Rutgers vs. UMass Prediction, Game Preview

By Pete Fiutak | August 12, 2019 1:46 am

Rutgers vs. UMass fearless prediction and game preview.

Broadcast

Date: Friday, August 30
Game Time: 7:15 ET
Venue: HighPoint.com Stadium, Piscataway, NJ
Network: BTN

Rutgers (0-0) vs. UMass (0-0) Game Preview

It’s a new era for UMass football with Walt Bell taking over the reigns, and the program needs to find something that works early on. The Minutemen need an identity.

Rutgers needs a positive identity, and it needs a few wins after going 1-11. The Scarlet Knights will be favored against Liberty in late October, but they likely won’t be favored against anyone else. With a trip to Iowa up next, this is the tune-up.

UMasss gets Southern Illinois up next and has a slew of winnable games on the slate, but getting by Rutgers would be a huge moment for the new coaching staff.

Why Rutgers Will Win

For all of the problems and concerns on the Scarlet Knight offense that struggled so much last season, the defense should make up for it in the opener.

UMass won’t have much of a running game – if any – and with Andy Isabella gone, the receiving corps isn’t anything special. Six starters might have to be replaced on the Rutgers defense, but the secondary will be okay early on. This will be the game to find a pass rush.

Why UMass Will Win

The Rutgers offense that finished 127th in the nation isn’t going to be an explosive fun-fest right away. This is still an attack that failed to score more than 17 points in every game after hanging 35 in the opener against Texas State.

The running game will be dangerous at times, but this group has a long way to go to be merely mediocre. There’s not enough from the deep passing game to worry about – the Minutemen should be able to sell out to get into the backfield.

If Rutgers QB Artur Sitkowski – assuming he really is the starter – hasn’t solved his interception problem in the offseason, the Minutemen secondary should be able to take advantage of its opportunities.

What’s Going To Happen

Rutgers will look the part in Week One. UMass has way, way, way too many concerns on both sides of the ball in a complete and total rebuild. The Scarlet Knights will play well enough offensively to get up right away, and the defense will pull together and stop everything against the run.

At least for one week, Rutgers will give its long-suffering fans a little bit of hope.