When Greg Schiano turns on the film of Indiana’s game against Penn State, he sees something he sees within his own program – a program that is looking at changing the trajectory not only for this season but for seasons to come.
But programs took that first step in the 2020 season as Indiana knocked off 8th ranked Penn State 36-35 in an impressive fashion at home, while Rutgers kicked off the Schiano 2.0 Era on the road, thumping Michigan State 38-27.
While both teams enter 1-0 and tied with Ohio State at first place in the Big Ten East, this marks the first time in series history that a ranked Indiana team will take on Rutgers. Furthermore, the Scarlet Knights are 99-39-10 all-time in home openers, having won nine of the last 10.
Both teams enter with a defensive unit that managed to force turnovers and impose their will on the opposition at times.
In its win over Michigan State, Rutgers recorded seven takeaways, which is the most by a Big Ten team in a league game in a decade, and the +4 turnover margin Rutgers has is the best in America. In addition, Rutgers limited Michigan State to only 50 yards on the ground, while notching 12 tackles-for-loss.
Indiana, on the other hand, recorded three takeaways in the first half, which played a pivotal role in the Hoosiers building a 17-7 advantage.
This week, Schiano told the media that, despite the win, his team’s focus is strictly on Indiana.
“Obviously, a real good football team. Coach (Tom) Allen has done a tremendous job building the program. He took over and has really built a program where they’re a nationally ranked team. Kevin Wilson was there before and did a great job. Indiana football has been on the rise here for a while. This isn’t a new thing,” Schiano said.
Schiano said he likes what he sees from Indiana in all three phases of the game.
“I really like the kind of team that coach has put together out there. They play really hard, and they’re good in all three phases. So it’s gonna be a big challenge, and one that we’re looking forward to. We’re excited about coming, playing in our stadium, although we’re not going to have many people here,” Schiano said.
The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach touched on some of the similarities between Rutgers and Indiana, as well as connections between coaches on the two teams.
“They’re building a program, and they’re pretty far along, right? They’re a nationally ranked team. There’s a lot of similarities. I know some of their coaches. I know Coach Allen. He was at South Florida when I was living in Tampa. Really respected Coach, really good tactician and tremendous man. You’re talking about a program being run the right way. I do think as a program, they are really on track. I think what coach has done is put together a really good staff, has recruited really well and now that is a team that is a Big Ten football team. We really got our hands for, that’s for sure,” Schiano said.
Schiano said he sees Indiana currently recruiting the way he did the last time he was at Rutgers, which means a very heavy focus in Florida, adding that Indiana is now what the Scarlet Knights want to be.
“It’s not only where we want to go, which is a nationally ranked program inside the Big Ten. The way they did it is very similar to how we did it last time – they recruited Florida heavy. Tom has great connections in the state of Florida. If you look at the quarterback and number one receiver, Whop (Philyor), they are both from Tampa. I recruited (Michael) Penix when I was at Ohio State, so I am very familiar with him. They have a lot of players on their roster from Florida, which is something we built our program on our first go around. I have observed what Coach Allen has done before I got to Rutgers and have been very impressed,” Schiano said.
Rutgers quarterback Noah Verdal, a grad transfer from Nebraska, talked with the media this week about Indiana and the challenges the Hoosiers pose.
"They are a talented team. Their win last week tells you that. They're a ranked team. We take our approach to them very seriously. We are going to chop every day at practice, get ready, look at what they did this year, look at what they did last year," Verdal said.
The last time Rutgers beat a ranked opponent was 2009 and Verdal said that Rutgers has a good opportunity Saturday, but admitted the Scarlet Knights are not getting caught up in the hype of the game.
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