Gophers East? Rutgers football on the rise with some Minnesota flavor

Time for a one-question quiz to identify a college football team. Here are the clues:

They have the Big Ten's leading rusher, they run the ball 63% of the time and they rank in the top 20 nationally in time of possession. Their quarterback is largely a game manager whose first task is to do no harm. Their defense allows 17.9 points per game and prides itself on not allowing explosive plays.

And their coach will offer a catchphrase such as, "We're just trying to be 1-0 this week.''

Who is this team?

"Sounds like the 2022 Gophers, with Mohamed Ibrahim at running back and Tanner Morgan at quarterback?'' you might answer.

Nope, but the Gophers flavor is correct.

That team is the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, who are having their best season in a decade and doing so with several Minnesota ties.

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano was Gophers coach P.J. Fleck's boss for two seasons with the Scarlet Knights and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Schiano hired both of his coordinators, Kirk Ciarrocca on offense and Joe Harasymiak on defense, away from Minnesota. And three former Gophers are starters for the Scarlet Knights — guard Curtis Dunlap Jr., defensive tackle Mayan Ahanotu and safety Flip Dixon.

The Scarlet Knights are 6-3 overall, having secured bowl eligibility on Oct. 21. They're 3-3 in the Big Ten and in fourth place in the rugged East Division. They played No. 1 Ohio State tough, falling 35-16 to the Buckeyes last week after being within five points in the fourth quarter.

"We're in a spot where we're getting better slowly,'' said Schiano, who's in his fourth season of his second stint at Rutgers, where he coached from 2001-2011. The Scarlet Knights have progressed from 3-6 in 2020, to 5-8 in 2021 and 4-8 last year. Before Schiano returned, they hadn't had a winning season since 2014 and endured a 21-game Big Ten losing streak that ended in the 2020 opener, his first game back.

Rutgers will try to keep its breakout season going Saturday with a trip to West Division-leading Iowa. In the process, it could help the Gophers, Nebraska and Wisconsin, teams that are a game behind the Hawkeyes in the West standings.

When Schiano looks across the field at the Hawkeyes, he sees what he wants the Scarlet Knights to be — and what he believes they might have become if he had stayed at the state university of New Jersey instead of leaving for the Buccaneers in 2012.

"I have great respect for Coach [Kirk] Ferentz and how he built his program,'' Schiano said. "Had I made the right decision and stayed here, it would be very similar, I think. But we didn't; we took a nine-year break. We're playing catch-up for sure.''

They're catching up with a solid running game and a strong defense.

Junior running back Kyle Monangai leads the Big Ten with 903 rushing yards and is coming off a 24-carry, 159-yard effort against Ohio State.

"He wasn't the most highly recruited guy,'' Schiano said of Monangai, "but he's our kind of guy.''

Monangai shares the team lead of seven rushing touchdowns with quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, who has rushed for 411 yards.

The Rutgers defense ranks fourth in the Big Ten in yards allowed (282.4), with Dixon and Ahanotu playing key roles. Dixon has 52 tackles and a team-best five pass breakups. Ahanotu, 6-4 and 300 pounds, is a big body in the middle and has 11 tackles.

Schiano knows that beating Iowa will require a patient game with minimal errors. He's hopeful that his team has matured to that point.

"We're going to one of the toughest places to play in America,'' he said. "[The Hawkeyes] know how they want to play. … It's very much what we try to do here.''