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concrete ground. The investigation is ongoing. A;er consulting athletic director Julie Hermann, Flood announced Sunday an inde9nite suspension for Carroo, now a senior who 9nished 2014 with the sec- ond-most yards among Big Ten re- ceivers. When it came time for Flood's pre-Penn State press conference Mon- day in Piscataway, the 9rst question was about Carroo and his suspension. Inquiries about o:-9eld issues have seemed to become a slight trend for Flood recently. Six other players have been kicked o: of Rutgers' team throughout the past two weeks as a result of arrests. That's a;er Carroo, along with four teammates, were suspended for the 9rst half of the season opener, a 63-13 win over Norfolk State, due to a separate violation of curfew. As a result, ques- tions that are unrelated to football have been commonplace at Flood's press con- ferences early this season. When the 9rst question about Carroo arose this week, Flood deferred at 9rst, asking to talk about the Nittany Lions' football team and their upcoming game before he further addressed the suspen- sion. First, he pointed out defensive tackle Anthony Zettel, saying "he is as good a player as there is in college football, so he's somebody we are going to have to be aware of." Next, he highlighted freshman wide receiver Brandon Polk, who is aver- aging 19 yards per carry through two games. "He is a very fast, very shi;y run- ner," said Flood. He then 9led through his scouting re- port of Penn State, talking about the of- fensive line and Christian Hackenberg and how the absence of defensive tackle Darius Hamilton, who missed last week due to injury, might a:ect his team's de- fensive e:ort. "Darius could have helped us last week," Flood said, "and if he's not available this week, we'll miss him." Thirteen questions later, however, the focus shi;ed back to Carroo and the o:- 9eld issues that have plagued the Scarlet Knights as of late. "They all hurt a lot," Flood said about the recent rash of suspensions and ar- rests. "I've spent the last 22 years doing this – working with young people, young men – starting out in high school and now in college, and you know that there are going to be mistakes. It's no di:erent than raising your own children. But, knowing that there are going to be mis- takes made doesn't make you feel any better about [suspending a player]. It rips you apart, but as the head coach, it's my job to continue to do what we do." Without Carroo playing against Penn State this weekend, Flood said his o:ense will rely on a host of other receiving op- tions. That list includes juniors Andre Pat- ton, John Tsimis, Carlton Agudosi, Vance Matthews and, perhaps most important, Janarion Grant, a 5-foot-11, 170-pounder who has returned one punt and two kick- o:s for touchdowns already this season. Only Grant, however, caught more than 20 passes last season, so whomever it is that steps up in Carroo's absence, it will have to come from somebody who has limited experience in Rutgers' o:ense. Due to that, Flood said, it will likely take a combination of the aforementioned pass catchers to even come close to du- plicating Carroo's on-9eld production. "I don't know [if] you can just replace him with one person," Flood added. "But we've got a talented group of people, [and] I think we'll be able to do it." No doubt they're issues that Flood, who is in his fourth year as Rutgers' head coach, would rather not have to deal with in the week leading up to his 9rst game at Penn State – a;er he fell to the Nittany Lions, 13-10, at home last season. With so much turmoil surrounding the pro- gram, though, the questions are cur- rently inevitable. They even spilled into Franklin's presser at Penn State Tuesday. Although he wasn't asked speci9cally about Carroo or any of the suspended Rutgers players, Franklin discussed at length the challenges in general of super- vising college football players and help- ing them make the best possible decisions on and o: the 9eld. Franklin said it's the part of college football that coaches "lose the most sleep over." "It's a challenge," he continued. "You're responsible for 125 17-year-old to 22-year-old males – maybe the most unpredictable group of people on the planet. It's part of our job to help them grow academically, help them grow so- cially and help them grow athletically." NATE BAUER RECORD 1-1 Penn State at home in front of a rowdy night crowd with Rutgers reeling from a handful of players in legal trouble is as close as it gets to a sure thing, right? Wrong. Not this year. I expect an ugly game Saturday. If Christian Hacken- berg can stay upright – a massive if – the Nits win a close one. PENN STATE 17, RUTGERS 14 PHIL GROSZ RECORD 1-1 Penn State and Rutgers both have some serious question marks, including Rut- gers' suspensions and PSU's shaky O- line and a couple key injuries. Good news for Penn State is Brandon Bell and Grant Haley are expected to play after battling minor injuries. Expect a low- scoring game like last year. PENN STATE 24, RUTGERS 14 MATT HERB RECORD 1-1 Off-field turmoil doesn't necessarily lead to on-field regression, as Penn State proved in 2012. But losing Carroo was another blow to a Rutgers team that was already reeling. PSU's offense showed just enough signs of life vs. Buffalo to inspire some cautious opti- mism. Key word: cautious. PENN STATE 24, RUTGERS 20 TIM OWEN RECORD 1-1 This isn't going to be the knock-down- drag-out defensive battle that these two teams played last year. Expect a higher point total in this one – with Penn State scoring more than Rutgers. PENN STATE 30, RUTGERS 17 RYAN SNYDER RECORD 1-1 Once the monsoon finished Saturday, I actually saw quite a few positives in the game against Buffalo. I think the Lions enter focused and prepared. They know they need to make a state- ment and it's setting up perfectly for them to do just that. PENN STATE 35, RUTGERS 14 BWI'S FORECAST

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