Rutgers vs Penn State: Schedule, time, TV as Scarlet Knights head back on the road
PISCATAWAY – Rutgers football played in a loud environment last week and had some issues with the crowd noise.
Now the Scarlet Knights are preparing to go into an environment that will be just as loud, if not louder.
That means they need to make sure they fix what went wrong in Saturday’s 22-0 loss to Iowa when they committed six false-start penalties.
“It was really loud at Iowa and guess what, at Beaver Stadium, it gets pretty loud,” coach Greg Schiano said. “We are going to have to get over that and figure out how to operate in the noise. Poise in the noise.”
Schiano’s team will go up against No. 12 Penn State on Saturday in State College, the third-straight week Rutgers will be facing a ranked team and one of the top defenses in the country.
The Scarlet Knights can’t afford to make self-inflicted mistakes if they’re going to have any chance of pulling off an upset. Those false start penalties cost them badly against Iowa – a third-and-2 in the first half became third-and-12 after Rutgers got called for consecutive false starts.
The good news for Rutgers?
Schiano is confident those issues can be corrected during this week’s practices.
“We did not do a good enough job handling it,” Schiano said. “I just said ‘poise in the noise.’ That's what we need to do, and we had not experienced it maybe to that degree, but the noise that was on our practice field last week was louder than the noise in Kinnick Stadium, I can tell you, because I was in the middle of it and I could hear the stuff I needed to hear on Saturday. And on Tuesday and Wednesday, I couldn't. So we need to just keep practicing at it. Again, we are developing. We'll develop how to play in that kind of environment, hopefully in time to get out there in Beaver Stadium and be able to do it.”
What channel is Rutgers vs Penn State on?
The game will be shown on FS1 with kickoff scheduled for noon. Chris Myers will be on play-by-play alongside analyst Robert Smith.
How can I watch Rutgers Penn State game without cable? Is Rutgers-Penn State streaming?
The game will be streamed on the FOX Sports App.
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Radio
The game can be heard on the RWJBarnabas Health Rutgers Sports Network (WFAN 101.9 FM/660 AM, FOX Sports New Jersey 93.5 FM/1450 AM, SiriusXM 387, SXM app, Audacy app, Scarlet Knights app). Chris Carlin will be on play-by-play alongside analyst Julian Pinnix-Odrick with Anthony Fucilli on the sidelines.
Weather forecast
Forecasts are calling for partly sunny skies with a high temperature of 49 degrees for Saturday in State College. Wind will be out of the NW at 9 mph.
Rutgers vs Penn State point spread
Penn State is a 20½-point favorite, according to BetMGM.
Previous games
Rutgers (vs. Northwestern, W, 24-7; vs. Temple, W, 36-7; vs. Virginia Tech, W, 35-16; at Michigan, L, 31-7; vs. Wagner, W, 52-3; at Wisconsin, L, 24-13; vs. Michigan State, W, 27-24); at Indiana, W, 31-14; vs. Ohio State, L, 35-16; at Iowa, L, 22-0).
Penn State (vs. West Virginia, W, 38-15; vs. Delaware, W, 63-7; at Illinois, W, 30-13; vs. Iowa, W, 31-0; at Northwestern, W, 41-13; vs. UMass, W, 63-0; at Ohio State, L, 20-12; vs. Indiana, W, 33-24; at Maryland, L, 51-15; vs. Michigan, L, 24-15).
Rutgers-Penn State series history
Penn State leads the all-time series with Rutgers 31-2. The Nittany Lions won last season’s meeting 55-10 at Beaver Stadium. The Scarlet Knights last beat Penn State on Sept. 24, 1988, in a 21-16 victory at Penn State.
Three questions facing Rutgers
Who will be available?
Injuries have started mounting for Rutgers, the latest ones coming to wide receiver JaQuae Jackson and cornerback Robert Longerbeam in Saturday’s loss to Iowa. It’s unclear whether they’ll be able to play against Penn State.
Will Rutgers be able to run the football effectively?
The Scarlet Knights need to run the ball in order for its offense to work. Doing that against Penn State, though, is going to be a challenge. The Nittany Lions have the Big Ten’s best rushing defense, yielding just 77.2 yards on the ground per game.
Can Gavin Wimsatt avoid throwing a costly interception?
Wimsatt has thrown an interception in each of Rutgers’ four losses – including pick sixes against Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio State. The Scarlet Knights can’t afford a costly mistake against Penn State. It needs to play a clean football game, which means Wimsatt needs to take care of the football.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: RU football vs PSU: Time, TV, radio, preview
