Rutgers Seeks Its First-Ever Win Against Nebraska

Oct 4, 20242 min read

Greg Schiano | HC Rutgers — © Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten Conference) will square off at 4 p.m. EST on Oct. 5 against the Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-1, 1-1) at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb. Rutgers is coming off a 21-18 win against the Washington Huskies (3-2, 1-1) and Nebraska looks to build off a 28-10 against the Purdue Boilermakers (1-3, 0-1).

0-6 vs. Nebraska

This season Rutgers is experiencing a renaissance in their program throughout their first four games. However, the Scarlet Knights are a surprising 0-6 all-time versus the Cornhuskers. Their first meeting came during the early years of prohibition in 1920, Nebraska won easily 28-0. More recently the two have played closer affairs in 2020 and 2022 when Rutgers lost by a combined eight points.

Kyle Monangai | RB Rutgers — © Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Tale of the Tape

Both offenses can not be more opposite. On one hand, there’s Rutgers that looks to move the ball on the ground with senior running back Kyle Monangai who’s averaging 147 yards per game thus far. Nebraska looks to the air with their freshman phenom quarterback Dylan Raiola who has thrown for 1,224 yards and 9 touchdowns. Both defenses are set on stopping what each other looks to do offensively.

Rutgers is giving up just 179 yards through the air while Nebraska has been giving up 85 yards on the ground. Both teams will need to find alternative ways to exploit the part of their offenses that they succeed in the most. These types of games can separate the good coach from the average coach.

Nebraska (on paper) is the more complete team heading into this game because it can run the ball if Rutgers tries to stop the pass. The Cornhuskers average 145 yards on the ground as a team, and Rutgers is struggling against the run, giving up 173 yards. Running back Dante Dowdell will need to step up even more as he’s only averaging 55 yards on the ground. If Dowdell can get some early touches and establish the ground game the Cornhuskers could control the tempo throughout. Currently, Nebraska is favored by -7 points.