The Washington Huskies are in a new conference which means new programs to learn and new rivalries to bloom. In the inaugural season of the Big 10 conference the Huskies will see all of the former Pac-12 teams, but will be introduced to six new conference foes. In this series we will look at the program in 2024 and the worry meter of a Washington loss (1 no worries-10 extremely worried). Next up, Rutgers
Gone are the days of the Scarlet Knights that played sacrificial lamb to the Chris Petersen led Huskies. The rudderless Rutgers program fell victim to the 2016 Huskies on their way to the college football playoff.
Greg Schiano is back in Piscataway and has the program trending in the right direction. The scarlet knights capped off a winning 2023 season with a bowl victory against Miami to secure a 7-6 record with a high caliber defense returning.
The Scarlet Knights were successful more running the football last year but were hampered by the inability to get much going through the air. Quarterback Gavin Wimsatt failed to complete 50% of his passes while only throwing 9 touchdowns to 8 interceptions. His pick-six he threw against Ohio Sate was the backbreaker in their effort to hold off the Buckeyes.
During the offseason Wimsatt transferred to Kentucky and has been replaced by former Minnesota signal caller Athan Kaliakamanis. While his passing numbers are better than Wimsatt, Kaliakmanis does not pose a threat in the run game. The Scarlet Knights also get an upgrade at the receiver position with FCS transfers Naseim Brantley and Dymere Miller.
Their bright spot on offense comes in the form of Kyle Monangai who is considered one of the best running backs in the conference.
The strength of this program is the defense. The D-line snagged a big time transfer from Florida State in Malcolm Ray who will bolster a strong line with quality defensive ends players.
The linebackers were the strength of their defense. The duo of Tyreem Powell and Mohamed Toure. Toure’s season ended in training camp with a torn ACL. The loss of Toure is a tough blow to a defense that relied on him at the linebacker spot as well as their top pass rusher.
The backend of the defense relies on quality safety play that held opposing offenses to 21 points a game.
This will be the Huskies’ first Big 10 road game and you can’t go much farther from home. That being said, this is another good landing spot for the Huskies before intense road atmospheres like Iowa and Penn Sate.
While Kaliakamanis has better passing numbers than what Rutgers had last year that fact remains that his numbers aren’t great either. His touchdown to interception ratio of 14-9 isn’t great and he led a Golden Gophers offense that wasn’t anywhere near explosive.
The loss of Tourne is a brutal blow to this defense who still look to take another step forward in 2024 but the Huskies have some skill players who should be able to take advantage of athletic mismatches in space.
One player to watch in this matchup is Giles Jackson who should be able to find holes in the defense and turn up field for chunk yards after the catch.
Worry Meter: 4
