Green Wave Meet A Scarlet Tsunami

Nice little ho-hum vintage Gary Nova game against inferior competition. 4 TD's and 290 yards through the air. Yeah, it was Tulane. But this is Gary Nova, and I will take that any day. A team that was picked to finish at the bottom of the division is favored against Michigan this upcoming week. Who would have predicted that? Rutgers is at already at the win total that most people expected them to finish the season with. The cupcakes are over though. Michigan may be terrible up until this point, but you never count out a team with the history of the Wolverines.

Couple things from the game. Desmond Peoples and Justin Goodwin filled in admirably for the injured Paul James. The James injury may hurt us against stiffer competition down the road (Wisconsin, Mich St., Nebraska), but for now the depth is really showing itself. If you are going to have to deal with a devastating injury, it is good it came from a position of strength. While neither player boasts the big play potential of James, both are able to allow their blocks to develop and hit the hole with speed. From what we have seen in their careers both players are stellar pass catchers out of the backfield as well.

Leonte Carroo. What a fucking stud? What else can be said? This guy is going to demolish the receiving touchdown records at Rutgers. Catches absolute everything, just a joy to watch. Call it chemistry from high school with Nova. Call it Carroo making Nova look good. I don't care what you call it, as long as it continues. It would be nice to see Nova get some more players involved on offense with the meat of the schedule coming up, but I can't blame him too much for going back to the well.

A defense? What?! Listen, by no means am I saying they are world beaters, but it's a hell of a a lot better than what we saw against Washington State and Howard. Holding Penn State to 13, limiting Navy's high powered rushing attack, and stifling Tulane were all a welcome change to the first few weeks. Sometimes it is easy to forget how young this defense is, and it should only improve going forward. 

My god, Kemoko Turay. What an absolute freak. It is going to be fun watching this guy for years to come. He has all the athletic ability in the world and seems to be catching on quickly when it comes to instincts. Especially considering his limited football background. Hopefully we see more plays like the ones below...

This Michigan game kind of scares me. Going to have to run the ball effectively, limit Gary's throws, and avoid turnovers at all costs :ahem Mr. Nova:. Would be nice to see the defense continue to improve and maybe force a turnover or two. The special teams just has to continue to be the special teams. Block kicks, It's just what we do. Maybe we can decide to actually block for Grant on a  kick return, Lord knows he is itching to take one to the chopper.

Above all, we need a Penn State-esque turnout from the Scarlet Knight faithful. I want ears bleeding in Piscataway. Got to get our first Big Ten win somewhere, and wouldn't it be nice to get it at home against a team as storied as Michigan.

CHOP MICHIGAN!!!