[ad_1]
Artur Sitkowski wasn’t looking ahead. Or was feigning ignorance.
Either way, it doesn’t change what waits around the corner for Rutgers after its open week.
Sitkowski told reporters after Saturday’s loss to Northwestern he knew a trip to Wisconsin on Nov. 3 was next up on the schedule, but he didn’t know what came after that.
A reporter then reminded him Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State come after that.
“There you go,” the freshman quarterback said.
There it is, one whale of a home stretch for a team that really doesn’t need it. But that doesn’t mean the Scarlet Knights will head into their daunting remaining schedule without an edge, particularly after their near-miss against the Wildcats, a team that has already beaten Michigan State this season and lost close to Michigan.
“We obviously see we can play with anybody in the Big Ten. Northwestern [has won 10 games two of the last three seasons]. And we held them, it was 18-15,” slot receiver Eddie Lewis said after last weekend’s close loss.
“Since the beginning of the year, we’ve been saying we can play with these teams. A lot of people don’t believe that, but we believe it. … I know our team can do what we have to do to win games.”
Lewis is right that few people believe Rutgers has any chance in its final four games. The Scarlet Knights are 1-7, have lost seven straight and have already been blown out by Buffalo, Kansas and Illinois. They will be underdogs of 20-plus points in all four games, and they may be 30-point underdogs in several of them.
The only people who don’t see 1-11 as a foregone conclusion work in the Hale Center. And that’s fine with head coach Chris Ash.
“I can’t control what everyone thinks. The only thing I can control is my attitude and my effort and my actions to help our football team get better and that’s it,” Ash said. “You know, November is what it is. We’ve got some good teams coming up. That’s the league.”
Amazingly, the road games may be the best matchups, if such a thing even exists.
Rutgers-Northwestern film review
Wisconsin is ranked 20th and will be an overwhelming favorite over Rutgers, but its offense is not built to drop a crooked number on the Scarlet Knights. If Rutgers can hold up physically – a major if – it has a chance to be somewhat competitive. The post-Thanksgiving trip to Michigan State on Nov. 24 will likely be a relatively meaningless game for the Spartans, who already have three losses, two in the conference, and still have to play at Ohio State and Purdue.
But No. 5 Michigan and No. 17 Penn State in Piscataway on Nov. 10 and 17, respectively, present potential nightmare days for Rutgers and its fans. Those are the ones that could get incredibly ugly and have the biggest impact.
But Rutgers says it’s ready and eager for it all.
“The last four games are going to be some good games, a lot of tough ball. It’s going to come down to the wire, and I’m excited to see how this team is going to progress after this game,” defensive end Kevin Wilkins said. “We’ll probably be presented with this situation again, and you’ll see that we’re going to take the opportunity again next time and it will be different.
“I think we can compete with any team on our schedule. It doesn’t matter who it is. We’re excited to play these last four games. It’s going to be fun.”
James Kratch may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.
[ad_2]
Source link
