What is the Rutgers quarterback situation entering Michigan game?

PISCATAWAY – In a season filled with quarterback questions, now Rutgers football is facing another .

Who will start this week's game against Michigan?

That's the newest question and it's relevant after starter Dylan Lonergan suffered an injury early in the Scarlet Knights ' 42-14 loss to Northwestern on Oct. 24, and whether he'll be able to play remains unclear.

Schiano said Tuesday, Oct. 27 that he will leave Lonergan's status to the availability report, the first of which is released Wednesday night.

It was the second game this season that Lonergan had to leave because of an injury – he also missed the team's game against Boston College (the second game of the season) because of the injury he suffered in Week 1 in the loss to UMass.

It's been a disappointing campaign so far for Lonergan, who was showing signs of improvement and played his best game as a Scarlet Knight in the Oct. 17 win over Maryland.

"I'm disappointed and sad for the kid because this means so much to him and he puts so much of himself into it," Schiano said. "To have to leave the game now for the (second) time, yeah it's killing him. And I'm sad for us because he really was coming on. You could see it against (Southern California) and you could see it at Maryland. You could see him really coming on. Injuries are part of football. It's a violent game."

If Lonergan can't play, then Rutgers has to look to AJ Surace or Sean Ashenfelder.

Surace again struggled after coming in for Lonergan, going just 7-of-18 passing for 64 yards with one interception against Northwestern.

Seeking a spark in the second half, Schiano called on third-stringer Sean Ashenfelder, who went 2-of-9 for 36 yards.

Ashenfelder hasn't even gotten many practice reps, partially because the bulk of them in even in training camp went to Lonergan and Surace as they battled for the job. Schiano reiterated again Tuesday that once the season starts, there are even fewer reps to go around.

Surace is in his third year with the program and he just hasn't played well enough in the chances he's gotten so far this season.

Schiano, though, has liked how Surace has battled through the adversity. He's still confident in Surace's ability.

"AJ's a fighter," Schiano said. "He's not happy with the way he's played. But he came out in practice like the national championship's around the corner. That's the way he approaches everything he does. If you're going to bet on a guy, probably bet on him."