Michigan State heads to New Jersey this weekend for a Big Ten East divisional matchup with Rutgers for the Scarlet Knights' homecoming game.

Spartans Illustrated connected with Richard Schnyderite — who is the publisher of The Knight Report, Rivals' website for all things Rutgers — to learn more about the Scarlet Knights ahead of Saturday's matchup (noon Eastern Time on the Big Ten Network).

How has head coach Greg Schiano turned around a struggling program, to some degree? What should Michigan State expect from Rutgers offensively and defensively? What are the key matchups to watch? Richie goes over these topics and more.

1. This Rutgers team no longer appears to be a Big Ten bottom-dweller. What has head coach Greg Schiano done to change the culture and mindset of the program, and where do you think the Scarlet Knights have improved most in his second tenure at the helm?

Richie: It's just all about getting his guys in there from both a player and coaches standpoint, along with getting everyone to all buy in as well. It definitely took some time and they took some lumps along the way, but this was arguably one of the hardest rebuilds in all of college football, since Rutgers doesn't have the tradition or resources that some others have throughout the college football world. Also it's still very far from being fully rebuilt, but it's much better than it was under the previous regime.

I'd say they've improved the most on the defensive side of the ball and that shouldn't be too much of a surprise since that is Greg Schiano's bread and butter as he's been a defensive-minded coach his entire life at all levels of the game. They got much better and bigger in the trenches and as most Big Ten fans know, that's where the games are won most of the time in this conference. So getting bigger up front was a priority, but also increasing the talent level of the program overall throughout via both the high school route and the transfer portal. Like I said before there's still a way to go for this Rutgers program, but they are definitely showing progress.

2. Defensively, Rutgers ranks fourth in the Big Ten in points allowed per game (14.7), fourth in passing yards allowed per game (165.2) and fourth in total yards allowed per game (282.7), and also ranks in the top-15 in the country in each of those categories. What is the best way for Michigan State to attack RU’s defense and who are the players to watch on that side of the ball?

Richie: If I'm Michigan State, I'm attacking Rutgers' secondary and more specifically CB1 in Max Melton, despite some NFL Draft talk heading into the year, he's had his fair share of struggles this season as he over commits on plays at times, thus allowing receivers to get chunk plays.

Now while the secondary has some issues, the defense as a whole is very stout and the defensive line is arguably the deepest unit on the team with edge rushers Aaron Lewis and Wesley Bailey being the main two names to watch as they are both tied for the team lead in sacks with 3.0 sacks each this season.

Along with those two, fans should keep an eye out for edge rusher/linebacker Mohamed Toure, who led the team in sacks in both 2020 and 2021 before missing all of 2022 due to injury. However he's back now and doing a little bit of everything for the defense as an edge rusher, a sure-fire tackler and even goes out in coverage at times.

3. Offensively, what should Michigan State fans be looking out for? Has quarterback Gavin Wimsatt shown any growth from last year to now, and who are the other standout players on offense?

Richie: It's a run-heavy offense and that shouldn't be too shocking considering new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca ran the ball a ton last season as Minnesota's OC and Michigan State got to see that first hand as the Gophers ran 48 times for 204 yards and one score against the Spartans last year.

Look for a lot of outside zone and inside zone runs with running back Kyle Monangai being the workhorse back here. After him, you can watch out for him to be spelled by a variety of guys such as Samuel Brown if healthy (missed all of the offseason and camp), true freshman Jashon Benjamin and veteran Aaron Young, who's also still shaking off the rust a bit after missing time last season.

Yes, 100%. Ciarrocca has simplified the offense for Wimsatt and isn't asking him to do anything too crazy, other than make smart reads and not to turn the ball over. Now, although Wimsatt has been better as his completion percentage has jumped this season, he's still not the most accurate passer in the world as we saw last weekend during his struggles against Wisconsin. He just needs to play turnover-free ball and that should give the Scarlet Knights a chance at winning.

We mentioned the run game and the quarterback, but not much of the receivers group, so I'll highlight newcomer JaQuae Jackson who joined the Scarlet Knights via the transfer portal this offseason as a graduate transfer. Now he made quite the jump going from D-II All-American all the way up to the Big Ten Conference and there was concern if that jump would be too much, but he's easily the team's best receiver so far this season and has been used as a deep threat from time to time, however with it being such a run-heavy offense, he has yet to find the end zone so far this season.

4. Based on where Rutgers stands today and what you’ve seen from the Scarlet Knights throughout the season thus far, what are fair expectations for this team by the end of the season?

Richie: The offense is definitely better than it was last year, but it still has a ways to go, especially when it comes to the offensive line unit, which was just average before getting banged up and now they are trying to rotate guys in and and out to try to find the best five linemen and recently they've even been flip-flopping the starting guards to see if that can help create some more time for Gavin Wimsatt at quarterback.

The run game is pretty solid and there's a good stable of backs, but if that gets stuffed, that's when things get ugly. On the flip side, the defense appears to be dominant so far this year, but with the lack of offense at times, it forces them to stay on the field longer, thus causing them to get worn out at times and causing bad things to happen for the Scarlet Knights.

Going into the year, expectations were anywhere from four to six wins, and with them getting four convincing wins early on, it looked like those expectations have shifted toward getting a bowl game and in order to do that, the Scarlet Knights need a win this weekend versus Michigan State. So while, yes, this seemed like a building the foundation type of year, expectations have shifted a bit with some good play early on.

5. Where do you think Rutgers has its biggest matchup advantage and why?

Richie: I think Rutgers' defensive line unit versus Michigan State's offensive line is the battle that the Scarlet Knights have to take advantage of, especially with some uncertainty there due to injuries in recent weeks. I think if Rutgers can get to the quarterback, no matter which quarterback it is, and cause him to make some off balance throws, it could be a big day for this D-line unit and lead to some turnovers.

6. What is your score prediction?

Richie: Rutgers: 20, Michigan State: 14.

With the weather expected to be pretty ugly on Saturday, look for both teams to try and get things going through their run game, just as they both have pretty much all season long so far.

Now, while both teams sport solid run games, the Scarlet Knights have the better defense between the two programs and that should be enough to put them over the top here as they should be able to cover yet again and earn their fifth victory of the season. Don't expect much scoring on either side here as Rutgers wins by six on Saturday.

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