Knights face another tough task in No. 4 Michigan
Another week, another monumental task for a 1-8 football team that has dropped its last eight games.
Rutgers is 37 1/2-point underdog at home against No. 4 Michigan this week.
“It’s a very good football team. Right now they are playing with a lot of confidence,” coach Chris Ash said of the Wolverines. “Probably playing as good as any team in the country.
“The years I’ve coached against Michigan, it’s probably one of the best teams they have had. The way they are playing on both sides of the ball. So it’s going to be a tremendous challenge and great opportunity for us to continue to try to improve against a great opponent here on Saturday.”
The Scarlet Knights made some progress in their 31-17 loss at Wisconsin last week — enough to be recognized by a coach searching for answers.
“Just really proud of the effort that our players put forth,” Ash said. “There was a lot of improvements that we made, continued to make, coming out of that game, after watching it, still not clean enough and consistent enough to be able to win a game against that type of opponent, but some improvements that we can take from that game and build on as we move forward.”
Freshman quarterback Artur Sitkowski was 20-of-39 for 239 yards against previously ranked Wisconsin, but this week goes against the No. 1 defense in the country and this might not be pretty.
“It starts, (they’ve) got a bunch of good players,” Ash says of the Wolverines’ defense. “They have guys that have been playing for a while, also. It’s a talented group. It’s a veteran group. They have been playing together for quite some time. They play fast. They are physical. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. They capitalize on offensive mistakes and usually make you pay if you do that. They are an impressive group to watch.”
Running back Raheem Blackshear had a big game against Wisconsin, with 162 receiving and 200 all-purpose yards.
Rutgers, winners over only Texas State this season, is down at the bottom of many of the FBS stats. The Scarlet Knights are129th in the nation in scoring and offensive pass efficiency, 127th in total offense and yards per completion, 126th in first down yardage, 125th in turnover margin, 123rd on third down,120th in rushing, 118th in passing and 111th in sacks per game.