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Article Index
BY MATT SUGAM
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
1. Rutgers’ Savon Huggins isn’t ready to be the workhorse running back. The true freshman running back’s youth was exposed on the first drive of Saturday’s 38-26 Rutgers victory over Ohio. He fumbled twice — an Ohio defender punched out the first, the second was a poor exchange between quarterback Chas Dodd and Huggins. Huggins wouldn’t see the field again until 9:13 left in the second quarter — when Jawan Jamison (97 Yards on 29 carries) was injured — and scored a touchdown on his first play back. Coming to Rutgers as New Jersey’s No. 1 recruit led to more pressure on the 6-0, 200-pounder’s shoulders than any other player in school history. He’s handled it well, and it’s too early for fans to turn on their savior, but they’ll eventually get restless if they don’t see more production as the season goes on. Remember that guy Tom Savage?
2. Mohamed Sanu is Chas Dodd’s go to guy. This became obvious last game when Sanu had 13 catches for 119-yards and a touchdown. But for a team that has a logjam at wide receiver, Sanu’s the only one that hasn’t gotten stuck. He set a Big East record for receptions with 16, along with 176 yards and 2 touchdowns. As the 6-2, 215 pound junior’s numbers go up, so does his NFL draft stock.
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3. The offensive line situation is still unsettled. As it was speculated all week, there was a shakeup on the right side of the offensive line. Redshirt freshman Betim Bujari started over Antwan Lowery, a redshirt sophomore, at right guard while true freshman Kaleb Johnson started over redshirt senior Desmond Stapleton at right tackle. After a failed game of musical chairs last season, a consistent starting unit needs to be found. However this was a good week for head coach Greg Schiano to see what the young guys can do against a lesser opponent. Bujari struggled early getting blown off the ball while Johnson held his own.
4. Defense displays why revamping was a must. When Schiano thought about revamping the defense, it was for one reason. They looked slow. After getting torched by the spread offenses in the Big East (i.e. 661 points and 69 points against Cincinnati), Schiano went back to the undersized defense that put Rutgers on the map circa 2006. Facing a high-octane spread offense, the speed is what kept Ohio’s offense at bay. Sure they gave up 404 yards, but a lot of that was due to several big plays. And just think how many more yards a bigger, slower defense would have given up.
