Kyle Flood's been a member of the Rutgers football staff for 11 seasons — including the last four as head coach — leading the Scarlet Knights into venues like Ohio Stadium, other Big Ten home bases, Big East schools and even a trip or two into the SEC.
Yet, Flood believes the vibes for his team's night game Saturday against No. 1 Ohio State at High Point Solutions Stadium will trump all those before it.
"Saturday night will be the best atmosphere in all of college football," Flood said Tuesday on the Big Ten teleconference.
High Point houses a max of 52,454 people, not even half the capacity of Ohio Stadium, but Flood and Co. expect it to be wild when the top-ranked Buckeyes come to town for the first time ever. The game is reportedly sold out.
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| RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS |
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3-3, 1-2 B1G ROSTER SCHEDULE |
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8:00 PM – SATURDAY, OCT. 24 HIGH POINT SOLUTIONS STADIUM PISCATAWAY, NJ |
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ABC/ESPN2 WATCHESPN |
"I think it’s going to be nuts. I think it’s going to be a crazy, electric atmosphere,” senior Paul James said Wednesday according to the team's official site. "I can’t wait to be out there."
Exactly how raucous the scene is Saturday at 8 p.m. remains to be seen, but despite the consternation surrounding Flood's violation of school policy due to inappropriate conduct with a professor that resulted in a three-game suspension earlier this season, the story with Ohio State remains the same.
Quarterbacks, quarterbacks, quarterbacks.
Urban Meyer elected to make a switch at the position this week, replacing Cardale Jones with J.T. Barrett after the latter accounted for a quartet of touchdowns in a 38-10 victory against Penn State.
"Just sheer production," Meyer said Tuesday on the Big Ten teleconference when asked to give a reason behind the move. "Cardale's going to be on a very active part, too. We're hoping to keep him very much involved. It was a difficult decision, but red zone production and third down production were the two areas that made the difference and with the way he played Saturday."
Barrett may be a better fit for the offense right now, but Flood isn't taking any chances. He expects the Scarlet Knights will see both quarterbacks Saturday night.
"I think you've gotta get ready to play them both," Flood said.
Ohio State's looking to continue its roll and win its 21st consecutive game under Meyer and move to 8-0. It's the final shot the Buckeyes have at impressing the College Football Playoff selection committee before the inaugural rankings are released Nov. 3. Ohio State is on a bye Halloween weekend.
"We're just trying to get a little better each week and win a game. Try to win No. 8," Meyer said Wednesday. "That's all our focus is."
OPPONENT BREAKDOWN
The Scarlet Knights capitalized on turnovers and a horrid Indiana defense to come back from a 25-point third quarter deficit to top the Hoosiers, 55-52, last Saturday in one of the more wild games of the 2015 Big Ten season to date. It was Flood's triumphant return from his suspension, which also resulted in a $50,000 fine.
"I have a lot of communication with teachers," Flood said Aug. 25. "We're all part of the same university. We all want the same things for our student-athletes."
It's not the only off-field issue the program's endured this season. Six players were kicked off the team in September for their involvement in a home invasion robbery, and star wide receiver Leonte Carroo missed two games with a suspension after allegedly slamming a woman to the concrete outside the stadium Sept. 12. The charges were dropped Oct. 6.
The Scarlet Knights went 1-2 without Flood, falling on their faces in a 28-3 loss at Penn State, pushing past winless Kansas, 27-14, in an ugly display of football and then shoving Michigan State to the brink at home before losing, 31-24. You remember how that one ended.
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| 2015 STATS | RANK | CATEGORY | 2015 STATS | RANK |
| 37.0 | 24th | Points For | 34.3 | 40th |
| 16.3 | 13th | Points Against | 29.2 | 84th |
| OFFENSE | ||||
| 242.1 | 13th | Rushing Offense | 199.2 | 32nd |
| 213.4 | 79th | Passing Offense | 249.7 | 48th |
| 455.6 | 30th | Total Offense | 448.8 | 34th |
| DEFENSE | ||||
| 158.7 | 60th | Rushing Defense | 126.2 | 30th |
| 143.6 | 4th | Pass Defense | 321.2 | 124th |
| 302.3 | 19th | Total Defense | 447.3 | 105th |
| OFF. MISC. | ||||
| .375 | 80th | 3rd Down Conv. | .487 | 10th |
| .857 | 48th | Red Zone | .850 | 58th |
| 12.5 | 35th | Punt Return | 10.0 | 48th |
| 23.9 | 30th | Kickoff Return | 24.8 | 22nd |
| DEF. MISC. | ||||
| .313 | 23rd | 3rd Down Conv. | .385 | 66th |
| .824 | 60th | Red Zone | .800 | 42nd |
| 94.5 | 6th | Pass Eff. Def. | 149.6 | 112th |
| 42.2 | 5th | Net Punting | 37.0 | 81st |
| MISC. | ||||
| - 0.1 | 79th | Turnover Margin | + 1.3 | 8th |
| 7.3 | 88th | Penalties Per Game | 5.3 | 34th |
| Total: 11 | THE EDGE | Total: 7 |
The win at Indiana restored some positive feelings to a program desperately searching for any it could find. Although the Buckeyes slipped by the Hoosiers in Bloomington, Indiana, three weeks ago, Flood is wary of what he and his team is up against.
"An excellent Ohio State team, No. 1 in the country, and No. 1 for a reason," Flood said Monday. "This is life in the Big Ten. Every week there's going to be a really, really talented opponent that you're going to be playing. We played one last week. We're going to play one this week and when this game is over, we're going to have to get ready for another one."
Carroo is far and away his team's best player and his stats support that. Even though he's played in only four games, the wide receiver leads the Big Ten with nine touchdown receptions. Carroo leads his team with 21 catches and 472 receiving yards, and has three separate games with three touchdown receptions. He's a difference maker in every sense of the word for sophomore quarterback Chris Laviano.
"He’s a big guy, kind of like the guy from last week from Penn State," Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley said Wednesday. "He has speed and I know he’s their top guy, they’re gonna try and get him the ball so it’s going to be a great challenge."
Carroo is battling an ankle injury he suffered in the Indiana win. Flood said Carroo practiced in some capacity Thursday morning and is a game-time decision. After beating Indiana, the wide receiver claimed there was no way he would miss the Ohio State game.
"I'll definitely be playing next week," Carroo said.
Meyer expects the same.
"He has an ankle injury, but he’ll play," Ohio State's head coach said on his Thursday radio show. "This type of game, he’s a competitor, so he’ll be there."
The Scarlet Knights need Carroo in order to have a chance at toppling Ohio State. Laviano's numbers are solid (115-for-166 passing, 1,388 yards, 12 touchdowns, six interceptions), but Carroo takes the offense to another level with his pure speed and terrific route running. He is an NFL-caliber wide receiver.
Behind Carroo, Meyer singled out junior wide receiver Carlton Agudosi as someone who stepped in once Carroo went down with his injury.
"Once again, Rutgers, their skilled athletes are very good players," Meyer said. "Production-wise, I thought even last week when (Carroo) left the game, the (Agudosi) played very well. They obviously moved the ball and had a great comeback win."
Agudosi and fellow junior Andre Patton combined to catch nine passes for 161 yards against Indiana.
Rutgers sports a pair of ballcarriers with at least 400 yards and four touchdowns in sophomores Robert Martin and Josh Hicks. Senior Paul James averages nearly 6.0 yards per carry.
The Scarlet Knights do their best to remain balanced offensively, but putting the ball in the air off play-action rollouts is their best weapon.
Carroo had five catches for 100 yards last year against Ohio State.
Defensively is a different story. Rutgers is 12th in the Big Ten in total defense, allowing an average of 447.3 total yards per game. Its 29.2 points per game allowed average is good for 11th. There are opportunities for big plays, as was the case against Indiana Saturday. The Hoosiers tallied plays of 33 yards (twice), 38 yards, 45 yards and 66 yards against the Scarlet Knights.
"When we played them last year, it was the same. Up front they're skilled, big dudes. You gotta respect them," Ohio State left guard Billy Price said of the Rutgers defense. "You can't go into any games taking them lightly because it's college football and anybody will creep up on you."
Flood's crew looks win games by scoring a boatload of points, just like Indiana, but the chances for newly anointed starting quarterback J.T. Barrett to capitalize and make big plays are everywhere.
"We’re about to get over that hump and it’s going to start rolling downhill and it’s a snowball effect," Taylor Decker said. "I’m excited that we’ve taken steps and some guys have shown maturity, shown improvement and above all else there’s a positive mindset around here. Nobody is pointing fingers and we’re just working every day to get better, which is the biggest thing."
Flood sees it, too.
"There's no question that they look like the No. 1 team in the country," Flood said. "It's not about the defending national champions, because some of the pieces are different. But, their talent level absolutely jumps out."
Ohio State Breakdown
When Meyer made the decision to switch starters at quarterback, he did it with one thing on his mind: Efficiency.
"It was a difficult decision, but red zone production and third down production were the two areas that made the difference and with the way he played Saturday," Meyer said.
Barrett led Ohio State to 11 scoring drives (10 touchdowns) after becoming the red zone option at quarterback against Maryland. Now, it's his show, but Jones must keep himself engaged, Meyer said.
"J.T. had a role in the offense even before he began in the red zone. It's called quarterback. It's called leader. It's called encourager. All the above," Meyer said Wednesday. "So he will have a very prominent role. If he plays, that decision is not now to be discussed. He has to stay engaged."
Meyer took a shot with Jones, always knowing he had Barrett in his back pocket to go back to if things didn't work out. Now, it's on Jones to keep two feet in moving forward.
"He's fine, he's just gotta get better and work on his game and I hear a question over there, 'What's wrong with Ohio State? Why aren't things working out?'" Meyer said. "Everything's fine."
The Buckeyes are coming off a tremendous rushing performance against Penn State, who entered last weekend's game as the nation's 10th ranked defense against it. Ohio State ran for 315 yards on the Nittany Lions, but threw for just 114. Not the balance Meyer wants, but he sees a group that's improving.
"It was one of the best games the last three years, four years, against Penn State," Meyer said. "To score 38 points against that defense, run for 350 yards and I hear, 'What's wrong with the offense?' That's one of those, 'What'd you just say?' What's wrong with the offense? Offense is great. We just have to be more consistent in the throw game."
Barrett gets his first full shot at doing that Saturday. It'll be his first start since the Michigan game last November.
It is now Barrett's show on offense.
"If you're throwing the ball much better and you run the ball like you did Saturday, the thing I'm looking for is consistency which everyone in the country is looking for that," Meyer said.
Freshman running back Saquon Barkley torched the Buckeyes for 194 rushing yards in the 38-10 loss, but Christian Hackenberg struggled to get the ball downfield consistently both due to an injured knee and the wrecking crew that is Joey Bosa and others on Ohio State's defensive line.
"I think we have a very good personnel, I think we have very good coaches we just gotta put one all together," Meyer said. "Pass defense was outstanding last week, we just gave up too many yards rushing."
Both sides of the ball have things to work on, and Rutgers provides another opportunity to shine under the lights and leave a lasting thought in the minds of the College Football Playoff committee before the rankings are released Nov. 3.
"There's probably 10 programs in America that are held to an extremely high standard," Meyer said. "We're one of them."
But are the Buckeyes a Playoff team?
"I have no idea," Meyer said. "I think we have a very good football team. I think we've gotta keep getting better and better and better. That's all we're worried about."
HOW IT PLAYS OUT
Carroo should play Saturday, and he provides Rutgers the best opportunity to down Ohio State.
The Buckeyes are more talented, better coached, and haven't had to deal with the ugliness of suspensions to their head coach or best player for actions committed outside the program this season.
A victory for the Scarlet Knights would undoubtedly make their season — and help save Flood's job — but it's difficult to imagine a scenario where it comes to fruition. The Buckeye offensive line and running game got rolling last week against a stout Penn State defensive front, and if Barrett can provide any semblance of the passing game he did in 2014 prior to his injury, the offense could be in for a huge day.
OFFICIAL ELEVEN WARRIORS STAFF PREDICTION: Ohio State 44, Rutgers 20
