By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Greg Schiano was hired to rebuild the Rutgers football program for a second time, and while he didn’t come cheap, the decision is paying dividends.

Rutgers is 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten heading into Saturday’s game against Iowa at Kinnick Stadium, bowl eligible for the seventh time under Schiano and poised to earn its 12th bowl invitation in program history.

The Scarlet Knights are the most improved team in the Big Ten in total offense (plus-48.8)and scoring offense (plus-9.4) compared to last season.

The six wins is the most for Rutgers in a season since going 8-5 in 2014.

So, in other words, Iowa (7-2, 4-2) could have its hands full on Saturday.

Iowa defeated Rutgers 27-10 in last season’s Big Ten opener in Piscataway, New Jersey, but as Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz mentioned Tuesday in his weekly press conference, the circumstances are much different heading into Saturday’s game.

“We played them last year. Certainly I think it’s like night and day right now if you think about it,” Kirk Ferentz said. “Played them the last week of September. First Big Ten game for us out there. So, a lot of games have been played since then. We’re well deep into the season.

“They were a team trying to get their footing last year, now they have their footing, they’re playing outstanding football. Not a big surprise. Coach Schiano did a great job of building the program back in the early 2000s, put them in a state of prominence, if you will. Then he went off to the NFL, opportunities there. Now back rebuilding this program, and doing in exemplary fashion.

“Again, not surprising. He has a good staff. They clearly have an identity, vision of where they’re going, how they want to look like, how they want to play. Bottom line, it’s working well. They’re doing well. 6-3 record and look good on tape.”

This will mark just the fourth time that Iowa and Rutgers have met in football with Iowa having won the previous three games.

Iowa, despite struggling on offense, enters Saturday’s game in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten West Division at 4-2 and 7-2 overall.

Iowa has also won 15 of its last 16 games in the month of November.

Iowa’s defense is ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense, giving up just 13.7 point per game. The Hawkeyes also have allowed just one touchdown over the last 12 quarters and three touchdowns over the past 20 quarters.

This matchup looks competitive on paper, and could ultimately be decided by a number of factors including turnovers.

The position matchups will also go along way in determining the outcome, and here is a look at which team has the advantage at each position:

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Quarterback: Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt is only completing 49.0 percent of his passes this season, but that looks good compared to Deacon Hill’s 41.6 completion percentage as the Iowa quarterback.

Wimsatt still leaves much to be desired as a passer, but he is one of the more athletic quarterbacks in the Big Ten as evidenced by his 411 net rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. His seven rushing touchdowns lead the Big Ten and is tied for eighth nationally.

He also has passed for 1,263 yards and eight touchdown this season, and ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 92 points that he is responsible for.

Deacon Hill, meanwhile, has only thrown three touchdown passes touchdown passes in seven games and has just 492 passing yards.

Hill became the starting quarterback when Cade McNamara was injured in the first quarter of the Michigan State game.

Advantage: Rutgers

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Running back: Rutgers junior Kyle Monangai leads the Big Ten with 903 rushing yards and with 168 rushing attempts.

He has 13 career rushing touchdowns, including seven this season, which ranks third in the Big Ten. He also has rushed for at least 100 yards in six games as a Scarlet Knight, including five this season.

He rushed for 159 yards in last Saturday’s 35-16 loss to Ohio State, which is the second most by a Scarlet Knight against a ranked opponent.

Monangai is a powerful runner as he uses his muscular 5-foot-9, 210-pound frame to break tackles.

Backup running backs Ja’shon Benjamin and Samuel Brown V have rushed for 174 and 123 yards, respectively, this season.

Iowa is led in rushing by junior Leshon Williams with 551 yards on 110 attempts. But he has only scored one of Iowa’s eight rushing touchdowns.

Sophomore running back Kaleb Johnson leads Iowa with two rushing touchdowns, and he started the season as the starter, but he has been hampered by injuries and has since fallen behind Williams, and redshirt freshman Jazin Patterson on the depth chart.

Johnson has rushed for 278 yards in five games, while Patterson has gained 127 yards in six games. Patterson also missed three games earlier this season because of an injury.

Advantage: Rutgers

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Wide receiver: The top three receivers for Rutgers in catches and receiving yards all play wide receiver.

Christian Dremel leads Rutgers with 28 catches, 363 receiving yards and three touchdowns, while fellow wide receiver JaQuae Jackson has 20 receptions, 331 receiving yards and one touchdown catch.

Jackson’s 16.6 yards-per catch average also ranks fifth in the Big Ten.

Isaiah Washington has 18 career games with multiple catches, and he ranks third for Rutgers with 16 catches and 165 receiving yards this season.

On the flipside, senior Nico Ragaini leads the Iowa wide receivers with 15 catches, while Diante Vines leads the Iowa wide receivers with 134 receiving yards.

Both numbers show just how much the wide receivers have struggled this season.

Tight end Luke Lachey has missed the last six games due to an injury, but his 131 receiving yards still rank third on the team.

Sophomore Kaleb Brown finally caught a pass as a Hawkeye last Saturday and it was a big one as it helped to set up the game-winning field goal against Northwestern.

Brown transferred from Ohio State, but he has played sparingly this season.

Star cornerback Cooper DeJean also saw his first action on offense against Northwestern and he had one carry for eight yards. The offense gained 13 yards on the two plays in which DeJean was on the field.

The question now is will Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz try to build off that and give DeJean a bigger role on offense?

Iowa fans sure hope that is the case.

Advantage: Rutgers

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Tight end: Iowa would have had a clear advantage at this position before injuries to Luke Lachey and Erick All decimated the position.

All, a transfer from Michigan, still leads Iowa with 299 receiving and three receiving touchdowns despite having missed the last two games because of a season-ending knee injury.

Lachey has missed the last six games due to an injury, but his 131 receiving yards still rank third on the team.

Sophomore Addison Ostrenga and senior Steve Stilianos have taken over as the top two tight ends, but they only have six and five catches this season, respectively.

Ostrenga did score the only touchdown in last Saturday’s 10-7 victory against Northwestern on a 2-yard pass from Hill.

Ostrenga is now healthy after having missed two games due to an injury.

Walk-on Johnny Pascuzzi has appeared in six games this season and has been used mostly as a run blocker.

Rutgers tight end Johnny Langan, a former quarterback, has accounted for 20 career touchdowns (11 rushing, eight passing and one receiving), and he has 592 career receiving yards.

Langan ranks fourth on the team with 13 catches for 109 yards.

He can challenge a defense with his versatility, and with his ability to run after the catch as he has 840 career rushing yards, mostly from playing quarterback.

Advantage: Rutgers

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Offensive line: The Scarlet Knights rank first in the Big Ten in fewest sacks allowed (0.89), second in rushing offense (184.7), second in fewest tackles for loss allowed (3.67), third in rushing touchdowns (19), fourth in time of possession (32.18) and fifth in scoring offense (26.8), and all of that is due in largely to their offensive line.

Rutgers has seven offensive linemen that have started at least one game this season, led by 6-foot-8, 345-pound Hollin Pierce, who has started all nine games at left tackle, and 300-pound junior Gus Zilinskas, who has started every game at center this season.

Iowa can also go seven or eight deep on the offensive line without suffering a decline, but this unit has been ordinary at best this season despite the depth and experience.

Center Logan Jones and guard Beau Stephens both suffered injuries against Northwestern last season, but Jones still is listed on this week’s depth chart as a starter, whereas Stephens isn’t listed on the dept chart.

Advantage: Rutgers

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Defensive line: The same four defensive linemen have started every game for Rutgers this season.

Wesley Bailey and Aaron Lewis both have started every game at defensive end, while Mayan Ahanotu and Isaiah Iton have started every game at defensive tackle.

Lewis leads the Rutgers defensive linemen with five tackles for loss and is tied with Bailey for the lead in sacks with three. Lewis and Bailey also have six and four quarterback hurries, respectively.

Lewis also leads the Rutgers defensive linemen with 37 tackles this season.

Iowa has six defensive linemen that have at least 28 tackles this season, led by junior defensive end Deontae Craig with 42. Craig also has six quarterback hurries, four tackles for loss and two sacks, while sixth-year senior defensive end Joe Evans leads the team with 8.5 tackles for loss and with nine quarterback hurries.

Starting defensive tackles Yahya Black and Logan Lee have 39 and 38 tackles, respectively, while Aaron Graves has 28 tackles as the third defensive tackle in the rotation.

Junior defensive end Ethan Hurkett also has played a key role as a reserve, compiling 36 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss.

Both defensive lines have performed well throughout the season.

Advantage: Iowa

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Linebacker: The top three tacklers for Rutgers play linebacker, while the top two tacklers for Iowa also play linebacker.

Deion Jennings leads Rutgers with 64 tackles, while fellow linebackers Mohamed Toure and Tyreem Powell have 58 and 53 tackles, respectively.

Senior linebackers Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson lead Iowa with 113 and 72 tackles, respectively.

Their 185 combined tackles are the highest by a Power 5 tandem in the nation.

Higgons leads the Big Ten, and he ranks second nationally with an average of 12.6 tackles per game. He had a career-high 18 tackles against Penn State.

Iowa often plays with just two linebackers and five defensive backs, but senior Kyler Fisher gives Iowa a solid third option at linebacker as he has 23 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one pass breakup, one quarterback hurry and one forced fumble.

Advantage: Iowa

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Defensive backfield: Both units have been solid throughout the season, and they have stayed healthy for the most part.

Rutgers ranks sixth nationally in passing defense, allowing just 159.9 passing yards per game, with seven opponents being held under 200 yards and four under 150 yards.

Robert Longerbeam and Max Melton have started every game at cornerback for Rutgers this season, while Flip Dixon and Shaquan Loyal have started every game at the two safety positions.

Longerbeam has 25 career pass breakups and three interceptions, and he ranks third in the Big Ten with 1.1 passed defended per game (nine breakups, one interception).

Melton has 21 career pass breakups, six interceptions and four blocked kicks.

Dixon, Loyal, and fellow defensive back Desmond Igbinosun, are ranked fourth, fifth and sixth on the team in tackles with 52, 42 and 40, respectively. Igbinosun also leads Rutgers with 5.5 tackles for loss.

Iowa’s secondary is led by one of the top cornerbacks in college football in junior Cooper DeJean. The Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist has 41 tackles, four pass breakups and two interceptions.

Iowa often plays with three safeties, and those three safeties – Quinn Schulte, Sebastian Castro, and Xavier Nwankpa – have combined for 128 tackles and eight pass breakups.

Castro leads the team with three interceptions, including a pick-six against Iowa State, and he is second on the team with six pass breakups while playing mostly the cash position.

Junior cornerback Jermari Harris starts at the other cornerback position and has 24 tackles and one interception in seven games. He missed the first two games while serving a suspension.

This was a tough decision because both units have performed at such a high level this season.

Advantage: Iowa

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Special teams: Rutgers leads the nation in kickoff returns with a 36.7 average, but on just three returns.

Rutgers kicker Jai Patel has made 11-of-13 field-goal attempts this season with the longest coming from 51 yards. He also has made all three of his attempts from 40 to 49 yards.

Rutgers punter Flynn Appleby has punted 36 times for a 40.7 average, with 13 of his punts having been downed inside the 20-yard line. His longest punt has traveled 75 yards.

Iowa will counter with arguably the best kicker/punter tandem in the country in sophomore kicker Drew Stevens and senior punter Tory Taylor.

Stevens, a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, had made 14-of-18 field-goal attempts this season, including a 52-yard game winner against Northwestern last Saturday.

He also handles kickoffs where 30 of his 40 kicks have resulted in touchbacks.

Taylor, a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, has punted 60 times this season for a 47.6 average. He has had 23 punts travel at least 50 yards and 23 downed inside the 20.

His ability to flip field position has been crucial to Iowa’s success this season.

Cooper DeJean also gives Iowa a dangerous punt returner as he is averaging 11.9 yards on 20 returns.

He had a 52-yard punt return for a touchdown against Minnesota erased by an invalid fair catch signal. He also had a long punt return against Northwestern erased by a penalty.

Advantage: Iowa

Prediction: Iowa 11, Rutgers 10