Rutgers football will hit the road this week to take on Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana. The game is set for a 12:00 p.m. EST, 11:00 a.m. Central kickoff. As with every game, the staff here at OnTheBanks will try to guess the score and provide context as to why they think that way.
Andrew Rice
If Rutgers had any game remaining to “get right,” it is this one. This is the first time all season that the Scarlet Knights will be playing a Power Four team with a losing record. Purdue will likely be without their starting quarterback, Ryan Browne, and will be relying on the services of Malachi Singleton under center. Vegas also favors the Knights.
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The two interesting variables here are what changes Rutgers has made on defense, and whether they can shake off the poor offensive performances as of late. Schiano said during his weekly press conference that they made several personnel changes on defense, both on the field and on the sideline, but refused to elaborate further. Obviously, the defense will need to play better than it has to secure a win, and when it comes to these “changes,” I have a nowhere to go but up mentality. As for the offense, they will need to show some of the firepower they showed in the first two Big Ten games to pull off the victory. This is their opportunity to get that back on track.
Rutgers 31, Purdue 28
Gregory Hanchuk
If Rutgers wants any chance at possibly dreaming about a bowl game, this Saturday’s matchup at Purdue is a “must-win”. The last time Greg Schiano faced Purdue in West Lafayette was in 2020. In the short history of the games between the teams, Rutgers has been 2-0 by slim margins so far. Purdue is on a five-game losing skid, so they will be salivating for a possible upset.
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The most interesting factor of this game will be how the defense performs against a quarterback for Purdue that they have not seen before. If the new Purdue quarterback is mobile, then that might spell big trouble for the defense in more ways than one. Let’s hope that the Scarlet Knights’ offense can produce long and time-consuming drives that can result in many scores through the air and on the ground. Seeing how our defense collapses late in games against opponents that they should beat, for example, at home against Iowa and at Minnesota. I believe this game could come down to a field goal. I want to be optimistic, but I am choosing to be realistic. The collapse continues.
Purdue 33 Rutgers 30
Arnav Sarkar
This matchup will come down to a few things. Can the Rutgers offense bounce back against a subpar Purdue defense that will be nowhere near the level of Oregon? And even more crucially, has the Rutgers defense changed enough in one week to slow down Malachi Singleton and the Boilers’ offense?
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Singleton came out shaky against Northwestern, going 11-20 with 187 yards and an interception, also losing a fumble late against the Wildcats. He took off for a 40-yard rushing touchdown against the Golden Gophers and will look to use his legs against a Scarlet Knights defense that has struggled against mobile quarterbacks.
On the flip side, he is very turnover-prone, and for as bad as Rutgers looked against the Ducks, they did record a couple of turnovers, two on defense and one on special teams. Jai Patel has also found his groove again with a 51-yard field goal early in the Oregon game, which could play a much more pivotal role in this contest.
I see this game being relatively high-scoring, but Athan Kaliakmanis should have more time to throw, and his dynamic receivers should be able to get much more separation against Purdue than against the Ducks. In addition, Northwestern had 232 yards of rushing, making this a prime opportunity for Antwan Raymond to find his form again and gash the Boilers on the ground.
I am also choosing to believe that Greg Schiano has made substantial enough changes that the Scarlet Knights do not get completely embarrassed on defense, giving their offense the chance to pull a high-scoring affair out on the road. If not, then brace yourself for a long month of November football in New Jersey.
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Rutgers 34, Purdue 27
John Catapano
Will Zach Sparber, who worked on Curt Cignetti at JMU —yes, that same Cignetti, who currently has the Hoosiers ranked No. 2 in the nation —be given a chance to call the defensive plays on Saturday, or will Schiano handle that himself? One thing is sure – Robb Smith will no longer be calling plays, now that Schiano has postponed game-week pressers until Tuesdays so he can help install the defensive gameplans on Mondays.
Personnel-wise, expect changes to the starting defensive rotation, with youngsters like freshman linebacker DJ McClary given more opportunities to show the coaches something beyond what they’ve been getting from the starters. One has to think major changes are coming in the secondary after last week’s performance by Kaj Sanders— or lack thereof—versus the Ducks.
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The Boilers are scoring 23 per game and giving up 28. An interesting stat: This season, Purdue has scored 3 points off turnovers and allowed 44. Can the Rutgers defense force a mistake or two and swing the game? Purdue averages nearly 400 yards in offense per game and allows about 375, including 230 in the air and 145 on the ground. The status of Rutgers star WR Ian Strong is unknown. Expect Rutgers to ground and pound with Antwan Raymond and Ja’Shon Benjamin to the tune of 200+ yards and make the most of their opportunities in the red zone.
I haven’t picked Rutgers to win since the Minnesota game, but this game feels eerily reminiscent of last season, when RU was coming off a lopsided loss against USC in Los Angeles. They returned home and surprised the Gophers to snap their four-game skid. The losing streak ends, and the drive for a bowl is still alive.
Rutgers 31 Purdue 27
