Rutgers Football Needs “W” to keep Bowl Eligibility Alive

Rutgers and Michigan State find themselves in a similar position when they take the field against one another in East Lansing on Saturday afternoon.

Both squads are 4-5. Both squads have struggled in conference: Rutgers is 1-5; Michigan State is 2-4. Both squads need at least two more victories to become bowl eligible.

So that makes Saturday's game ever more important to both teams.

Last week it looked like Rutgers was on its way to pulling out the biggest upset of the College Football season.  Yes, even bigger than Tennessee's upset of Alabama, when it led No. 4 Michigan 17-14 at the half.

Unfortunately for the Scarlet Knights, they couldn't slow down the Wolverines in the second half as Michigan scored 38-unaswered en route to a 52-17 victory in Piscataway.

It was a crushing loss, one that dropped Rutgers to 4-5 as it hits the road this week.

For the Scarlet Knights to win they must protect the football better than they did a week ago. Gavin Wimsatt made a number of great throws in the first half the game against Michigan, and led RU on a pair of touchdown drives. But in the second half, he tossed three interceptions, one of which was brought back for a score.

If he can cut down, if not cut the the turnovers out altogether it gives RU a better chance to win in Michigan State.

Moreover, Rutgers must re-establish its ground attack this week. They ran for 42 yards last week against Michigan, and 48 yards against Minnesota the week before. Obviously losing Samuel Brown V for the year was a blow. Brown was averaging just under 55-yards a game. But it is imperative that Rutgers get Kyle Monangi and Al-Shadee Salaam rolling this week they way they were earlier in the season.

As for Michigan State they have lost five of its last seven games. They survived against Illinois 23-15 last weekend.

The player to watch for Michigan State is quarterback Payton Thorne, who has put up impressive numbers despite the win-loss record. He has thrown for 1,896 yards, 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Thorne is also completing 64.4 percent of his passes this year.

Rutgers defense is Top 25 nationally. This will be a great opportunity for them to hurry Thorne with some clever blitz schemes, since he is not very mobile. If the Scarlet Knights can get pressure on Thorne, they could keep the game close and give Gavin Wimsatt a chance to pull a win out on Saturday.

HISTORY: Rutgers and Michigan State meet for the 14th time ever on Saturday. Michigan State leads the series 9-4. Michigan State has also won seven of its last eight against RU. The last time these two meet in East Lansing, Rutgers came away with a 38-27 win during the pandemic shortened year of 2020.