Rutgers football: What you need to know for Iowa 9/7

This Week

Iowa and Rutgers have to be feeling good about themselves after their respective week one victories. This week’s game opens the conference season and both teams want to win. Iowa has a decent shot at winning the Big 10 West. A loss to Rutgers on Saturday would be a major setback.

The Scarlet Knights desperately want to go to a Bowl Game this year. It may be the only thing that keeps head coach Chris Ash employed at the university. An unexpected road win here sets them up nicely for that. While hard to believe, it’s far from impossible.

Saturday’s game will be won or lost by Rutgers in the trenches. Their offensive line has a tough assignment against a very good Iowa D-line. They must open holes for Pacheco and Blackshear to make Iowa respect the run. Carter is almost magician-like when he fakes handoffs on play-action. A good start rushing the ball will be key.

Rutgers O-Line line has to give Carter time in the pocket to throw. Also, the Knights quarterback needs to avoid throwing interceptions. Iowa will make him pay for those mistakes.

On the other side of the ball, RU can’t afford to beat themselves with stupid penalties as they did in the first quarter last week. They will also have to keep Stanley in check. He’s got almost 5,600 career passing yards with 55 TDs. The senior has the tools and experience to hurt Rutgers. Even if the defense can hold Stanley to an average-ish performance, they still have to contend with a formidable Iowa offensive line and strong running game.

In all honesty, Iowa should win this game. If Rutgers can keep the game close for the majority of the time, it will give them some momentum heading into next week’s Boston College showdown.