Ray Rice's Numbers vs USF

[usfgrad84]

He didn't do squat against us last year.  Only 30 yards rushing and 16 yards receiving.  Losing Leonard isn't a big deal. 

I couldn't disagree more with this statement.  The guy was a second round pick and an all american.  Even if he didn't get the stats, he still opened holes as a blocker and he attracted attention and drew an assignment from someone on defense either as a runner or receiver.  Everyone on Rutgers from the coach to Ray Rice himself credited Leonard's presence as a big factor in Rice getting the yardage he did.

[nobull.Bulls]

Leonard was a distraction to our D and kept at least one guy off rice. He also blocked for Rice if Im not mistaken.

We have a MUCH better defense this year than we did last time we played Rutgers.

If you remember last year, we were not that good at the beginning of the year since all our players were just getting use to their roles.

We improved a lot as the year went on, and reached the pinnacle when we beat WVU.

  This year, we started strong and we will FINISH STRONG!

[bulls96go]

just win jim

[Matt]

He didn't do squat against us last year.  Only 30 yards rushing and 16 yards receiving.  Losing Leonard isn't a big deal. 

I couldn't disagree more with this statement.  The guy was a second round pick and an all american.  Even if he didn't get the stats, he still opened holes as a blocker and he attracted attention and drew an assignment from someone on defense either as a runner or receiver.  Everyone on Rutgers from the coach to Ray Rice himself credited Leonard's presence as a big factor in Rice getting the yardage he did.

reason why Leonard didnt do much verse us last season is because Pat St Louis was on his ass all night.  however, that caused Pat to not be involved in the other players on the field and leaving a nice big gap for Ray Rice to run throw on the halfback draws that killed us last year.  Leonard would run out in the flat and Rice would take a delayed handoff and bust it for a big gain.

with clebert back for this one and a better run stopping LB in T-Mac....i like our chances to contain Ray Rice a little bit more this game.  we arent going to shut him down like we did Kevin Smith but still dont think he would get more than 120 yards

[JoeB]

Keep in mind Teel's stats have been helped by playing powerhouse defenses such as....

Norfolk State (wow)

Navy

Syracuse

We've got to make this guy beat us, because I'm pretty sure he can't.

Mid Atlantic Bull, check out his stats versus the good teams too.  They are very solid.  Actually they are a little better than some of the bad teams they've played.

[Matt]

some of those bad teams teel was out in the 3rd qtr similar to what grothe did vs UCF.

either way, its clear that this is the most BALANCED offense we have played this year.  I dont think its as good of an offense overall as WVU was but this team is much more balanced.

[MarketingGuy]

I have seen several of Rutgers games and I really can't say if I am or I am not impressed with their offense this year.  Yes, they still have Ray Rice, but they lost two All Americans in leonard and Clark Harris.  No way you don't have a drop off losing two guys like that. 

Leonard was a big part of their offense in three phases.  First he was a great lead blocker for Rice.  He was a threat to run and he was also their leading receiver.  He made many great plays for them on third down.  This year, however, their receivers have really stepped up and will be a formidable threat.

It's hard to judge just how good this offense is though.  The first frew games looked like Teel was playing catch in the backyard with his receivers. the agains he was against real poor competition.  No coverage at all.  That certainly won't be the case with our DBs.  I think the key in this game to stopping their offense will be like it was against UCF and WVU.  Understand that their guys are going to make their yardage, but don't allow the long plays.

Don't forget that in last year's game it was our first conference game and we were without Clebert, Selvie was still figuring out where to play at this level, Julmiste was suspended.  If you go back to last year, The D line was still our biggest question mark besides our running game.  We did a good job of containing Harris last year.

On offense I definitely think this will be the game for our running game (Ford) to really shine although I have been saying that for a few weeks now).  Maryland ran for 254 yards, almost 100 yards more than their normal average.  Navy moved the ball, but their QB threw 3 INTS in the red zone.  I think we can move the ball well against them.  I believe things started to click on the offense the last couple of weeks better because our O line is now healthy.

I'm still nervous because Rutgers is good, but I think we are playing at a very high level right now.  I think even higher than most people realize.  As long as we are up for the game, we should win with a good showing.

Great post..

[USF_Jimbo]

I have seen several of Rutgers games and I really can't say if I am or I am not impressed with their offense this year.  Yes, they still have Ray Rice, but they lost two All Americans in leonard and Clark Harris.  No way you don't have a drop off losing two guys like that.  

Leonard was a big part of their offense in three phases.  First he was a great lead blocker for Rice.  He was a threat to run and he was also their leading receiver.  He made many great plays for them on third down.  This year, however, their receivers have really stepped up and will be a formidable threat.

It's hard to judge just how good this offense is though.  The first frew games looked like Teel was playing catch in the backyard with his receivers. the agains he was against real poor competition.  No coverage at all.  That certainly won't be the case with our DBs.  I think the key in this game to stopping their offense will be like it was against UCF and WVU.  Understand that their guys are going to make their yardage, but don't allow the long plays.

Don't forget that in last year's game it was our first conference game and we were without Clebert, Selvie was still figuring out where to play at this level, Julmiste was suspended.  If you go back to last year, The D line was still our biggest question mark besides our running game.  We did a good job of containing Harris last year.

On offense I definitely think this will be the game for our running game (Ford) to really shine although I have been saying that for a few weeks now).  Maryland ran for 254 yards, almost 100 yards more than their normal average.  Navy moved the ball, but their QB threw 3 INTS in the red zone.  I think we can move the ball well against them.  I believe things started to click on the offense the last couple of weeks better because our O line is now healthy.

I'm still nervous because Rutgers is good, but I think we are playing at a very high level right now.  I think even higher than most people realize.  As long as we are up for the game, we should win with a good showing.

This is as good a breakdown as I've seen to date regarding this game. 

Grothe just needs to get a feel for the game early and not get so amped that he makes mistakes.  Our receivers have to catch the damned ball and our RB's need to hold on to it...Yes you Mr. Ford. 

Defensively we need to stack the line and dare Rutgers to throw vs. our DB's who need to let them have a few underneath and bait them into mistakes.  I see a pick for a TD for us tomorrow night.  And overall our defense has to punish whoever touches the ball. 

[RSSMOOTH]

Last season we were missing Clebert, and Selvie was just getting into the swing of things. I expect us to stop him.

Thats right. Last year Clebert tore his groin right before the UCF game, they were planning to red shirt him but they didn't and he tried to fight through it. Clebert's presence alone allows him to occupy two gaps which is great for our LBs.

The fact that Brian Leonard is not there is a huge hit. Ray Rice was held to less than 100 yards against Maryland and was shut down completely by Cincy which shows that he has a tough time against solid D's.

Another thing of interest is the amount of carries that Ray Rice is getting. He's averaging almost 28 carries per game. Its starting to take a toll on him evidenced by the fact that he's rushed for under 100 yards in 2 out of his last 3 games.