Hawkeyes survive Big Ten opener with Rutgers

Breathtaking. There is no other way to describe Janarion Grant’s 76-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter.

Fears of a boycott seem to have lessened, so now the question becomes whether the Scarlet Knights already will be trailing by the time some late-arriving fans get into the stadium.

Grant, who entered the day ranking fourth in Rutgers history with 4,158 all-purpose yards and first among active players in the Big Ten, has played in all 42 games over the last three-plus seasons for the Scarlet Knights.

“We’re about to get in to Big Ten play, and we’re about to be playing some real good teams, and we would rather start ahead than start behind”, he said. “He’s an exceptional athlete”.

$4 million: Annual salary of Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, who is under contract for the next 75 years or so.

The nerves are natural for numerous players, as it was their first time on the court against another Big Ten club.

In a 37-28 win against New Mexico, Rutgers looked vulnerable against speed runs, especially up the middle.

Grant has been at his best, however, as a return specialist.

Laviano’s favorite deep-threat target has been Jawuan Harris thus far, catching five passes for a team-high 140 yards and two scores.

Just days after a defeat at the hands of No. 18 Penn State in its first Big Ten matchup of the year, the Rutgers volleyball team will face off against IL. “I’d take a bullet for either one of them, but football – when it’s time to go play, they got to do their thing and I got to do mine”. It’s an unfortunate break for a player who was on his way to a strong Senior season at Rutgers.

“If somebody gets out of a lane, if somebody is not disciplined, doesn’t tackle or have a proper contained reverse, he’ll throw a reverse pass, ” Ferentz said. “You’ve got to give him credit for trying”.

Already looking to regroup after coming off of last week’s loss, that only adds to the challenge Iowa faces this week. You can bet new coach Chris Ash is harping on his Scarlet Knights to be ready against No. 25 Iowa.

The Hawkeyes also must be prepared to deal with the run.

Losing to North Dakota State wasn’t exactly what the Iowa Hawkeyes had in mind when they scheduled the Bison for a home game in Week 3.

Robert Martin: The workhorse junior back for Rutgers logged his fifth career 100-yard rushing effort with a lot of tough inside running.

“We have to be able to stop the run”.

Today starts the journey, but the Hawkeyes know they have to be sharper.

“I think the Penn State game helped us a lot in overcoming the first Big Ten obstacle”, Fletcher said.