By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood held a conference call Wednesday announcing the Scarlet Knights' home-and-home series with Washington State, set for 2014 in Seattle and 2015 in Piscataway.

Here are some other highlights from the interview:
On interactions with new athletic director Julie Hermann: "Julie and I have had a fair amount of contact through text and phone calls. I'm looking forward to getting together with her face to face within the week."

On breaking down first Big Ten schedule in 2014 (which includes a four-game stretch against Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin): "I really haven't studied it. It's not in our best interests to do that. We're going to face some really big challenges this year in our own conference [with playing at Louisville six days after road trip to SMU]."

On how series with Washington State materialized: "It's really [associate athletic director] Jason Baum. We sit down and talk about who's available. We were looking for a game that would be exciting for players and fans."

On possibly eliminating playing Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) opponents: "I'd have to look specifically at the grandfather period. The Big Ten is certainly moving in that direction."

On opening season on road with higher-profile opponent: "I think when you opoen with a game like this on your schedule, it really energizes your offseason program. It has some ramifications and positives."

On Utah transfer Nick Marsh: "We look forward to trying him at [kicker and punter]."

On Marsh and Western Michigan cornerback transfer Lewis Toler: "They certainly will have a chance to impact us immediately. When you take a fifth-year player, you have to do things to put them in positions to show their ability."