Can Rutgers football's defense improve vs. Boston College? It must

PISCATAWAY – Greg Schiano said throughout training camp that Rutgers football’s defense would be better than it played last season.

The unit’s first showing didn’t go well, allowing UMass to do far too much offensively on the way to a surprising 37-21 win over the Scarlet Knights.

Schiano’s still confident in the defense’s ability.

He also knows that the unit has to prove it.

“I am confident,” Schiano said. “I am very, very confident. But until we do it – all it is, is my confidence and words. We’re in a performance business. We didn’t perform. We need to perform.”

The defense’s next chance to do that will come Friday, Sept. 11 when Schiano’s team plays Boston College at Alumni Stadium (7:30 p.m., ESPN2) in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

The Eagles lost 34-15 on the road at Cincinnati in their opener, a discouraging showing for a team looking to bounce back from a 2-10 campaign in 2025.

But at this point, there’s no opponent that Rutgers’ defense can come close to overlooking.

Rutgers football must limit Boston College's offensive playmakers, including mobile quarterback

Boston College does have players who could be dangerous. Mason McKenzie is one of them, a mobile quarterback who completed 18 of 35 passes for 223 yards and one touchdown against Cincinnati.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound McKenzie, who transferred from Saginaw Valley State, also rushed 20 times for 78 yards against the Bearcats.

“A mobile quarterback and a guy that can move around,” Schiano said. “I watched the game, he’s an intense, intense competitor. You read and listen to everything Coach (Bill) O’Brien says, you can just see the fight in this kid’s eyes. He’s got really good speed, really good change of direction, good arm strength. You can tell he’s a fighter.”

McKenzie has a solid receiver to throw to in Javarius Green, a North Carolina transfer who had six catches for 74 yards against Cincinnati, and a quality running back to hand off to in Liberty transfer Evan Dickens, who rushed for 47 yards on 11 carries with one touchdown in Week 1.

So all that being said, this will be the next challenge for Rutgers defensive coordinator Travis Johansen, whose unit simply didn’t play well against UMass.

Missed assignments, poor tackling, ineffective adjustments.

There were many issues the unit needs to improve this week.

Rutgers allowed 200 rushing yards, 197 passing yard and 397 total yards of offense.

“I think as a whole, we could improve in every single area you could possibly think of,” defensive end Malachi Davis said. “We’re just looking to (improve) as much as we can, as fast as we can and focusing on BC has been our main goal so far.”

Davis, a Toledo transfer, is one of 10 new starters on Rutgers’ defense.

Mixed bag for newly led defenses across Big Ten

The entire unit was revamped in the offseason following the firing of former co-coordinators Robb Smith and Zach Sparber.

Schiano brought in Johansen, who hired an entirely new staff.

Teams in similar situations found themselves with mixed results:

• Boston College, for example, has a new DC in Ted Roof. The Eagles surrendered 254 rushing yards, but just 85 passing yards. The unit gave up 339 total yards of offense, which was actually fewer than what the Eagles had (388) but still managed to win.
• In the Big Ten, Illinois has a new defensive coordinator in Bobby Hauck. The Fighting Illini beat UAB 42-23 in the opener, allowing more rushing yards (194) than Illinois had (150), more passing yards (219) than Illinois had (182) and more total yards of offense (413) than what the Illini had (332).
• Michigan has a new DC in Jay Hill, who was hired by new head coach Kyle Whittingam. The Wolverines controversially beat Western Michigan 13-12, with the defense allowing 132 rushing yards, 89 passing yards and 221 total yards of offense.
• Nebraska brought in new DC Rob Aurich this offseason. The Cornhuskers beat an overmatched Ohio team 49-21, allowing 303 total yards of offense, 164 passing yards and 139 rushing yards.
• UCLA came into the season with a new DC in Colin Hitschler, who’s part of new coach Bob Chesney’s staff. The Bruins beat Cal 45-24 in their opener, allowing 410 total yards, 119 rushing yards and 291 yards passing (more than UCLA’s 184).
• USC head coach Lincoln Riley brought in veteran coach Gary Patterson to lead the defense and the first two showings have been positive – albeit in two overmatched teams in San Jose State (42-26) and Fresno State (39-0).

So even while all those teams won (aside from Boston College), the defensive performances themselves have a fairly wide range.

Rutgers is among the teams that needs to improve.

And quickly.

“We just need to play better,” Schiano said. “We need to be more assignment sound, do our jobs. I think what happened a little bit is guys kind of left the system, they let their feelings take over and we can’t do that.”

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Can Rutgers football's defense improve vs. Boston College? It must