KJ Duff and Rutgers need a response Friday. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect See more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The New York Post on Google No college football program was more embarrassed than Rutgers in Week 1.
The Scarlet Knights were five-score favorites over UMass at home last Thursday, but lost outright, 37-21, in a game that was never really close.
Two late scores by Rutgers made the final score look less ugly, but there’s no hiding from that result, which snapped the nation’s longest active losing streak.
Greg Schiano’s job is now in jeopardy, but the Knights can get things back on track with a trip to Boston College on Friday night.
The Eagles are 3.5-point favorites in this battle between two teams that will be licking their wounds after Week 1.
How much stock should you put into what could go down as the worst performance in FBS this season?
On one hand, you can slightly forgive a team for looking out of sync in Week 1, but on the other, it was UMass.
The good news for Rutgers is that Boston College wasn’t exactly at the races in their 34-15 loss to Cincinnati, another final score that was inflated thanks to some scoring in garbage time.
There will be plenty of decisions for both of these coaching staffs to make before kickoff, but I do think the handicap for this contest is pretty straightforward.
According to most power rankings, including Bill Connelly’s SP+, the Scarlet Knights would have been projected as a 3.5-point favorite over the Eagles on a neutral field had this game been played in Week 1.
Anthony Palano of Boston College celebrates. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Of course, things change when games are played, especially when you lose to UMass, but it does tell you that the market may be overreacting a bit here.
We should get a full-throttle effort from Rutgers on Friday night.
If a loss like the one the Knights suffered in Week 1 goes unanswered, heads tend to roll, so I am going to have faith that Schiano can get his house in order for this trip to Alumni Stadium.
I don’t suspect many bettors will be flocking to bet on Rutgers after what we saw last week, so you can afford to be patient and wait for the best possible price before getting down on the Scarlet Knights.
The Play: Rutgers moneyline (+140, Fanatics Sportsbook)
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
