Indiana Football versus Rutgers: know your opponent

Indiana football is coming off arguably one of its best wins in program history versus Penn State and looks onward to Rutgers.

As the #17 Hoosiers prepare to take on the Scarlet Knights, we prepare you so you know what to expect from game two of the 2020 season.

Rutgers is not to be underestimated

Coach Greg Schiano doesn’t have a lot of talent on his roster, but he has won at Rutgers before and has his team undefeated after one game. Granted, that win was against a horrible Michigan State team who may very well be the worst team in the Big Ten, but it is a win nonetheless.

Stats and talent aside, Rutgers is probably pretty fired up to be 1-0 after being almost a consensus last place in preseason power rankings. They showed the ability to put up points, scoring 38 in their first game. It isn’t like they won in a 10-7 brutally ugly game — they were able to make some plays happen.

However, the box score of the game is one of the most bizarre you will ever see. The final score was 38-27, but the stats do not reflect that of a high-scoring game. Michigan State finished with 369 yards, actually out-gaining Rutgers, who had 276.

Forcing turnovers

Rutgers managed to force seven turnovers against Michigan State — two interceptions and five fumbles. Some of these turnovers were unforced errors, but several were caused by their feisty defense. They stripped the ball, hit the quarterback in the middle of his throwing motion, and had well-placed hits which jarred the club loose.

Moreover, they cashed in on these forced turnovers, which is how they got the majority of their 38 points.

Poor performance on both sides of the ball

Conversely, Rutgers turned the ball over themselves quite a bit. They fumbled twice and threw one interception.  They had a mere 276 total yards, a testament to the great field position they had from their forced turnovers.

When they didn’t have great field position, however, Rutgers struggled to produce offense of any kind. Noah Verdal, their senior quarterback, only threw for 169 yards and one touchdown. Lead back Isaih Pacheco averaged just 3.2 yards per carry, although he did score two touchdowns.

Rutgers’ 38-point first game is likely a fluke caused by Michigan State simply being a bad team which is capable of committing seven turnovers in a game.

When Michigan State’s junior quarterback Rocky Lombardi wasn’t fumbling or throwing to the wrong team, he was picking apart the Rutgers’ secondary. He was 31/43 with 319 yards and three touchdowns.

The Skinny

Rutgers isn’t a very good team. There were some promising notes from their week one victory, but the Hoosiers should have a pretty easy time taking care of them. If they can take care of the ball, avoid penalties, and stop the Rutgers rushing attack, Indiana should find themselves 2-0.