Good decision making by Artur Sitkowski will be key against Ohio State
In the last two games versus the Buckeyes, the Scarlet Knights have been shutout.
For Rutgers Scarlet Knights quarterback Artur Sitkowski, the training wheels are being taken off in a hurry. After starting the Week 1 contest against Texas State, the freshman will have to lead his program against the Ohio State Buckeyes—a team that just hung 77 points on Oregon State.
Sitkowski has tall orders as the No. 1 signal-caller in New Brunswick, N.J., but if he can just score some points—any amount of points—this weekend, then he’ll already be making progress for the Scarlet Knights.
In the last two meetings versus Ohio State, Rutgers has been outscored 114-0. That’s right, in the last two meet-ups (one in Columbus, and one in Piscataway) the Scarlet Knights have found a way to not score any points. Make it the last three meetings, and they’ve been outscored 163-7.
Ohio State’s defense in Week 1 left more to be desired; long touchdown plays of the rushing and passing variety rocked the Buckeye defense on Saturday. If those miscues aren’t solved, or if safety Jordan Fuller is still out this week with a hamstring injury, then I’d imagine that Pass D is still not going to be up to “Defensive Back University” standards. This bodes well for Rutgers’ freshman QB, who made decent throws (and decisions) in his first career start last Saturday.
Breaking down some of his good passes against Texas State, Sitkowski is able to make tight throws. On a curl route in the redzone, he hit his target with three defenders collapsing in on the receiver. In another instance, Sitkowski stood in the pocket, and hit an open man crossing the field for a first down. Granted, these are just two plays against a team that comes nowhere close to what the Buckeye defense will bring this weekend, but if he’s able to make good throws—and make those throws to the right receiver—then it’s a huge step in the right direction for Rutgers.
The passing game will need to be a priority for the Scarlet Knights. You won’t be able to beat Ohio State with just the pass, but in order for a running game to get any resemblance of production, the aerial attack has to be established.
Now, a problem that Rutgers will be running up against is the fact that the Buckeyes’ pass rush is one of the best in the country. Between Nick Bosa, Dre’Mont Jones and Chase Young, there are three guys up front that will likely regularly bust through the offensive line. Sitkowski will not have a lot of time to make a decision on where to throw, so deep plays are going to be out of the question. Mid-range passes and screens are going to be how they move the ball via the pass on Saturday.
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