Published Dec 11, 2020
Behind Enemy Lines: Rutgers
Scott Greene  •  TerrapinSportsReport
Publisher

Coming off of a third cancellation in four weeks, the Terps are back in action this week, as they are set to take on Rutgers in College Park for senior day. Their last time out at Indiana, the Terps put up a fight defensively, but were unable to get anything going on the offensive side of the ball, falling to the Hoosiers, 27-11.

TSR went in depth with TheKnightReport.net Rich Schnyderite to get some perspective on the Scarlet Knights and his thoughts on Saturday's matchup between Maryland and Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights have experimented with a few different quarterbacks this season, but it appears Noah Vedral is the main man. What does he bring to the table and for what reasons might we see any other Rutgers quarterbacks rotate in?

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Vedral is a little bit different than the Rutgers quarterbacks of the past few years. He hits the short and intermediate routes pretty well and does a good job of being a game manager overall. On top of that, he has some mobility which can help at times, as the O-Line isn’t always the best.

So here’s the fun part, under new OC Sean Gleeson, Rutgers has put in multiple quarterbacks throughout just about every single game so far this season. Rutgers has occasionally used Johnny Langan in two quarterback packages at times, as well as goal line packages. Whenever you see Langan in, the Scarlet Knights are most likely running the ball with him and sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t. Regardless there is a good chance you see both Langan and Vedral.

Isaih Pacheco is a runner that Maryland had its eyes on in recruiting, but he decided to stay home and play for the local program. As the Scarlet Knights' leading rusher, how much of a threat is he to take over a game, especially against a Maryland rush defense that has struggled at times this season?

He’s a legit threat to run for 100+ in just about any game. He’s proven time and time again he can do it against even the best of teams. However this year it seems the run game has regressed a little bit, as the pass game as been much better. I would look for the Scarlet Knights to pass the ball more than they have in the past couple of years.

Olakunle Fatukasi is a stud linebacker for Rutgers. But who else on the defensive side of the ball does Maryland have to worry about?

Other than Fatukasi, I would watch out for the Rutgers defensive line. The Scarlet Knights added a couple of transfers along that unit who have been key contributors this season in Michael Dwumfour (Michigan), Aaron Lewis (Michigan) and Mayan Ahanotu (Minnesota). Add in another year of development for Mike Tverdov and Julius Turner and you have a pretty dangerous defensive line.

Rutgers has really seemed to respond well to Greg Schiano in his first season back as the head coach of the Scarlet Knights. Why is he such a great fit for this program and what's the one trait of his that you think has rubbed off on this year's Scarlet Knights team the most?

Honestly Greg Schiano is the best fit for Rutgers for the sole fact that he’s one of the only coaches that has actually taken Rutgers Football to that next level. It’s pretty crazy to think that the Scarlet Knights started college football and have never had that many good seasons in its history. However during Schiano’s first tenure on the banks, he told guys that he would help lead them to a national championship and while he never got there, he got closer than anyone else has, as the Scarlet Knights were once ranked as high as number seven in the country back in 2006. Now I ask you this, who better to lead the turnaround the program than the guy who did it the first time not too long ago?

The one trait that coach Schiano has instilled in his team is that never quit or as he likes to say that Keep Chopping attitude and family atmosphere. Guys are flying all over the field towards the ball no matter what the score is. Also you can tell it really is like a family, everyone supports each other after both good and bad plays.

Who's Rutgers' most NFL-ready player at this time?

You already mentioned his name and that’s linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi. Not only does he lead the nation in tackles right now, but he also leads the Scarlet Knights in tackles for loss (8.5) and is second in sacks (2.0). He has been wreaking havoc sideline to sideline and also has a crazy good pass rushing ability that has opposing QBs on their toes every play.

Who wins and why?

Don't let Maryland's 2-2 record confuse you, as the Terps only two losses came against two very good Big Ten teams this year in Indiana and Northwestern. New Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa is pretty accurate on the short and intermediate balls, so look for the Terps to attack the middle of the field. Not to mention, he can be pretty mobile at times too and we all know Rutgers struggles with mobile quarterbacks. Look for Maryland to keep up with their 33+ points per game this week as they beat Rutgers.