Rutgers Football Season Preview: Part Two - Defense / Schedule Predictions

In this episode of The Knight Report podcast, hosts Mike Broadbent, Richie O’Leary, and Alec Crouthamel are joined by Aaron Breitman of the Scarlet Faithful, David Anderson of the Rutgers Realm, and Larry Krayn of Knight Watch. 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 – Welcome Back for Part Two: Defense, Special Teams & Predictions 00:34 – Defense Outlook: Travis Johansen's New Scheme & Nickel Package 10:10 – Travis Johansen as a Teacher & Communicator 11:05 – Stat Predictions: Leading Tackler, Sacks & INT Leaders 20:13 – Special Teams Predictions: Field Goals, Blocks & D/ST Touchdowns 25:47 – Final Defense Calls: Breakout Player, Defensive MVP & Total D Rank 37:16 – 2026 Season Predictions Begin: Win Total & the UMass Opener 41:45 – Boston College: The Red Bandana Game 47:32 – USC: A Bad Matchup on Paper 51:12 – Indiana: Another Long Shot 52:19 – Maryland: The Bye-Week Bounce-Back Game 56:37 – Northwestern: The Toss-Up Rutgers Can't Seem to Win 1:02:47 – Michigan & Penn State: Two tough ones 1:03:30 – Wisconsin, Nebraska & Michigan State: The Final Three Winnable Games 1:16:22 – Final Win Total Predictions & Season Outlook 1:17:26 – Wrap-Up & Thanks for Listening Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.