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TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com
Behind Enemy Lines: Ryan Dunleavy
The Michigan football team
(2-2 Big Ten, 5-2 overall) once had
its eyes on the College Football
Playoff.
Then it played Penn State.
Now, with their goals realigned
and their focus on what’s ahead,
the Wolverines meet the polar
opposite of the Nittany Lions.
Rutgers (2-2, 3-4) comes to Ann
Arbor for the fourth ever meeting
between the two programs, in a
meeting of two wailing offenses.
Thursday, the Michigan Daily
spoke with Ryan Dunleavy, a
Rutgers beat reporter for NJ.com,
to talk about the Scarlet Knights’
season and what Michigan fans
can expect to see this weekend.
The Michigan Daily: Now
that Rutgers has back-to-back
wins, what are your thoughts on
the team, and what are you going
to be watching for from Rutgers
this weekend?
Ryan
Dunleavy:
I
think
they’re getting much better. They
were a team last year that so much
of what they had to do was clean
up off-field messes, and get the
program image back in the right
direction, get the recruiting back
in the right direction. It was such
a long-term rebuild that I think
the onfield product almost had to
take a back seat during year one
(under coach Chris Ash).
In the last two weeks, you’re
finally starting to see a little bit
of progress on the field from the
team getting some wins. It also
shows you how bad the West
division of the Big Ten is. It’s
Wisconsin and a bunch of below
average teams, which I’ve said
all along. Rutgers, Maryland,
Indiana all those teams would
probably be bowl-teams in the
West
division,
and
Rutgers
beating Purdue and Illinois only
strengthens my case.
TMD:
Rutgers
switched
quarterbacks two weeks ago and
now plays Giovanni Rescigno.
How has he played?
RD: The best way to describe
how he’s played is ‘tough’ and
‘smart.’ If you look at the stats,
he’s certainly not going to win
you over. He’s completed 50
percent of his passes for about
170 yards and one touchdown
but no interceptions. That’s in
two games. He’s certainly not the
reason they’re winning games,
but he isn’t the reason they’re
losing games, which might be the
reason they’re winning games.
He’s
played
smart.
His
teammates rally behind him. He’s
a ‘gamer.’ He raises his game in
practice, he improvises plays
on the run. He bounces back up
from tackles. He’ll take a big hit.
He’s one of those guys teammates
love to get behind. He’s got those
intangibles that can really lift a
team’s spirit. He’s helped Rutgers
in that way.
He’s helped Rutgers not so
much as a passer, not so much as
a runner, but just as a good leader.
TMD: Rutgers runs the ball
on almost two-thirds of its plays.
If Michigan lines up with six or
seven guys crashing the line, will
that change Rutgers’ game plan
at all?
RD: (Rutgers) will try to
run it. It will change if they’re
not having success, but their
preference would be to find a way
to have success even if Michigan
is crashing the box. Rutgers is
going to want to run the ball.
They’re going to want to shorten
the game. They’re going to want
to have time of possession. That’s
what they want to do.
They have no interest in getting
into a high-scoring battle with a
team that has superior talent.
TMD: Has there been any talk
of revenge at Rutgers in regards
to last year’s game?
RD: They’ve done a pretty good
job of putting that out of their
heads publicly. I think it’s on the
back of everybody’s mind. That
game was impossible to forget.
Rutgers-Michigan is interesting
because they’ve played three
times and two of them are very
memorable. One, Rutgers beat
Michigan, and it was like, ‘Oh my
god, how did that happen?’ It was
Rutgers’ first Big Ten win in 2014.
Last year, 78-nothing. You just
don’t see that. You see 56-nothing
all the time, but you don’t see 78
nothing. I think for Rutgers it’s in
the back of their mind, but no one
has admitted that it’s an extra
motivator.
TMD:
Hypothetically,
if
Rutgers pulled off an upset, who
would be the X-factor for the
Scarlet Knights?
RD: It’d take more than one
X-factor for Rutgers to beat
Michigan. I know the teams
have the same conference record
but there is still a pretty big
gap. I would start with Raheem
Blackshear. He’s a true freshman
running back who has scored
touchdowns in each of the last
two games. He’s just lightning-in-
a-bottle quick. He decommitted
from Michigan State and ended
up at Rutgers. A real difference
maker, gets eight or 10 touches
a game and makes the most of
them.
Janarion Grant is a guy who
had a big game on special teams
the last time Rutgers was at the
Big House. He was supposed to
be their best receiver this season,
but with his inconsistency he
hasn’t really been much of a factor
at all. If you told me Rutgers was
going to win back-to-back games
without Janarion Grant having
much of an impact, I would not
have believed that. He’s either
due for a big game or destined for
a bad year.
On defense, if Michigan is
going to run the ball as much as I
expect, Trevor Morris is Rutgers’
leading tackler — a linebacker
who is just always around the
ball. It seems like he has 10
tackles every Saturday. What he
doesn’t have is forced fumbles
and interceptions. If he can turn
all those tackles into tackles for
loss or turnovers, that would be
something that could swing the
game.
TMD: Finally, your prediction?
RD: I pick Michigan, 42-7. I
think both teams are going to
run the ball, run the ball and
run the ball all day long. I expect
Michigan’s offensive line will
be able to do a little bit better
job than Rutgers’. Michigan’s
defense will be able to do a better
job stopping Rutgers. Michigan
has too much depth.
I know Michigan is off to what
they would consider a tough
start, but bottom line is they just
have too much talent right now.
TED JANES
Daily Sports Writer
The Daily spoke with a Rutgers beat writer for NJ.com ahead of Saturday’s matchup
FILE PHOTO/Daily
The Rutgers football team is coming off consecutive conference wins against Purdue and Illinois, and running back Raheem Blackshear is a big reason why.