No. 10 Penn State football (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) will close the 2019 regular season with a contest against Rutgers (2-9, 0-8 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon.

The Scarlet Knights have once again occupied the Big Ten’s basement for most of this year, but the team has faced even more challenges than usual in 2019. Head coach Chris Ash was fired in late September, and Rutgers’ subsequent coaching search hasn’t gone exactly to plan. Negotiations between the university and Greg Schiano, who led Rutgers to a 68-67 record from 2001 to 2011, reportedly broke down earlier this week. Although the two sides may re-open talks, Schiano’s initial rejection of the Scarlet Knights prompted fans to give up on the team.

To make matters worse, Artur Sitkowski and Raheem Blackshear — Rutgers’ starting quarterback and running back, respectively — are both in the transfer portal and sitting out in order to redshirt this season. The Scarlet Knights have beaten UMass and Liberty, but they’ve been outscored 328-45 in eight Big Ten defeats. Rutgers actually hasn’t won a Big Ten game since beating Maryland 31-24 on November 4, 2017.

The Team

Interim head coach Nunzio Campinale is seven games into his tenure in charge of Rutgers’ football program. Two years ago, Campinale was the head coach of Bergen Catholic High School’s football team, but he was brought to Rutgers as the team’s running backs coach in 2018. He moved to tight ends coach prior to the start of the 2019 season before taking over as offensive coordinator and interim head coach following Chris Ash’s firing on September 29.

Campinale’s only victory in charge of the Scarlet Knights was a 44-34 victory over Liberty in Piscataway. Aside from that victory, Rutgers has gotten thrashed in every game since Ash was fired. The team’s least lopsided loss was a 27-0 defeat against Michigan State, and among Campinale’s other defeats include home losses to Maryland (48-7), Minnesota (42-7), and Ohio State (56-21).

Rutgers ranks among the bottom five FBS programs in both offense and defense, and that shows in the team’s dismal 2-9 record.

Offense

Rutgers’ offense ranks 129th out of 130 teams with an average of 13.9 points per game. The team’s passing attack has accumulated 133.4 yards per game, and the run game has mustered 129.9 yards per game. Those totals rank No. 123 and No. 105, respectively, in the nation.

While Artur Sitkowski sits out to mull his options in the transfer portal and maintain his redshirt, redshirt freshman Johnny Langan has taken the reins of the offense. The quarterback transferred from Boston College following the 2018 season, and he hasn’t fared much better than Sitkowski, who threw 18 interceptions and led Rutgers to a 1-11 record in his debut season as the Scarlet Knights’ first-string quarterback.

Langan has completed 68 out of his 135 passing attempts for 676 yards, four touchdowns, and nine interceptions — the latter of which ranks second in the Big Ten. He’s the Scarlet Knights’ second-leading rusher with 327 yards and three scores on 115 recorded carries.

Junior wideout Bo Melton leads Rutgers with 375 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 27 receptions, but he hasn’t gotten much help from his fellow wideouts. Raheem Blackshear is actually the team’s leader in receptions with 29, and he ranks second in receiving yards with 310. That’s slightly problematic for Rutgers because, you know, he’s only played in four games and is a running back by trade.

Isaiah Washington has hauled in 14 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown, and Mohamed Jabbie (12 grabs, 141 yards, one touchdown) is the only other Rutgers receiver with more than 100 yards through the air.

Elsewhere, running back Isaih Pacheco has taken over the lion’s share of carries following Blackshear’s choice to redshirt and enter the transfer portal. He leads the team with 639 yards and seven touchdowns on 153 carries. Pacheco has 21 games of collegiate experience under his belt — including a 18-carry, 53-yard output against Penn State last year.

Rutgers’ offense has been shut out four times, and the unit has managed to put up more than 20 points just three times. Two of those games were against UMass and Liberty, but in fairness, the other was a 56-21 defeat to No. 1 Ohio State. If you aren’t good at drawing conclusions, allow me to spell this one out for you: Rutgers’ offense is bad.

Defense & Special Teams

Rutgers’ defense has allowed an average of 37.5 points per game, which ranks 124th in the country through 11 games. The Scarlet Knights’ secondary has allowed teams to put up 246.3 passing yards and 196.4 rushing yards per game. Those numbers rank 95th and 105th, respectively, among the 130 FBS football programs, and that gives the defense a slight edge over the offense.

Linebacker Tyshon Fogg is having a strong season for the Scarlet Knights. He leads the team in tackles with 83 — a total that’d rank second to Micah Parsons among Penn State’s defenders — but only two of those stops resulted in a loss of yardage.

Speaking of losing yards, the Scarlet Knights’ pass rush hasn’t been all that great. The team has totaled 14 sacks in 11 games, which is tied with squads like Rice, Tulsa, and Arizona for 116th in the nation. Only three players — Elorm Lumor, Julius Turner, Rashawn Battle, and Tyreek Maddox-Williams — have put up multiple sacks. Lumor leads the charge with three, Turner and Battle have two each, and Maddox-Williams has been credited with 1.5 sacks in 2019.

Rutgers’ pass defense has only generated five interceptions, and two of those were made by senior Damon Hayes. The defensive back has totaled 24 tackles on top of his two picks, and he’s also batted away six other passes throughout the year. Fellow defensive backs Tre Avery, Damon Young, and linebacker Deion Jennings are the only Scarlet Knights to pick off an opposing quarterback.

Speaking of turnovers, Rutgers has generated just four fumbles throughout the year. To the Scarlet Knights’ credit, they’ve recovered each and every single one of their forced fumbles in 2019.

Meanwhile, Justin Davidovicz is the Scarlet Knights’ placekicker, and he’s a perfect 18-for-18 on extra points this year. James Franklin said that punter Adam Korsak has had “as productive of a year as anyone on the team,” and that’s backed up by his total of 3,100 yards on 71 boots.