Rutgers vs. Iowa: Score, live updates and three keys for the Scarlet Knights
IOWA CITY, IOWA – Rutgers football hasn’t beaten Iowa in three previous tries.
Ending that skid today would give the Scarlet Knights a seventh victory, a meaningful win over a ranked opponent and another achievement in an already successful season.
Can Greg Schiano’s team get it done?
That’ll be answered when Rutgers takes the field at Kinnick Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff looking to bounce back from last week’s tough loss to Ohio State.
The No. 22 Hawkeyes, coming off a close win over Northwestern, are 7-2 and lead the Big Ten West. They boast the fourth-ranked defense in the nation, allowing just 13.7 points per game, but have struggled badly to produce offensively all season – so much so that offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, son of head coach Kirk Ferentz, won’t be returning after this season.
Here are three keys for Rutgers today against Iowa:
Control the clock
Rutgers is at its best when it’s running the football effectively, putting together long drives and keeping its opponent off the field.
Kyle Monangai, who ran for 159 yards against an elite Ohio State defense, will need to have another big performance. This likely is going to be a game where the Scarlet Knights look to run the ball a lot – that’s the offense’s identity – and he’s 97 yards away from 1,000 for the season.
If Rutgers can run the ball well, it’ll also keep the defense fresh.
CLIMB TO THE TOP How Rutgers football's Kyle Monangai went from under the radar to among Big Ten's best
Overwhelm and underwhelming Iowa offense
Iowa has one of the worst offenses in the nation, allowing just 18.4 points per game. The Hawkeyes have only scored 17 touchdowns all season – for perspective, Rutgers has scored 30.
This is a chance for a stout, elite Rutgers defense to completely impose its will against an offense that has lost its starting quarterback, Cade McNamara, and tight end, Erick All, to season-ending injuries.
Members of the Scarlet Knights’ defense have said they believe the unit can keep getting better. Now is the time to prove that.
Avoid turnovers
Gavin Wimsatt has thrown a pick six in all three of Rutgers’ losses. They’ve been backbreaking mistakes that completely changed the game and handed momentum to Rutgers’ opponents – Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio State.
That can’t happen today.
The Scarlet Knights can’t give Iowa additional chances to score. It needs to avoid game-changing miscues.
Follow along here for updates throughout the game.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers football vs Iowa: Score, live updates
