PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB Artur Sitkowski, a true freshman, posted season-high numbers for completions (29) and yardage (267) in the loss to Illinois, but was a dreadful 2-for-16 for eight yards and four interceptions in the 34-7 loss at Maryland. “Art will still be our quarterback,” coach Chris Ash said Monday. “He’s got to play better — in our offense he’s got to play better, but … Art is a guy that’s got a tremendous amount of talent. The week before he threw for 270 yards or close to it. He had a bad outing. That doesn’t necessarily mean we are going to change the quarterback. We need him to play like he did the week before.”
–RB Isaih Pacheco, a freshman, was the lone bright spot in the loss at Maryland, running for 107 yards on 22 carries and the lone Rutgers touchdown. “It’s the coach’s call, and I’m the player,” he said. “I’m just going to keep working hard at practice, and if they call my number at game time, I’m ready to go in and make something happen.”
–WLB Trevor Morris, who led the Knights with 118 tackles last year, continues to put up impressive numbers. He recorded the 14th double-digit tackling effort of his college career Saturday, with 10 tackles, seven of them solo.
–RB Jonathan Hilliman, who transferred to Rutgers from Boston College as a graduate senior, scored his fifth touchdown of the season — the 31st of his career — in the first quarter against Illinois.
SERIES HISTORY: Rutgers Leads Northwestern 3-0 but this is the first meeting between the programs since 1991 and the first Big Ten meeting.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “We’ve got a bunch of young players, two really solid recruiting classes. I think when you look at the guys that are playing, that’s an indication of that, because a lot of those guys are playing. We need to get another one, you need to get another one, you need to have guys in the program for three or four years. That’s the plan I’ve had since I’ve been here.” — Coach Chris Ash
