Michigan football: Everything you need to know about Rutgers
An unexpected hero
Rutgers began their season knowing which guy was the starting quarterback. His name is McLane Carter, a Texas Tech transfer. As we grow closer to game time, and with Carter in concussion protocol, an unexpected hero has emerged in the backfield, Artur Sitkowski.
Against Boston College, Artur completed 33 passes for 304 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
Artur Sitkowski is playing lights out in the biggest game of his Rutgers career. This dime got the Scarlet Knights a first down at the end of the third quarter.
— Brian Fonseca (@briannnnf) September 21, 2019
Through 3 quarters, Sitkowski is 20-of-24 with a career-high 275 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions. pic.twitter.com/nUlSPlBYya
“I was happy for him. I told him that was the best game I’ve seen him play, without even question,” offensive coordinator John McNulty said of Sitkowski’s performance.
Much like Wisconsin, you are going to see a featured back with the occasional breather for the starter. On the season, sophomore Isaih Pacheco has been the workhorse for Rutgers, rushing for 245 yards on 47 carries. The 5-foot-11 210-pound elusive runner came out of high school as the 30th ranked running back in the country, and the 17th overall football player from New Jersey.
When Isaih isn’t on the field, Rutgers is going to pass the ball. Pacheco’s reliever is Raheem Blackshear and this season, Blackshear has rushed the ball 23 times and caught the ball 22 times. He averages 3.3 yards per rush and 11.6 yards per catch.
When Artur isn’t targeting Blackshear out of the backfield, he sends the ball over to his favorite wide receiver target, Bo Melton. Bo had a season-high six catches against UMASS for 127 yards, and he is their lone downfield threat.