PLAYERS TO WATCH
–Freshman QB Artur Sitkowski almost made it three straight games without an interception (remember, he had four at Maryland) and finished 8-of-19 for just 40 yards in the loss to Michigan. The last three games — with one pick — were against Northwestern, which will play for the Big Ten title, previously ranked Wisconsin and No. 4 Michigan.
–Freshman RB Isaih Pacheco continues to be the highlight of the Rutgers season. He ripped off an 80-yard touchdown run as part of a 142-yard rushing day and also completed a 19-yard pass to quarterback Gio Rescigno out of the Wildcat.
–RB Raheem Blackshear just might wind up as a slot receiver after running up 162 yards in catches in the Wisconsin game. He leads Rutgers in both rushing (478 yards, two touchdowns, on 111 carries) and receiving (40 for 332 yards, two TDs).
–WLB Trevor Morris, who led the Knights with 118 tackles last year, continues to get the job done on defense. He notched his 16th double-digit game and hit 300 career tackles in the same game at Wisconsin. No. 17 came with 10 at Michigan, giving him 317 for his career, 10th on the school’s all-time list.
–S Saquan Hampton had two interceptions at Wisconsin, Rutgers’ first two-pick game since Brandon Jones did it at the Russell Athletic Bowl in 2012. He was also in on 10 tackles in a strong all-around game — and last week led Rutgers with 11 tackles, seven of them solo, in the loss at Michigan.
SERIES HISTORY: Penn State leads Rutgers 26-2, winning the last 11 games (since 1988) of a series that started in 1918. Rutgers took a 6-0 lead at Penn State last year but the Nittany Lions wound up with a 35-6 victory.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “It’s a small one. They’ve been through a lot. They came in with a lot of guys and not many are left.” — Coach Chris Ash on the Rutgers senior class that plays its final home game Saturday.
