'Rutgers wins 35 to zip': Targum gives predictions for Rutgers-Akron game
The Daily Targum gave its predictions for the Rutgers football team's matchup with Akron on Saturday. Following a dominant victory over Howard, the Scarlet Knights (1-0, 0-0) are looking to display the same authority over the Zips (0-1, 0-0). With last week's performance in mind, perhaps these predictions will at least have our heads looking out the windshield rather than the back window.
Josh Meyers, head sports editor: "Rutgers beats Akron 41-13. Once again, the Scarlet Knights will defeat a weaker opponent by a large margin. Due to the matchup and to look ahead at the bigger picture with harder opponents like Virginia Tech and Washington ahead, I believe head coach Greg Schiano will hold some cards to his chest. Instead of unleashing deep passing plays and routes, Schiano will once again run the football with senior running back Kyle Monangai and company."
"Monangai, for the second straight game, will rush for more than 100 yards and score two touchdowns. Junior running back Samuel Brown V will add 70 yards to the ground game and reach the end zone himself. Senior quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis will pass for just more than 200 yards, while the pass rush, in an effort to bounce back from week 1, will produce at least three sacks on the road to a victory."
Camden Markel, associate sports editor: "Rutgers wins 38-16. I believe Schiano will continue to keep the playbook tight, not revealing too much for the Knights' future opponents. With more typical ground and pound football, Monangai goes for more than 150 yards and two scores."
"With starting quarterback Ben Finley going down with an injury last week against Ohio State, Tahj Bullock is expected to step in under center. I think the Rutgers defense will struggle a bit more with a dual-threat quarterback like Bullock than it would have with Finley in the lineup, leading to a less dominant defensive outing for the Knights than a week ago."
Matthew Mangam, associate sports editor: "Rutgers wins 35 to zip. Kaliakmanis will pass for more than 210 yards. If anything, the Zips will get on the board late in the fourth quarter after the Knights score 35 unanswered."
Brian Delk, editor-in-chief: "Rutgers will keep up their streak and trample Akron. I predict junior placekicker Jai Patel will slot away a perfect record on his foot. Monangai will easily rush for more than 75 yards as the Knights slap the Zips 28-3.
Evan Leong, head photo editor: "Coming off a dominant win against Howard, Rutgers will beat Akron 38-7. An outmatched Zips defense will surrender 150 yards and two touchdowns to Kyle Monangai."
Philip Jaccoma, contributing writer: "The Scarlet Knights win 38-6. With another week of cohesion and rest behind them, Rutgers will come out as a much better team than in their home opener. Expect the defense to perform better with star players like senior defensive back Flip Dixon and senior linebacker Tyreem Powell hopefully returning, keeping Akron to less than 10 points and no touchdowns."
"On offense, expect Kaliakmanis to look more polished than his scarlet debut and Monangai to gash a Zips defense that let up 5.2 yards per carry against Ohio State. Monangai goes for more than 150 yards and scores a pair of touchdowns."
Jonathan Vasquez, contributing writer: "Another game Rutgers should cruise by easily. I do think Akron will put up a few more points with the Knights' previous struggles limiting quarterback rushing yards. Monangai will go more than 150 yards on at least 15-20 carries with a touchdown to his name. I hope to see more of Kaliakmanis' arm, I predict another two touchdown passes for him with the final score being 38-14."
Trey Owens, contributing writer: "Rutgers beats the Zips 38-14. Monangai and the offensive line will be too much for Akron to handle. Look for Kaliakmanis to have another steady performance as the Scarlet Knights try to start 2-0 for the fourth straight year."
Nicholas Hart, contributing writer: "Rutgers is coming into this game with many positives on the offensive end over the Zips. Kaliakmanis looked very comfortable in his debut and threw the ball efficiently. Akron's front six is tough, but the tandem of Monangai and Brown should have no problem rushing for more than 150 yards combined. The Knights defeat the Zips 38-13."
Noah Ohayon, contributing writer: "Rutgers is going to dominate Akron and build off of its strong start to the season. The offense is going to total more than 400 yards and the defense once again will hold the opponent to less than 10 points. Final score prediction: 34-10 Rutgers."
Saturday's game will kick off at noon and be broadcast on Big Ten Network and 88.7 WRSU FM.
For more updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @TargumSports on X.
