The Indiana Hoosiers and Rutgers Scarlet Knights face off on Saturday in a college football showdown at SHI Stadium. When these two teams faced off in 2021 it was Rutgers that secured the 38-3 victory.
Rutgers comes into this game with a 3-3 record overall but they are coming off a loss in their last game. Rutgers only gave up 14 points against Nebraska, but the offense only gave up 13 points and that led to the defeat. Evan Simon completed 6 of the 15 passes for 100 yards, zero touchdowns, and three interceptions. Noah Vedral completed 6 of the 15 passes for 133 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Rutgers is averaging 22.8 points while their defense is giving up 22 points per game.
On the other side of this matchup is Indiana who sits with a 3-4 record and they are coming off another loss in their last game. Indiana scored 33 points while the defense gave up 38 points and that led to the five-point defeat. Under center for Indiana is Connor Bazelak and he completed 29 of his 42 passes for 292 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. The Hoosiers overall this season is averaging 25.6 points while their defense is giving up 31.6 points per game. In this game, if Indiana wants to find success, the defense is going to need to be good here.
Indiana is 4-13 against the spread in their last 17 games overall. Rutgers is 2-6 against the spread in their last eight home games. The over is 12-5 in the Hoosiers last 17 games in October. The under is 4-1 in the last five meetings played between the two teams.
This a hard game to get a great grasp on because of how inconsistent both of these teams are. Even though both of these teams have been inconsistent, I just don’t trust this Rutgers offense. Nebraska isn’t known for their offense, and Rutgers only managed 13 points against them. Indiana is going to be strong enough with their defense to keep this game close. I also expect a strong game from the Hoosiers offense led by Bazelak. Back Indiana against the spread.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
Mitch's Take...
