven touchdowns make him a threat equal to Archer.

With Kent State 6-1 and Rutgers 7-0 this season, the teams are remarkably similar in success, especially when one considers that each is 4-0 in their respective conferences.

It would also serve the Scarlet Knights well to note that Kent State has scored 31 or more points in five of their six wins this season and that MAC teams have matched up well against the Big East in 2012.

"They’re aware of the teams in the MAC conference that have had success against the Big East and other conferences this year," head coach Kyle Flood said of his players (as reported by Andrea Adelson on ESPN.com). "That happens every year."

Rutgers relied on their defense last week to keep the game close at 10-0 before the offense exploded in the second half with 35 unanswered points on the way to a victory.

“To have players that have enough composure that when those things are going against you, to come out and play a good clean second half, those are the signs of a good football team,” said Flood in summarizing the team's effort against Temple (as reported by Dave Hutchinson of The Star-Ledger on NJ.com).

But if the Knights are looking ahead to the final three weeks of the season when they finish up against an all-Big East stretch, they can easily stumble this week or next week against Army.

It's a message that Kyle Flood drills into his team each week as the undefeated season continues.

"You better be ready to compete every week," preaches Flood (per Andrea Adelson on ESPN.com), "because you’re going to be playing against good players."

Game Time: Saturday, Oct. 27, 3:30pm at High Point Solutions Stadium, Piscataway, N.J. Television coverage: ESPN3