Rutgers Football Season Preview 2026: Defense / Schedule Prediction Edition

Enjoy Part II of a two-part 2026 Season Preview for Rutgers Football. This episode is a collaboration between the Knight Report podcast with Mike Broadbent, Richie O’Leary, and Alec Crouthamel, David Anderson of the Rutgers Realm, and Larry Krayn of Knight Watch along with Aaron Breitman of The Scarlet Faithful.Today we continue our podcast preview by talking about the Rutgers Football defense and offer our game-by-game predictions for the 2026 season.00:00 – Defense, Special Teams & Predictions00:34 – Defense Outlook: Travis Johansen's New Scheme & Nickel Package10:10 – Travis Johansen as a Teacher & Communicator11:05 – Stat Predictions: Leading Tackler, Sacks & INT Leaders20:13 – Special Teams Predictions: Field Goals, Blocks & D/ST Touchdowns25:47 – Final Defense Calls: Breakout Player, Defensive MVP & Total D Rank37:16 – 2026 Season Predictions Begin: Win Total & the UMass Opener41:45 – Boston College: The Red Bandana Game47:32 – USC: A Bad Matchup on Paper51:12 – Indiana: Another Long Shot52:19 – Maryland: The Bye-Week Bounce-Back Game56:37 – Northwestern: The Toss-Up Rutgers Can't Seem to Win1:02:47 – Michigan & Penn State: Two tough ones1:03:30 – Wisconsin, Nebraska & Michigan State: The Final Three Winnable Games1:16:22 – Final Win Total Predictions & Season Outlook1:17:26 – Wrap-Up & Thanks for Listening