Rutgers coach Kyle Flood

Rutgers coach Kyle Flood invited a longtime Scarlet Knights season ticket holder to address his team following practice Wednesday.

(John O'Boyle/The Star-Ledger)

As Rutgers turns the page on an impressive Week 1 victory over Washington State, this week's home opener against Howard is on the horizon. With a high profile dance with Penn State looming, Scarlet Knights fans are excited about the program.

On Wednesday afternoon, Rutgers reporter Dan Duggan took time to answer dozens of questions from fans. Here's a sampling of what we learned during our chat.

Don't be alarmed by Washington State's gaudy passing totals.

rg889094: Rutgers played "extra backs" in their pass D @ WSU, yet still gave up over 500 yards. Yet there is talk that this secondary improved. What am I missing? They did get clutch plays when needed, but the Big 10 teams will be a lot better than WSU overall.

Duggan: I think improvement is measured in the eyeball test more than the final numbers. Sure, the yardage total was alarming, but Washington State will post numbers in that stratosphere regularly.

The victory over Washington State was a must-needed "toss-up" victory for the program.

jerseydavey: What do you think the chances are realistically that Rutgers will get to 6 wins and a bowl this year?

Duggan: I had them at 4-8 with a loss to Washington State. So, they're obviously one win closer to bowl eligibility in my eyes. As Joe said there's a ton of "toss-up" games on the schedule though. So maybe they win all of those and go 8-4. But there's a good chance they don't and are in that 6-6 neighborhood.

Top 25 votes are the sign of the program jumping back on the national radar after the Washington State victory.

Charlie on Facebook: What did you think about Rutgers receiving Top 25 votes?

Duggan: I think it's a good sign. They aren't a top 25 team right now, but it's a positive step just getting on the national radar with some votes.

Freshman running back Robert Martin could see significant playing time on Saturday.

bandalero: Which freshman tailback do you think we will see first off the bench in the Howard game? Martin or Hicks? Or neither?

Duggan: Good question. At the end of camp I would have said Martin. Hicks was banged up toward the end of camp, but he's back now. We don't see as much practice during the season so it's harder to handicap who's getting more reps, but I'll stick with Martin.

Howard deploys a 4-4 base defense, featuring eight men in the box on most downs. Look for big plays on Saturday from the passing game.

RU-05: A 4-4? I remember playing against one of those in Pop Warner 20 years ago. St. Bart's, I think.

Duggan: I know that Howard is a spread offense, but they like to run the ball out of it. Just kidding, but honestly I don't know much about the Bison. I do know that they're aggressive defensively and deploy an unusual 4-4 at times, which explains why they're susceptible to big plays.

Miss any of our chat? Check it out here and keep the conversation going in the comments section below.

Joe Giglio may be reached at jgiglio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeGiglioSports. Find NJ.com on Facebook.