Rutgers @ Navy preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 15, 2011 ) Navy 20, Rutgers 21

Quarterbacks will be in the spotlight when Navy hosts Rutgers on Saturday, but for completely opposite reasons. While the Midshipmen seem to have two consistent signal-callers under center, the Scarlet Knights don’t know if they even have one. Gary Nova looked like the senior standout Rutgers needed in a season-opening 41-38 win at Washington State, but has struggled since and threw five interceptions in a 13-10 home loss to Penn State last week.

Navy, meanwhile, flexed its depth last week in a 35-21 victory over Texas State, a game that backup Tago Smith dominated. Filling in while Keenan Reynolds nursed a knee injury, Smith threw for 117 yards, ran for 85 more and accounted for four touchdowns. Midshipmen coach Ken Niumatalolo expects Reynolds, who worked with the first team this week, to be ready for Rutgers in Navy’s home opener, but as Smith told reporters at Monday’s practice, “I'll be ready if they need me. End of the day, we have team goals, and that's to win games."

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports. LINE: Navy -6

ABOUT RUTGERS (2-1): What was supposed to be a steady, experienced Rutgers defense has been crumbling late in games, raising concerns about how it will hold up to the grind of a Big Ten schedule. The Scarlet Knights have allowed 52 second-half points this season, and let the Nittany Lions drive 80 yards in six plays for the winning score in less than two minutes of the fourth quarter. The good news, considering the matchup versus Navy’s run-heavy attack, is Rutgers is allowing just 110.3 yards per game on the ground, holding Washington State to just six and Penn State to 33.

ABOUT NAVY (2-1): Niumatalolo may have more reliable ball carriers than he ever has in his seven seasons leading the Midshipmen. Thirteen players have run the ball for Navy and five of them have already topped 100 yards, including Noah Copeland (222), Chris Swain (173) and Ryan Williams-Jenkins (167). As always, the run game is key to Navy’s hope of winning time-of-possession battles, and the Midshipmen have done so in all three games, including a 34-17 loss to Ohio State in which the Buckeyes had the ball for just 27:34.


EXTRA POINTS

1. Rutgers holds a slight 12-11-1 edge in the series and defeated the Midshipmen 21-20 in 2011, though the Scarlet Knights are just 5-9-1 at Navy.

2. Scarlet Knights coach Kyle Flood, who took over three years ago after Greg Schiano left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is 8-1 in September games.

3. Navy has won eight in a row at home and Reynolds has a 16-7 record as the starting quarterback.

PREDICTION: Navy 25, Rutgers 17.