2023-24 roster has 30. Moore and Butler seem to be the only ones we know of that are done, which gets us to 28. With 10+ incoming recruits (I know of at least 1 or 2 walk-ons not listed on the roster spreadsheet pinned above), I'm guessing we'll see a lot of attrition, as it's unlikely we'll carry 40 or anywhere near that come Nov. Who else is leaving? Initial 2024-25 roster will probably be out soon over the next few days or weeks (last year I think it was 6/15), so we'll get some ideas then. Anyone know when it'll be up? There's already a drop down menu for it on sk.com but no updates.

Or you can't. $1 mil for a quarterback which we will never do. Our qb will always be a scrub. How much is a wide receiver who can catch a pass? $500k? $2 million for a run stopper? Reality and a sad one.

Need someone who can actually complete a catch. Absolutely amazing the lack of adjustment by Schiano / Ciarocca

Could tell that he was still hung over from the Nebraska loss. He looked it, sounded it, and denied it.

But the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The team was ill prepared and not ready for battle.

This was a Nebraska hangover.

Have some vitamin B, oil of primrose, or videotape of us beating some ACC butt.

Whatever the hangover cure is, get over it now and let's get back some winning mojo and some winning.

Let's not turn a bad week into bad players or bad coaches. It was a bad week of coaching.

Now fix it.
Loyal

The old saying “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result” couldn’t be more true when applying it to our 4th down offense. They continue to just try and run it up the middle and it fails time and time again. The box gets stuffed and we just keep trying even though we don’t have the line to create enough push. Can’t we at least try to mix it up. I mean the first play of the game with the fake pitch would be a perfect 4th down play.

Once the new building in downtown New Brunswick is open, what will the current Med School Tower in Piscataway next to the golf course be used for? Any announcements yet?

Possibilities—

Dorm
Move the Dental School from Newark
Open another branch of the Dental School
Law School
More space for Engineering
Mixture of Sciences/Health Schools

First The Offense: Kirk is a mediocre to below average offensive coordinator with the way college football is played today. You have to score 24-30 points a game to realistically win and he doesn’t try to do that. When faced with a sliver of adversity he has no answers. Although he might have plays deep in his playbook to counter what the defense is doing he refuses to use them. One simple example from Nebraska and from Wisconsin contrasted with Chip Kelly and Ohio state against Oregon yesterday . Ohio state had a first and goal . What did Chip do? He brought in his 2 top backs, with a H back or full back in between them and put his QB under center. Ran a simple handoff with the 2 other guys blocking g and guy walks in for easy TD. Had another 4th and one later and ran same play for easy first down.
What does Kirk do ? Has no blocker for Kyle , doesn’t put his QB under center to threaten a sneak as well as set up play action , and prays defense doesn’t get penetration. Guess what Nebraska and Wisconsin got penetration and Kyle had no chance. He doesn’t even consider putting Kyle in the pistol if he insists on shotgun , where he would be picking up speed. It is mind numbing that he did it against Nebraska and was stuffed and he made no adjustment the very next game against Wisconsin. He has run the Kenny Fletcher play since the success against VA. Tech and it has been on film for Washington , Nebraska , and Wisconsin. That play has gone for either 0 to 1 yard since it was put on tape. He hasn’t even
run another receiver behind him that will likely be wide open , a play run by the entire NFL and 90% of college football .

His failure to either run any misdirection when he has a tailback the entire defense is running to stop is unfathomable. Yesterday , for one of the few times all year , Kyle was pitched the ball to the short side of the field ( 2 plays before the 4th and 1) but 4 Wisconsin guys were there because of their focus on him. If he ran that play and Kyle hands it off to Ben Black on a reverse he walks in for a TD . Even if it didn’t work , you make the defense think about their overpursuing and maybe not on Kyle as fast as white on rice. Not even considering having 2 backs in considering how good a blocker Kyle is as well is coaching malpractice.

Kirk ‘s play calling after turnovers is the worst in America. At Nebraska after Dixon’s interception and against Wisconsin after Djabome’s caused fumble , he didn’t try once to go to the end zone or down the seam. He literally made Athan throw sideline throws , all 6 against Wisconsin with half of them out of bounds. The number of passes that are thrown out of bounds with the wide receiver having no chance to catch it , are a part of Kirk’s offense. Just one time it would be nice for Athan to look to sideline pass but see it is covered and come back to his second or third read. It doesn’t exist in Kirk’s offense or Athan cannot do it. That is flat out bad offensive coordinating . It literally cost us the Nebraska game and cost us an opportunity to tie the Wisconsin game at the half.

The QB. Athan only throws a good pass when his feet are set and he can show off his arm to the sidelines where he gets a lot of completions although he has sailed a few. But when he doesn’t set his feet , he throws behind his receivers , throws inaccurately both short and way high over their heads. He doesn’t naturally move up in the pocket and panics instead of sliding to get more time to throw. He has been really inaccurate for a few games now. So one can conclude he is not the upgrade we needed to win. Frankly he has been bad for a number of weeks and even though there were drops yesterday those throws were not all accurate and the only drop against Nebraska was his second best throw of the day and costly but until that drive where he hit Black for the 40 yarder with his best throw of the day , it is not enough. He has been terribly inconsistent as well as Gavin was last year and not the upgrade we need to succeed. . Kyle McCord has thrown for 300 yards in 5 of the 6 Syracuse games where they are 5-1. If we had Kyle McCord who is clearly more accurate than Athan we likely are 6-0. Not being able to score is demoralizing to a team and especially a defense that has tried to keep you in the game. Not scoring at all , but not scoring TD’s , for the first 3 quarters against Nebraska and Wisconsin , is an indictment of both Kyle and Athan. We are stuck with both and I want to puke because Kirk will not do one thing to help Athan when he is struggling and doesn’t want to use his whole playbook but rather wants to run the same play over and over despite the defense coordinator taking it away and he having no answer to counter because he is too stubborn . Resignation has set in and it sucks.

I think by tomorrow everyone will have had a chance to get the post game negativity out and see that we are in a great spot right now. Both this season, and as as program. I am hopeful that the dark horse narrative will not put a damper on what is otherwise a season on track to be a successful stepping stone in 2.0.

Spring training is upon us

I'm not a teacher, but I know many of them. Are there any here?

It seems that so many are leaving the profession. From what I know (anecdotally), it's hard to blame them. It's becoming an undoable job. Administrators are forced to weigh them down with non-teaching, time-wasting activities according to the latest trends, state regulations, and whatever the current buzz words are. In many cases, actual teaching time is being slashed via trendy scheduling models, constant drills and assemblies and so much other stuff. More and more students do nothing in class except raise their hands to be excused to fill their water bottles and go to the bathroom. Many can't be bothered to do anything except stare at their phones during class time, and when phones are taken away, they go berserk (as do many parents). There have been some impressive methods for cheating devised, using the latest technology. For a teacher who is truly interested in educating kids, I can see how frustrating that would be.

There are plenty of excellent schools, sensible administrators, solid teachers, and kids who are there with the intention of learning. But it seems like it's getting less so.

Hopefully, if this post isn't deleted, it won't be barraged by "Teachers are commie libs!" or "kids today suck!" responses, which can be tiresome. Just wonder if there are any frustrated teachers here, and if anybody agrees with me about some of the ways we may have made a wrong turn in education.

FYI, I am a nerdy computer programmer, although it may sound like I'm a teacher based on this...

I just completed my annual "coaches" spreadsheet encompassing the Power 4 and Big East Conferences, as well as the teams that Arizona and Rutgers are playing from lower level conferences.

Of note - 2 RU grads are assistants in the Big East - Myia Johnson at Xavier and Kahdijah Rushdan at Marquette. Rushdan was retained in spite of a change in head coach, where Cara Consuegra took over for Megan Duffy who took over at Virginia Tech when Kenny Brooks went to Kentucky.

Also of note - 2 old foes coaching at upcoming RU opponents -

- Stephanie Gaitley, probably best remembered as the Head Coach of Saint Joseph's as RU's time in the Atlantic 10 finished up, is now head coach at FDU. This is her 6th DI head coaching stint, for whatever its worth.

- and, serving as an Assistant Coach at Manhattan - former Seton Hall head coach Phyllis Mangina. That's a real blast from the past.

Just an update, got a letter of qualification today. So that answers that. (the other thread got hijacked and locked)

NM

Around midway through the 3rd quarter my mind shifted away from the sunshine and game on the field, to watching and wondering if RU is actually capable of beating UCLA. My initial thoughts at the beginning of the season was, if there is a game on the schedule, RU should win in the B1G, it would be UCLA and then Minnesota.

After looking at what UCLA actually does well and what RU doesn't do well, this game is up for grabs for 3 reasons.

UCLA gives up a lot of yards passing, BUT RU is a poor passing team with no imagination on offense.

UCLA has (on paper) a very good run defense, which is what RU wants to do.

UCLA doesn't have a very explosive running game BUT, RUs run defense is now more than a concern, it is a flat out weakness against anyone with a pulse at Running back.

UCLA ran 26 for 93 at Penn State last week, losing 27-11. UCLA gave up 237 passing.....more concerning is PSU ran 30 times for only 85 yards, which is under 3 per carry.

UCLA gave up 153 vs Oregon (36 carries), 103 vs LSU (28 carries), 123 vs Indiana (29 carries).

UCLA on offense only ran for 47 yards vs Oregon (24 carries) and only 14 yards vs LSU, but threw for almost 300 on LSU in a 34-17 loss.

Does that mean we won't have success with Kyle Monangai vs UCLA?? I am not betting against Kyle, but any realistic Defensive Coordinator, is going to stack the box and make Athan pass and complete passes downfield.

Minnesota is at UCLA tonight at 9PM on BTN and with much better games on tonight (Ohio State at Oregon etc), it may be worth an occasional peek ahead. I have legitimate concerns that UCLA is up for grabs, if we can't bulldoze them and with Sam Brown clearly injured and likely finished for this season, it is now a Kyle dependent rushing attack.

I'm seeing people posting that next week is a game to "get right", or an assumed win.....if UCLA does a good job against Minnesotas run game, Schiano and Ciarrocca, AK better have something else in mind, in terms of offense....asking a beaten up run defense to shut down UCLA, doesn't seem realistic right now.

Hate to say it he probably just tore his ACL!
This day just keeps getting worse

Greg's disturbing answer in the post game presser: that he didn't know whey the team was unprepared to play today.

He better figure that out pronto or this season will spiral out of control.

(He also better figure out how to get the offense going and cut down all this 3 and outs)

Very little positives yesterday but I think Shaquon deserves his own thread. Got beat on a throw into end zone in 1st half but kid kept on battling and laid the wood on wr and rbs.

Follow this player into battle any day.

GO RU

Whoever thinks this is gonna be a cake walk is grossly mistaken. Just like ppl talking all that smoke this week about a team we've never beaten in Wisconsin.

UCLA has a more talented roster than we do, especially in the trenches.
They've been dismissed much like Purdue, but anyone actually watching the games would know UCLA has improved every week. They hung with LSU and Oregon into the 4th, played decent against PSU minus some costly redzone turnovers, and they're giving Minny all it can handle.

Should be a win, but won't be easy.

And not just because of yesterday's embarrassment. The Offense, Defense, play calling, and lack of depth - it's just the way it is. They should become bowl eligible, but I'm not expecting much more than that

October 13, 1916, 108 years ago today, Rutgers U President William H. S. Demarest and NJ Governor James Fairman Fielder lead a procession to begin the official celebration of Rutgers U, New Brunswick’s 150th anniversary. Various large and small events were held all week to showcase the School. That makes Rutgers U 258 years old - happy birthday See the complete 150th anniversary commemorative book online:

Figured we might as well make one big thread for all the Rutgers in the NFL news / highlights.

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He is a Jersey guy, great offensive mind, knows how to develop QBs, and would probably jump at the chance to be a B10 head coach. Schiano has reached his ceiling.

According to Greg's presser after the game, Powell suffered an injury during the week and sat out as a result.

So all the people insinuating or wanting to believe the redshirt rumor, fashion a large tin foil hat and wear it the rest of the weekend.

So ... haven't read any articles yet - but probably helplessly masochistically do so at some point.

Couldn't go, or even watch in real time due to Yom Kippur ... and thank goodness. This was the worst game RU has played in 2 years - yes, worse than last season's Maryland game.

There was a total failure in every facet of RU's game, with the POSSIBLE exception of few penalties ... and a couple of Kaliakmanis option runs.

I will say this: RU's CEILING is 7 wins, but playing like this they won't beat ANYONE left on the schedule. A terrible disappointment, given pre-season and even post Washington expectations. I hope the basketball season expectations and hope do not turn to crap also.

Not even sure where to start:

1) OL: Oh my gosh ... how awful was the OL ... who would have thought that the key OL player in this unit was ... Felter. The OL has fallen apart without Felter - and yesterday's Wisconsin performance was even worse than last weeks at Nebraska. Chin was ... let's be kind ... not ready. Taj White was not as bad, but ... not very good. Pierce is not making an impact lately, frankly, and if he is not careful will not be a draft pick. Even Zilinskas was often driven backward. In all fairness to the RB's and AK, the OL was dominated by the Wisconsin front 4, let alone their front 7 ... the RB's had literally no chance to gain yards, as nearly every play the OL was allowing 2-3 yards of DL penetration behind the LOS ... and no lanes sealing ANY creases available for runs ... and often AK was running for his life - and it has been proven AK has trouble with accuracy while on the move.

2) WR's: Uh ... awful. Very few times were the WR's able to get any separation, or get open. And even when they did, and even when AK had time to find them ,,, the DROPS .... The announcers counted 6 drops in the 1st half alone. The 2nd half was more of the same, but by then it didn't really matter.

3) TE: Fletcher was simply bad. Several drops, and I stopped counting at his either missed blocks or time he HIT the block but was driven back, either blowing up the running play or completely exposed AK to quick pressure. The other TE's ... no impact.

4) Special Teams: Ouch. bad snap and bad hold resulting in a blocked FG (not Patel's fault). Punting was ... bad ... a shank, and several other inadequate punts.

5) Defense: Rather than deal with each position group individually, which would require a much closer 2nd look at the game than I wish to subject myself to, I would say that except for the 2nd quarter, the defense basically lay down supine. On the bright side, there were not as many missed tackles as against V. Tech and Washington. Because that would entail actually being in a position to make a tackle. So either pretty much the entire defense was in the wrong position too many plays, or the entire defense was effectively blocked nearly every play. And practically no pressure against the QB - and when there was pressure, he made a good throw and/or the Wisconsin receivers made great catches. Djiabome made some decent plays, and it appeared Loyal made some good plays. But with so many chunk plays allowed, plus 6-8 yards per NON-chunk runs, hard to say any defensive players are worthy of compliments.

6) QB: Obviously, we have to mention AK. And equally obviously he had a poor game. Still, his 1st half was not quite as bad as it appeared due to 5-6 dropped passes, and few open receivers ... and running for his life. He made several poor choices in the 2nd half, as the pressure to make plays increased. He got very little pass protection, and the few times he DID get some protection and had time the receivers rarely got open, it looked like.

So ... for some semblence of fairness, the team began the game handicapped even further, especially on defense: Powell and Longerbeam out, Dixon far less than 100% (this on top of losing Toure before the season started for the year) ... And Lewis hurt early (did he come back). That is down 4-5 starters if you count Toure, 1 less if not including him. And of course, Felter out. Still, the defense was awful.

Also, without reading any articles, I feel horrible for Brown - that injury LOOKED bad ... again, without reading any updates it would not surprise me if he is done for the year. Those who wanted to see him will now get a real look at Raymond for the rest of the season if Brown is out for the year.