Rutgers football: Predicting the Scarlet Knights 2019 win total
By Ed Stein
After last years 1-11 disaster, the Rutgers football team looks to bounce back in 2019. Here is a month-by-month look at the season with a win total projection.
All fans do it. They look at the season schedule and go game by game to predict how their till will do. This is a new season and things are a little different this time around. The oddsmakers have set Rutgers under/over season win total at 3.5 games. That’s a very fair number, considering last season’s debacle.
I like the way Rutgers offseason went. They picked up some nice transfers and added good players to the program. Additionally, both their spring and summer training camps went well. The Scarlet Knights will be both better and deeper this season. Unfortunately for them, they are still in the Big-10, one of the top two conferences in college football.
The Rutgers offense has more talent all around this year. Incumbent sophomore quarterback Artur Sitkowski has been battling with Texas Tech graduate transfer McLane Carter for the starting job. Although head coach Chris Ash declined to name a winner yet, either one will benefit from Rutgers improved ground game with Isaih Pacheco and Raheem Blackshear. They should open up the field and give the receivers some room to work.
Defense will be the Scarlet Knights calling card in 2019. The linebacking core is not only good but deep. Look for the unit to set the tone this season led by Tyshon Fogg and Tyreek Maddox-Williams.
It’s not going to be easy, but Rutgers record will improve this season. Even in the games they lose, the Knights won’t get the same butt kickings they received in 2018. Whether or not it will be enough to save Ash’s job remains to be seen. Here is a month-by-month breakdown of the season.