Penn State-Rutgers Matchups: Who will have the edge on Saturday in Piscataway?

Penn State football travels to Rutgers on Saturday. The Nittany Lions are now the No. 11 team in the country. The Scarlet Knights, meanwhile, are unranked and need to win out if they want to make a bowl game.

“Moving on to Rutgers, Coach [Greg] Schiano, obviously there is history with Coach Schiano,” Penn State coach James Franklin said on Tuesday.

“Got a ton of respect for him. Watch him on tape. Their team plays really hard. Got 16 years of coaching experience at the college and NFL levels, and obviously now at Rutgers, was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Was also at Rutgers from 2001 to ’11, and also had been on the staff here at Penn State.”

Here’s a closer look at the matchups that will play out in Piscataway, N.J.

When Penn State is on offense

The Scarlet Knights are in the middle of the pack when it comes to their total defense statistics. They are just OK against the run and pass, which means Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich will have his choice of how he wants to attack the home team. From our point of view, the most logical way to do that is a strong early dose of the ground game to grind up the RU defense before beating it through the air.

Franklin was right that this group plays hard. That is evident on tape. But, its pure determination should not be able to overcome obvious talent deficiencies at three levels of the defense. That should be true even if Penn State has more injury issues along the offensive line.

All told, this should be another big day for the freshman running backs and that should allow quarterback Sean Clifford to have a fine performance, as well. If Penn State continues to play on offense like it did for 60 minutes two weeks ago and roughly 35 last Saturday, it will score enough to win this game with ease.

“They play really hard, they play really well on defense, and have for a number of years,” Franklin said.

“Guys that jump out to us, a guy that we recruited really hard, that I think is playing really well for them jumps out on tape, No. 71, Aaron Lewis. Also another transfer for them [from Michigan State]. Their Sam linebacker/safety, depending on how they play him, No. 0 [Christian] Izien; Avery Young, their strong safety No. 2, who is a local kid. Their Will linebacker, No. 17, Deion Jennings. Then another transfer they got from Temple, their defensive tackle, No. 88, [Ifeanyi] Maijeh is playing really well for them.”

All of that is true. But, Penn State has a lot of players performing well on offense, too. And, that will be the biggest and most obvious difference by Saturday night.

EDGE: Penn State

When the Lions are on defense

It is no secret who must be stopped when Rutgers has the ball. Kyle Monagai is a very talented running back who will try to outrun the Lions’ front seven. Under center, quarterback Gavin Wimsatt is now running the show. RU has already used three different quarterbacks this season as it tries to find one it can rely on. Aron Cruickshank, then, is the team’s leading receiver. Penn State fans might remember him as a recruit. He is a productive pass catcher who can hurt a defense in a variety of ways. Kalen King will draw the task of covering him if Joey Porter Jr., can’t suit up. Porter is recovering from appendicitis, Franklin said on Tuesday.

While it won’t be as simple as stopping those three and marching to victory, Rutgers should not scare Penn State. Its attack is pedestrian, at best, and has at times knocked itself off-schedule due to committing penalties. The Lions must play a clean game to win, but they have every reason to perform well. Expect more exotic blitzes from Broyles Award candidate Manny Diaz that confuse Wimsatt and lead to either sacks or turnovers that keep Rutgers guessing for answers all day long.

EDGE: Penn State

Final word

Penn State is a deserving 19.5-point favorite. Frankly, we thought it would be higher and see this as the kind of matchup the Lions can win by three touchdowns, even though they are on the road. Rutgers is taking steps forward under Schiano but is still nowhere close to beating a team like Penn State on a weekly basis. Because of that, expect the Lions to run away with their ninth win of the season.