BadgerBlitz.com brings back its All-Out Blitz weekly series for the 2024 season, where you can find everything you need to know about Wisconsin's upcoming opponent. We look at UW's sixth opponent of the season in the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, who the Badgers will host Saturday morning in Piscataway, New Jersey, 11:00 a.m. on BTN.

QUICK PROGRAM FACTS

Head Coach: Greg Schiano (91-96 career record)

Rutgers All Time Record: 503-516-22 (.483)

2024 Record: 4-1

Rankings: N/A

Series vs. Wisconsin: 0-5

Saturday will technically be Wisconsin’s third conference game, but their first real Big Ten-style battle, when they go up against a team that is unabashedly run-first.

The Scarlet Knights’ offense revolves completely around running back Kyle Monangai, whose 116 rushing attempts are first in the Big Ten and 19 higher than the next-highest back.

He’ll also be looking to right his wrongs from last season, after rushing just eight times for 16 yards against the Badgers.

This will be the first time this season that Wisconsin’s run defense is truly tested.

Early in the season, they struggled at times to contain Western Michigan and South Dakota, two run-heavy teams who hung around with the Badgers despite the talent disparity.

The defensive line has slowly improved this season, mostly due to the efforts of Elijah Hills, but we’ll know their true level of competency after Saturday.

Since the last meeting between these teams, the Knights made an upgrade at quarterback, acquiring Athan Kaliakmanis from Minnesota via the transfer portal.

He’s had a solid season so far, throwing for just 947 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 55.6% of his passes. But given the success of Monangai, he hasn’t been asked to do too much.

The emphasis on the run game has also kept any single receiver from emerging as a major threat.

The best seems to be Monmouth transfer Dymere Miller, who was the leading receiver in the FCS last season and leads the team this season with 17 receptions for 262 receiving yards.

But if Wisconsin’s pass rush is as poor this week as it was last week, it won’t matter who they have at receiver. They’ll get open regardless.

The outside linebacker trio of Darryl Peterson, John Pius and Leon Lowery has been underwhelming this season. They have their work cut out for them against a Rutgers offensive line that’s 80% seniors.

The Knights allowed four sacks last week against Nebraska and it had a clear effect on Kaliakmanis’ play.

If there are any players or position groups with something to prove, look no farther than Wisconsin’s edge rushers.

The priority for offensive coordinator Phil Longo will be to find ways to preserve the momentum that quarterback Braedyn Locke gained last week.

Locke rebounded from two first half interceptions and finished with 359 passing yards and three touchdowns.

The other star of the day, slot receiver Trech Kekahuna, finished with a career-best statline of his own (six receptions for 134 receiving yards and two touchdowns), and should earn more attention from the jump.

Starting slot receiver Will Pauling will look to bounce back after a recent rough patch, beginning with a two-reception performance against USC, followed by a game against Purdue where he suffered an injury in the first half and left the game before catching a single ball.

The Scarlet Knights’ secondary is a definite strength, but the biggest threat to the passing game is right end Aaron Lewis.

His 18 pressures this season are top-10 in the conference, but this type of production is expected from him at this point. He logged 36 pressures last season and 40 the year prior, per Pro Football Focus. He poses a far greater threat than anybody on Purdue did last week.

But, this is Wisconsin, so they’ll do their best to establish the run early.

The current top dog in the room, Tawee Walker, doesn’t look like he’s totally recovered from his injury, so they may have to lean more on Darrion Dupree and Cade Yacamelli.

Dupree has yet to break out, with a career-high of 24 rushing yards that he’s reached three times, but the coaching staff clearly believes in him and will continue to give him a significant number of snaps.

Their running defense isn’t as bad as Purdue’s, which is one of the worst in the country, but they’re still bottom-three in the Big Ten in terms of rushing yards allowed per game (157.6).

The inside linebacker duo of Dariel Djabome and Tyreem Powell pose the greatest threat, as two trustworthy veterans who thrive in the run game.

It’ll be up to the Badger offense to prove they can take down a real Big Ten threat, and that starts in the run game.

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