Last month’s distractions—including investigations into Coach Flood’s communication with professors and the player suspensions/dismissals—seemed to fade as Rutgers beat down Norfolk State 63-13 in week one’s annual patsy tune-up game. The start of week two made me think Rutgers had survived a bad news tsunami.
I was wrong.
Rutgers’ offense struggled and its defense was porous as a soaker hose against Pac-12’s Washington State. The bright spot in Rutgers’ up and down day was receiver/return specialist Janarion Grant. He set a single game Rutgers record with 337 all-purpose yards—including a 100-yard kickoff return and a 55-yard punt return—both for touchdowns.