Welcome to New York! (Or really, New Jersey)
As we reflect on the Rutgers September, the garden state has been buzzing this week with the chatter of Taylor Swift’s appearance at the Chiefs and Jets game at MetLife Stadium last week.
Everyone wants a connection to the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news. Rutgers and football head coach Greg Schiano have been buzzwords in these conversations. What’s the connection between the State University of New Jersey and Taylor Swift?
Isiah Pacheco.
Pacheco is in his second season with the Kansas City Chiefs, coming to Arrowhead straight from SHI Stadium. Oh, and he’s one-for-one with Super Bowl rings as well.
Pacheco is a Vineland, NJ native and was the Rutgers’ star running back during his time with the Knights.
Reposts from the Chiefs of a picture saying “Welcome home pop” were quickly reshared by a flurry of Rutgers and Chiefs fans Sunday as the Chiefs got ready to take the field at MetLife stadium. Accounts on TikTok boasted the connection by creating a series of pictures ultimately creating the sentence “I love Taylor Swift…’s boyfriend…’s teammate….’s old college head coach”
With Pacheco Gone, Rutgers Is Left to Fill His Legacy
Kyle Monangai has really stepped up in his running back position since Pacheco’s leave. His performance similarities to Pacheco can be read about here.
With one month down in the 2023 season, here are Monangai’s season stats:
- 88 rush attempts
- 6 touchdowns
- 471 rushing yards
- 23 passing yards
- 2 catches
What should Rutgers expect of Monangai for the remainder of the season? Monangai has done well with short rushes. And although those are not the flashy, big numbers that catch people’s eyes, he wears his opponent’s defenses down with these quick and constant efforts. He is the clear leader of Rutgers’ offense and we can expect him to continue racking up yards with his quick sprints. When asked about Monangai, Schiano had nothing but positive things to say. “He’s worked incredibly hard,” he said.
“Both his physical development and his strength and conditioning area. He’s become a student of the game. Oftentimes, running backs can get away just by being naturally talented guys, and he is naturally talented. But he’s worked very hard to understand run schemes, understand pass protections, and most importantly, understand defenses. So I think he’s now what I would call a guy who is in that final quarter of his development here, and those are the guys that we need.”
Rutgers’ offense has continued to get stronger with the return of Aaron Young. Another name to watch out for at running back, Young has returned from an injury that kept him out of the first few games and has come back ready to fire away. Thus far, he’s had 11 rushing attempts and 78 yards gained.
Upcoming Opponents
At this point in the season, Rutgers needs to win two more games to meet bowl game eligibility. Here are the opponents they have yet to face:
- Wisconsin
- Michigan State
- Indiana
- Ohio State
- Penn State
- Maryland
Last week’s blowout over Wagner was the last of Rutgers’ non-conference games. Penn State and Maryland are powerhouses, leading the Big Ten East with 5-0 records. Ohio State is sitting right behind them at 4-0. While Rutgers’ performance has made major improvements from last season, they’re really going to have to fight to be able to pull wins out against these three teams. Wisconsin, this week’s opponent, is at the top of the Big Ten West leaderboard at 3-1. After seeing the way Rutgers held up against the University of Michigan, we shouldn’t be to quick to count them out against the Badgers.
Indiana and Michigan State fall below Rutgers in Big Ten standings. These games are the most critical for Rutgers. These are two games that they should win and need to win to secure a bowl game. Michigan State is currently scrambling, having lost their head coach early into the season.
Going into the Wagner game, Schiano was firm on the fact that he wanted his team to come out as strong as they could. Just because they’re expected to win doesn’t mean they should act like it – every game should be treated the same. This is what they are going to need to do against Michigan State and Indiana, and then off to a bowl game, they will be!
