Rutgers football game week opponent profile: Nebraska
The Rutgers football team will head to Lincoln, Nebraska, for a matchup against Nebraska on Saturday. The Scarlet Knights (4-0, 1-0) have won their first four games of the season for the first time since 2012 and are currently in great form. Rutgers is coming off a thrilling 21-18 victory over Washington in front of a sold-out crowd at SHI Stadium on Busch campus on Friday.
The Cornhuskers (4-1, 1-1) are coming off a strong 28-10 road victory over Purdue, bouncing back nicely after a tough 31-24 overtime loss against Illinois two weeks ago.
To preview the matchup, The Daily Targum sat down with Anthony Rubek, assistant sports editor of The Daily Nebraskan.
Last season was less than ideal for Nebraska, going 5-7 and ending the season on a four-game losing streak. But to the delight of many, the Cornhuskers have changed their fortunes with the addition of nine transfer players and a freshman quarterback taking the college football landscape by storm.
The freshman in question is Dylan Raiola, who has thrown for 1,224 yards, nine touchdowns and has completed approximately 70 percent of his passes. Those 1,224 yards are the fourth-most in the Big Ten and the 25th-most in the country. Despite his early success, Raiola is still a freshman and has room to improve his game.
"The one knock on (Raiola) so far is that he sometimes takes a little too long in the pocket or waits too long for a receiver to get open instead of either taking off with it or throwing the ball away," Rubek said on Raiola. "And as a result, that's been a couple of sacks, and that's really been the one really negative of his game so far."
Two names to watch on the offensive side of the ball on Saturday will be wide receivers Isaiah Neyor, who leads Nebraska with 291 receiving yards and Jahmal Banks, who has a team-high 20 receptions. The veteran duo have clicked with their young quarterback early, creating quite the threat for opposing defenses.
"I think there's really two," Rubek said. "It's been (Raiola's) main targets all year. Isaiah Neyor and Jahmal Banks, two transfer receivers that have really stepped it up, especially these past two weeks … So those are two players who have really just been all you can ask for."
On the defensive side of the ball, the Cornhuskers have their work cut out for them, going up against a highly-touted Knights offensive line. This goes both ways, though, as Nebraska's defense will be the toughest test of the season for the Rutgers offensive line. As a unit, the Cornhuskers have forced an impressive 16 sacks through five games and have held opponents to approximately 85 rushing yards per game.
"I think Nebraska's defensive line is probably the strongest unit as a whole on that defense and it's really led by Ty Robinson, who has had a great year so far," Rubek said. "He has three sacks, and he's really been a game breaker at times, especially in non-conference play and then last week getting a sack as well."
As for Rubek's prediction for Saturday's game, "I think Nebraska's going to pull away with it," he said. "I think it's going to be a close game, maybe like a 21-17 victory for Nebraska."
The Knights will look to keep their winning streak alive on Saturday and also to end a different streak. Dating back to 2014, Rutgers is 0-5 against Nebraska and has never won at Memorial Stadium.
Saturday's kickoff is set for 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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