Sunday afternoon featured one of the most lopsided games of college football’s opening weekend, with Rutgers football dominating Northwestern by a score of 24-7.
Northwestern entered this game after a tumultuous summer that saw Pat Fitzgerald ousted from the program after an offseason hazing scandal.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) September 3, 2023
Even against a program still reeling, this was an encouraging afternoon for Greg Schiano and his Scarlet Knights. They bulldozed the Wildcats from the get-go and kept them scoreless for 59 minutes. Even when they finally did allow a score, it took Northwestern four plays from the goal line to finally get points.
It remains to be seen if Rutgers can replicate this type of performance, but for now, this is one of the brightest spots the Scarlet Knights have had in recent seasons.
Here’s what we took away from their opening-week win.
1. The Gavin Wimsatt era starts with a bang
When quarterback Gavin Wimsatt was named the starter for Rutgers football on July 26, he did something uncommon for the program. This is just the second time since 2013 that Rutgers had a starter in place at the position before the start of the season.
On Sunday, he proved that he deserved the job.
Wimsatt was tremendous on Sunday, throwing for 163 yards and a touchdown, and gaining 33 yards on the ground along with another touchdown. Those numbers would have been more gaudy, but Rutgers was so dominant that he didn’t have to do too much throughout the second half.
The throw from Gavin Wimsatt & catch/toe tap by Ian Strong 🔥🔥🔥 #Rutgers pic.twitter.com/I92kYFNaHV
— Video from: @TSV__1 (@TSV__1) September 3, 2023
The quarterback has seen any action before, but this year is feeling different so far. He was part of a quarterback rotation with Noah Vedral and Evan Simon a year ago, but now he is the sole leader at the position.
If Sunday was any indication, the team has responded positively.
2. This was a dominant team win
Stats don’t always tell the story in a game, but on Sunday, they painted a pretty descriptive picture of an absolutely dominant win for Rutgers.
For example, Rutgers held Northwestern to 4-of-14 on third down and 1-for-3 on fourth. They also kept the Northwestern offense at bay, with the Wildcats putting up just 201 total yards on the day.
Northwestern also put up just 12 yards on 22 rushing attempts, averaging a putrid .5 yards per carry. To the liking of Rutgers, this game was absolutely ugly.
The time of possession was another indicator of just how lopsided this contest was. Rutgers nearly doubled up the Wildcats, spending 37:59 with the ball to Northwestern’s 22:01. It was even worse early on.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) September 3, 2023
Rutgers doesn’t do this often, so this is a huge momentum-builder. Entering year four of this Schiano tenure and featuring an exciting quarterback, this was a great way to start a season in which Rutgers hopes to take a big step forward.
3. If Greg Schiano is going to turn Rutgers around, this has to be the year
Rutgers couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 2023 season. The question now, of course, is if they can continue playing at such a high level. They caught a team that was completely rattled this week, but that won’t be the case all year.
Schiano is entering the fourth season of this second tenure at Rutgers. In the first three, the Scarlet Knights have finished 3-6 (Covid-shortened season), 5-8, and 4-8. This will now be his 15th overall season in Piscataway, and the success of the mid-to-late 2000s is beginning to fade into a blip on his resume.
Record-wise, it’s going to be a tough season for Schiano and Co., with road trips to Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Penn State, as well as a home matchup with Ohio State. Few, if any, observers expect Rutgers to win these games, but at a certain point, this team has to put up a fight.
The Scarlet Knights have four more games on the schedule that are very winnable: Temple, Indiana, Virginia Tech, Wagner, and Maryland. It’s realistic and reasonable to expect this team to finish at least 6-6 and bowl eligible.
Rutgers isn’t known as one of the premier programs in the Big Ten, but they can’t just accept being walked over consistently. At any program worth its salt, a coach posting a fourth straight losing season would raise serious concerns about job security.