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The first night of McLane Carter in the Big Ten had a Big 12 sensation.
The Rutgers quarterback, Texas Tech, had a 14-point deficit in the first half, largely because of his defensive play. That meant it was up to Carter and the Scarlet Knights offense to fit in, snap the nation's longest streak of defeats in 11 games and avoid a cataclysmic defeat against UMass – easier to say than to do since Rutgers has not really had any offense in recent years. .
Well, maybe the Scarlet Knights are doing it now.
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It was just a game against a Minutemen team that finally came back to Earth and looked like FBS No. 130 ranking analyst Phil Steele, who had been pinned in the pre-season. However, Carter impressed on his first start, leading Rutgers to a 48-21 win over UMass on the first day of the season at Piscataway's SHI Stadium.
Head Coach Chris Ash declined to name Carter as a starter all week – NJ Advance Media announced its decision Thursday night – and the Scarlet Knights have not officially confirmed that Carter had defeated Artur Sitkowski until the exit for the first offensive take of the evening. But you must think that Rutgers will ring out loud enough on Carter's name, even with some of his first-night warts, when he will open the opening match of Iowa's Big Ten next week. .
Here is a summary of Carter's first departure as head of Rutgers:
StatisticsCarter finished 21 of 31 passes for 340 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. He is the first Rutgers smuggler to throw for 300 yards in a match since Chris Laviano in 2015.
Balloon security: This category must be ranked first given the importance of the situation last season and the importance it gives to Rutgers this year. And despite all the good that Carter did, Rutgers can not feel good about the safety of the ball. The Texan has launched three choices in the game, all the bad throws and decisions. Two of them arrived in the second half, but the game was uncontrollable. Carter doubled twice and under the other choice. Carter is a bandit. This comes with good and bad features. He escaped interceptions against UMass, but it will be much more difficult against Iowa. Rank: C
Presence of pocketCarter was impressive in this department, except for interceptions. He intervened when there was heat in the pass – which was low, because Rutgers' offensive line had a good night's sleep – and did not move too much with his feet, which was a concern for Rutgers. Carter has clearly worked on his progress several times and found his second or third option for a positive gain. However, he seemed to miss some receivers very open on the field, taking shorter passes when a home run was available. CATEGORY B
Precision: Carter missed a few shots – a failed conversion in the Daevon Robinson, which led to a goalkeeper's placement, allowed a few to score a savage goal. But most of his throws were fair on money. Yet interceptions. CATEGORY B
Downfield throws: Rutgers offensive desperately needed this item last season and never had it. Carter delivered it Friday night with several deep strikes, including several bombs on Bo Melton and a pretty, but incomplete, pass to Robinson. Carter also seemed to miss some of the open-ended types, and some questions about arm strength will remain unresolved. But he gave Rutgers something he did not have recently. Rank: A-
Direction: Rutgers lost two goals twice and Carter kept the ship afloat before helping the Scarlet Knights to move, scoring 41 unanswered points to close the game. Rank: A +
GlobalCarter has done a lot of good things and there is something to be optimistic about. But interceptions are a concern. Rutgers does not want to end up in a situation where Carter throws as many choices as Sitkowski did last year, but seems to do it better. Carter needs to play better if Rutgers is to beat Iowa next week and be competitive in the Big Ten. GLOBAL GRID: B +
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James Kratch can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.
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