Greg Schiano’s second stint has not been great so far. He is 12-22 in those three seasons, which is not like what he did in his first stint at Rutgers. However, this could be a season where Rutgers can take a step forward for Schiano. Their defense is showing some potential and the offense has some question marks that need to be answered. Can Schiano get this team back to having a winning record again for the first time since 2014? Here is the preview for the 2023 Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
Offense
This was one of the worst offenses among Power Five football teams last season. Rutgers brought back Kirk Ciarrocca as offensive coordinator for the second time. He was the OC in Schiano’s first era and will have a lot to work on. The Scarlet Knights are looking to roll with Gavin Wimsatt at quarterback. He started the final five games last season and will look to take a step forward in 2023. Rutgers did lose their top three wide receivers from last season, so they will have to find someone to step up to be the number one threat. However, it looks that Rutgers’ key weapon will come out of the backfield.
Samuel Brown V showed some flashes of emerging as a star for Rutgers before a season-ending foot injury. Last year, he rushed for 369 yards on 4.3 yards per carry and three touchdowns in 7 games last season. With Brown V fully healthy in 2023, he might be the best part of this Rutgers offense. On the offensive line, they return three starters and they need to improve. If their offensive line can take a step forward, Rutgers has the potential to be much better than they were in 2022.
Defense
This defense is the strength of this team and they should get better in 2023. The defense has a list of key contributors coming back from last season including linebackers Tyreem Powell and Deion Jennings. Last year, Jennings led the team in tackles and tackles for a loss in 2022. This linebacker group is already strong and gets stronger with Mohamed Toure and Moses Walker recovered from season-ending knee injuries from last spring. With this group being deep, they will control the middle of this defense.
They also bring back talented pass rushers Aaron Lewis and Wesley Bailey. Wesley Bailey led the team in sacks last season (3.5), while Aaron Lewis was second on the team in tackles for loss last year. At the defensive tackle position, they bring back Mayan Ahanotu and Kyonte Hamilton. Those two are going to be essential to the interior of that defensive line. Rutgers also brought in Isaiah Iton from Ole Miss to solidify that interior of the defensive line. If their defensive line can get better, the Rutgers defense will be really good.
In the secondary, they bring back Max Melton and Robert Longerbeam. Both are key to the secondary and will need to continue their good play in 2023. They solidified their depth by bringing in Eric Rogers (NIU) and Flip Dixon (Minnesota). Before all the injuries and lack of depth, Rutgers was top 25 nationally in multiple categories through the first half of the season. With the addition of depth, Rutgers should get back to those types of numbers in 2023.
Win Total Bet
The Rutgers win total is set at 3.5 on the FanDuel Sportsbook, with the odds on the over set at -164 and the under set at +134. Rutgers defensively got better bringing back some key pieces. I think the offense is going to be the issue of this team. If the offense can figure it out, they double the win total set here. I think that the offense struggles to get its footing, but they will win enough games to get over the win total. With the odds as high as they are, I am staying away from this Rutgers bet.
Schedule Predictions
Win vs Northwestern (1-0)
Convincing Win vs Temple (2-0)
Win vs Virginia Tech (3-0)
Loss at Michigan (3-1)
Win vs Wagner (4-1)
Loss at Wisconsin (4-2)
Loss vs Michigan State (4-3)
Rough Loss at Indiana (4-4)
Loss vs Ohio State (4-5)
Loss at Iowa (4-6)
Blowout Loss at Penn State (4-7)
Win vs Maryland (5-7)