newjerseynewsroom.com

BY MATT SUGAM

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

1. Rutgers offense finally had their breakout game

Sort of. Head coach Greg Schiano has said for several weeks that he feels his offense was on the brink of a breaking through. They finally did against West Virginia. At least for the first half. The stats aren’t anything to gawk at (148 rushing yards, 235 passing yards for 383 total yards), but that’s during a snowstorm. The offense was also in control of the ball throughout the game with 34:35 time of possession. They also scored 31 points, albeit all those points and most of the offensive production came in the first half.

2. Rutgers may have found their offensive line

For the first time all season, Rutgers stuck with the same five offensive linemen throughout the game. From left to right it was Andre Civil, Desmond Wynn, Caleb Ruch, Art Forst and Kaleb Johnson. Forst had been splitting time with Betim Bujari, but Bujari sat the game out with an ankle injury. The only switch was when David Osei came in at left guard for Wynn when Wynn went down with an injury. The line paved the way for 148 rushing yards in their best performance of the season.

3. Gary Nova, Mark Harrison and San San Te prove they have short memories

After being the goats in the loss to Louisville, the three bounced back to have solid games. The freshman quarterback went 18 for 46 for 235 yards and also ran five times for 10 yards. Sure his completion percentage wasn’t great, but neither was the weather. Mark Harrison hauled in a 45-yard touchdown after dropping the potential game-winning touchdown against Louisville. Te hit a 40-yard field goal after missing his last four, including two chip shots against the Cardinals.

4. The revamped defense still struggles against the spread

Schiano moved players down a level at each position on defense to have a speedier defense. This was done with the spread offense of West Virginia and Cincinnati in mind. Well, it appears the changes didn’t help all that much. The defense gave up 442 total yards and 41 points. And against a pass oriented offense, the defense surrendered 223 rushing yards.

5. Greg Schaino shows his guts

To try and beat West Virginia for the first time in 16 years, Schiano took a couple rolls of the dice. First was going for it on a fourth and one. It would pay off as Jawan Jamison would run off right tackle for an 18-yard touchdown. On the second gamble, the Knights would attempt a fake field goal pass. Catching the Mountaineers off guard, holder Pat Kivelhan’s pass bounced off the hands of Brandon Coleman in the endzone.

For more Rutgers football coverage follow Matt Sugam on Twitter @MattSugam and on Facebook