After their season opener last Thursday, Rutgers will try to continue their momentum into week two on the road this Saturday against FIU.
The Scarlet Knights had a struggle to get their offense going in the first half, only scoring six points. But the defense was very impressive, holding Norfolk State to 156 total yards. It’s always said that defense wins, so the team will try to maintain their defensive excellence this week.
The offense put together a solid outing as well. The running game will need to excel against the Golden Panthers as it did in week one in their 31-0 victory. Junior running back Jason Martinek set the tone last week with 20 carries for 105 rushing yards, and the team combined for 268 overall yards on the ground. The passing game, led by quarterback Tom Savage, had an average performance but was good enough last game. He will look to make his average game above-average this week.
Special teams is always a crucial part of a football team, and Rutgers is no different. Kicker San San Te hit three field goals, but will have to work on his distance, missing two field goals Thursday night from 40 and 47 yards, respectively.
College football has little room for error when it comes to early season rust and jitters. Every game is crucial toward the postseason for the Scarlet Knights in the Big East, and they need to keep their winning ways going this week against FIU especially with a tough North Carolina team coming into town next week.
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Written by Chris Ryan
Chris Ryan is a Staten Island, NY native who recently graduated SUNY-Cortland majoring in sport management. At Cortland, he was the sports editor of the student-run newspaper The Dragon Chronicle for both his junior and senior year. He interned for the sports producer and sports anchor Bruce Beck at WNBC-4 Sports in New York City for their 6:00 and 11:00 news programs. Also, he interned this summer for the New York Jets as a sports writer for their website during their training camp which was shown on HBO's Hard Knocks program. Assignments included writing feature stories that were included on both newyorkjets.com and the Jets Playbook given out to the fans at the game. Chris is a Yankees, Giants, Knicks and Rangers fan.
