After falling in overtime in the season opener, head coach Kyle Flood has led the Scarlet Knights to three straight victories (photo by Rutgers athletic PR).

As expected, (well I didn't think it was going to, but I have been drinking the SMU Kool-Aid) the Ponies are 1-3 coming off a tough loss to the hated, hated Horned Frogs of TCU. This week, the Mustangs will don 1983 throwback blue uniforms in honor of the 10-2 1983 Mustangs. A couple of quick points about the TCU game and I will preview this game versus the Rutgers Scarlet Knights:

Garrett Gilbert can not have four picks, as he did Saturday, although some of them probably can be credited to the offensive line — which struggled, especially after left tackle Ben Gottschalk left the game because of injury — which allowed seven sacks. Turnovers kill!

SMU nose tackle Darrian Wright talked about how the SMU defense didn’t finish Saturday against the Horned Frogs.

"At the start, we were swarming the ball," Wright said. "Everybody was hitting. In the second half, we came out and got a stop on the first drive, but then in the fourth quarter, we didn’t finish. We got frustrated. Some of it was a depth thing, but we need to be able to finish,”

SMU led at halftime, 10-7.

“(At halftime) we told each other we had another half to play," Wright said. "We knew we had to finish what we started — that’s what 'Rambo' (Randall Joyner), our leader, told us. He was right.”

The SMU Mustangs will have their inaugural American Athletic Conference game at 11 a.m. Saturday against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, who come in at 3-1. It is the first time the teams have played each other. The Scarlet Knights are coming off a bye week. The week before, they upset SEC opponent Arkansas in a comeback win, 28-24.

Rutgers has a new offensive coordinator in Ron Prince, who has he made a huge impact as the Scarlet Knights have gone from 98th in the country to 36.3 points per game. Rutgers runs a fast-paced offense, running a play every 26.1 seconds (21.6 vs. Arkansas). SMU will have to somehow stop the relentless run attack of Rutgers, which averages 4.1 yards per carry and 176.8 yards per game rushing. They average 233.2 ypg passing with junior quarterback Gary Nova and 410 yards of total offense per game. They have also busted five plays of 50 or more yards. The Scarlet Knights have dropped at least 28 points in the first four games on their opponents.

Here are some impact players or currently struggling or injured players on Rutgers to watch out for:

Paul James: star running back is out with a lower leg injury; was fourth-leading rusher in nation

Savon Huggins: will play in place of James

Jamal Merrell: linebacker is questionable with a kidney issue

Quarterback Gary Nova was named the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Scarlet Knights to a comeback win over Arkansas (photo by Rutgers athletic PR).

Gary Nova: junior quarterback who already has hit 5,000 career passing yards

Kyle Federico / Nick Borgese: kickers who are struggling — combined 1 for last 7, Borgese is 0-for-2 in trying to take Federico's spot.

Brandon Coleman: receiver will play, coming off reconstructive knee surgery; second in Rutgers all- time receiving touchdown leaders (18)

Leonte Carroo: sophomore wide receiver who had three touchdowns in his first career start

Rutgers by the Numbers:

They have outscored opponents by a combined score of 145-86. Rutgers is 8-14 in conference openers since the inaugural season of the Big East, and 3-7 in conference road openers. The Mustangs, as we know, have struggled in the red zone, a trend that could continue against a stingy Rutgers red zone defense that has kept opponents out of the end zone 78 percent of the time . Watch for special teams: Rutgers averages 36.9 yards per kick return with 14 special teams touchdowns since 2009. SMU has to block well on extra points, field goals and punts, as the Scarlet Knights have blocked 32 kicks since 2009. One other note about the solid Rutgers rushing attack: the Scarlet Knights are 34-8 since 2006 when they rush for 150 or more yards. They are solid on both sides of the ball in the running game, giving up just 69.8 yards per game on the ground — the fourth-lowest total in the nation.

The Mustangs must stop this Rutgers rushing attack in order to win. “We watched a little (Rutgers film) this morning," Wright said. "They’re going to try to run the ball on you and then counteract with the play-action pass. But they’re going to try to run it down your throat. The (SMU) coaches were comparing them to UCF — both teams have big, physical offensive lines that will try to dominate the line of scrimmage so they can run the ball down your throat.

"(The Rutgers offensive linemen) look pretty big, and they’re going to try to get their hands on you and destroy you. So for me, for our d-line, it’s all about trying to shoot your hands, get them off-balance and rely on our quickness.”

If SMU can contain this high-powered offense and stop the run, it could be a fun '80s throwback Saturday for the Mustangs. Main keys: stop the run, control the line of scrimmage, prevent big plays, no turnovers, and give Gilbert time. This is a must-win game if we are thinking about bowl games, and I feel the players know that and they will be fired up with different uniforms. It'll be a fun AAC opener.

Nate's Take: SMU 35 Rutgers 31