Rutgers coach Greg Schiano names starting QB, talks Michigan

Rutgers football will start redshirt freshman quarterback Gavin Wimsatt for the second straight week and third time this season against Michigan Wolverines football Saturday night. The former four-star recruit took a hard hit to the head and left last week’s game against Minnesota, but he’s been back at practice this week.

Wimsatt has completed 16 of his 40 pass attempts for 185 yards and 1 touchdown with 3 interceptions this season. He connected on just 6 of his 17 attempts for 68 yards with a pick and fumbled once against Minnesota. Still, head coach Greg Schiano gave him the nod this week, hoping to get some “consistency” out of the position.

“I felt he looked comfortable,” Schiano said of Wimsatt. “I don’t think he looked out of place. I felt that he ran an operation and he made some really good throws. He made a mistake, he made another mistake, that were two turnovers.

“But he shows why we’re excited about his future. That’s what I thought I could come away with Saturday was, it’s a matter of time — I do believe that — and I think it’s a when, not an if. You’ve just got to keep going. We are building something here, and he’s a big part of it, but so are a bunch of other guys that are working their tails off, so just keep moving.”

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Rutgers hoping to salvage season down the stretch

Rutgers is 4-4 overall but has lost four of its last five games. This is the portion of the schedule that seems to go south for the Scarlet Knights, who lost five of their last seven tilts last season.

Schiano said he’s not looking ahead to the final four contests, but rather taking it one game at a time.

“It’s real dangerous to start looking past anything,” he noted during his Monday press conference. “Right now, I’m totally focused on game planning Michigan because that’s what we do on Mondays and totally focused with meeting with my leadership council. Those are the things that I really focus on because that’s what’s here right now.

“We have a saying around here: The journey is the destination. The world isn’t made like that. The world is, you’ve got to get to that spot. I really believe what we are doing today is really that spot and doing the best you can. And that may sound corny, that may sound coach speak, but I give everybody a little advice. It’s kind of a good way to roll.”

Greg Schiano breaks down challenge of facing Michigan

The here and now presents a huge challenge for Rutgers. The fourth-ranked Michigan Wolverines are top-10 nationally in both scoring offense (eighth) and scoring defense (third), and lean on a run game that has been dominant throughout the season.

The Maize and Blue slot fifth nationally with 246 rushing yards per game. They’ve gained 165 or more rushing yards in every game, including 418 and 276 in the last two contests, wins over Penn State and Michigan State, respectively.

“Well, it’s hard. Why do they have a good running game? They have a very good offensive line. They have two really good backs, probably more, but two that play a lot, and a quarterback that can run and pass,” Schiano assessed. “So you have to defend the pass, you have to defend his run.

“The offensive line is doing a good job blocking. They have got two upper-echelon running backs. It’s one of the better outfits in America on offense. That’s why you look at where they are ranked in all those statistical categories that are up in the top.”

Minnesota is a very run-heavy attack as well, with the Golden Gophers ranking 12th in the country with 223.1 yards per game on the ground. They went for 253 yards and 4 scores on 53 carries against Rutgers last week. Three games prior to that, Ohio State churned out 252 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns on 34 carries.

“Have we played against people like that? Yeah, we have,” Schiano continued, speaking of Michigan’s run game in comparison to Minnesota. “We have to do a great job. We have to be at our very best to have a chance to slow them down.

“Are you going to stop them? No. No one’s stopped them. But we’re going to do everything we can to the best of our ability and see where that stacks up.”

Rutgers itself has been effective running the ball, accumulating more than 100 yards in six of its eight games. However, last week against Minnesota, the Scarlet Knights mustered up only 48 rushing yards on 21 carries while trailing most of the game.

Starting running back Samuel Brown V had been averaging 4.3 yards per carry and scored a team-high 3 rushing touchdowns, but he missed the last game and underwent surgery this week.

“We’re working very hard to figure out what we can do to help that, and Michigan is equally adept at stopping the run,” Schiano said. “They are really, really good — maybe even better.

“They have a really strong defense, the biggest front we’ll play against up front defensively. Their linebackers run very well and their secondary knows where to fit. It’s going to be a challenge.”