When Rutgers football opens up their 2021 season Saturday afternoon against Temple, it will be in front of a sellout crowd at SHI Stadium.
Head coach Greg Schiano, in his second stint with the Scarlet Knights, has a program many believe to be on the rise.
Quarterback Noah Vedral brings stability to the position, this season he needs to also bring consistency.
Because the schedule won’t be a walk in the park. Rutgers will head to Syracuse in Week 2 before returning home for a matchup with Delaware.
Doesn’t sound daunting, right? Hold that thought, because then it gets real with nine straight Big Ten games. Four of those conference games are against Top 25 opponents.
So can this team, which hasn’t qualified for the postseason in seven years, live up to the hype?
Many believe Rutgers can with Schiano back as their coach.
Vedral has a wide receiver to get the football in Bo Melton. The playmaker is an NFL prospect, last season he posted 53 catches for 707 yards with eight touchdowns. Furthermore, we should keep an eye on receivers Isaiah Washington and Aaron Cruickshank. This is an offense that can put points on the scoreboard. Last season, under returning offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson, the Scarlet Knights averaged 339.1 yards and 26.7 points.
Schiano has 20 starters returning this year, 11 of them are on offense.
Rutgers will look to surpass last season’s win total of three and the talent’s there to do it. Six wins puts them in the conversation for a Bowl game.
How much noise they can make in the Big Ten this season remains to be seen. What’s clear right now, however, is Rutgers has everyone’s attention.
Image: Noah Vedral – Getty
