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Have the first 3 games changed your outlook on this season?

You're the one with the narrative.

I could always see GW replaced - I just saw the real problem was RU's abysmal QB coaching, offensive safetyism and lousy WRs - all being placed at feet of sacrificial lamb.

The accessory to GW being hated and deemed the worst player RU ever recruited was the crowd deeming Rudy an NFL WR and now he cant catch a cold.

Perhaps nobody is making acrobatic catches downfield because the good armed QB is limited beyond shorter distances. MN knew that last year and it was there on Sat. with uncatchable sideline balls that RU loves.

Washington has a top pass defense that practiced vs Penix and Odunze last year. Big Saturday coming up for offense this week. The safety passes wont be testing anyone.

You posted multiple times in multiple places that it was a huge mistake to replace Gavin with AK. Now it seems you are trying to hedge your bet by suggesting the improvement is about a massive wide out transformation. We haven’t executed any plays yet this year that required an acrobatic play by a wide out, nor are our receivers (even Miller) beating people to get open on long balls. We got lucky on one pass - the Duff TD. Otherwise it’s mostly success in the flats on short passes that were there all day last year if we wanted to and could execute them.
 
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Unlike our first 10 seasons in the B1G there is no game that’s an automatic loss. Most seasons it’s been at least 3 automatic losses. Of the 9 games remaining we should be favored in at least 5.
If we stay healthy with the key players see us finishing at 9-3 before the NYD Bowl.
Replacing 90% losses with 80% losses doesn’t change win total expectations all that much. A win Friday moves us into 8 win possibility territory. A loss and we’re still at 6 or 7 most likely.
 
I still think Illinois is in play. Every time we've played them since joining the B1G, we never had an offense that can score and control the clock. We are balanced on offense. Va. Tech committed to stopping the run and we burned them with the passing game. I think opponents in the future will not committed 9 or 10 men in the box. The RB depth will wear teams down regardless of how tough they are against the run.

USC doesn't like physical games and Michigan did just that. We have a better offense than UM and our defense can play just as well as other top defenses in the b1G. This will be the toughest game left on the schedule. The run and tough defense travel. I know a ton of Rutgers fans were critical of the run game against Va. Tech, but it's much more than averaging 4 yards. If you can average a little over 3 yard a carry, that is the watermark to success when running the ball. Rutgers kept Va. Tech committed to stacking the box and it opened up the passing game. It the case of USC, they are nowhere as physical upfront that will allow Rutgers to move the ball and control the clock. Although the game is in L.A., these keys keep the game in play. Just have to bring it like we did in the first half of the Va. Tech game.

I think we will surpass the 7 game mark. People are following the media who pick 7 games as the high mark. We have an offense that matches the defense in the ability to create havoc for opponents. I think 9 or 10 wins should be the low bar. There are no teams remaining on the schedule that we count as an automatic loss. That doesn't exist this year.
Re: USC, I think that the big play ability of their WR is a big problem ; especially given our safety play this yr.
 
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As a betting man, it’s not a good bet. Should just play powerball instead.

PS I hope TKR jinx works here for you
except- it is a one time bet- anyone playing lotto is doing it almost daily with no hope
 
Re: USC, I think that the big play ability of their WR is a big problem ; especially given our safety play this yr.
Yeah, it could be a problem. If we eat the clock and score against their soft defense, it increases our chances. Can't score from the sidelines.
 
You posted multiple times in multiple places that it was a huge mistake to replace Gavin with AK.

I didn't say "huge mistake" - I said RU was replacing one cast-off with another. The QB of passing offense # 127 was being replaced by QB from #126 and that's not anything to buy season tickets over. All the QBs in portal and that's the best B1G RU could do - move up one spot?

Then there was all the malarkey about Wimsatt's coming "season of mastery" (third year) and GS saying the spring game was just a "scrimmage for the fans" and "nothing could be determined" about QB. Somehow one QB with 3 TDs (2 running) was blown away by a QB with two.

I like Greg but I've learned he can do QBs dirty when it suits him (Dodd a good example). He had GW miss his last year of HS ball (every year counts a lot for QB) and then admitted it was a mistake. Then there was the carousel of revolving OCs and D3 WRs with bad OL . Kid turned down ND, Oregon, Michigan, Nebraska, Michigan St et al for the hot mess at RU. Then fans hated him after pushing for him to start (but too soon). It was crazy.

If a kid wants to be a DB at RU he should run to the program. If a kid want to be a QB run away from RU even faster. AK seems like a cool dude and I hope he does well over the season. Even if he does I have zero confidence in Schiano's offenses (and don't fall for idea its all Kirk's plan - GS hired him because he's the same as he is


I saw what Teel saw and trust him more than forum anons

“His athletic ability and talent just shined there,” Mike Teel, arguably the best quarterback in program history, told NJ Advance Media. “And you said, ‘Man, this kid is super talented and he’s got a really good future if he can continue to develop..

I think you always have to judge a quarterback based upon what the record is and how the team does,” Teel said. “At the end of the day, the kid did win seven games this past year, and he did lead the team to a bowl win. Overall, I think he did a great job.”

 
I have no idea. Howard and Akron are turning out to be worse than I thought when we played them. Our offense is no longer live-and-die by the run and this may open up games a bit. The defense is significantly worse than I had hoped, given the returning production. What’s this mean for the remaining 9? Your guess is as good as mine.
 
No… but Nebraska, Illinois and USC are better than we thought

Good point.

Overall - still about the same as I was at the beginning -cautiously optimistic.

We are a bit better than I think expected but overall I’m getting the sense that our schedule is a bit tougher than expected…. So kinda equals out in my mind

Each game remaining we have at least a chance to win but then again we can lose any of the games

It’s gonna be an interesting ride !!
 
Staying at 8 with a possibility of 9. Right now, I've got Nebraska, USC and Illinois as loses. With a big question mark next to Illinois, they've got some tough teams coming up, we'll see how they hold up. We're a fundamentally sound team with some minor things to clean up.

Washington- is a shell of its former self, you take away the deep threat that's all they've got, they don't sustain drives. Defense is not good
Nebraska- is going to be tough, their defense can be run on and Railoa's good but will make mistakes, no run game
Wisconsin- even with their starting QB(out for year) did not look impressive even in their cupcake wins
UCLA- hot mess
USC - that time and travel plus they're still a good USC
Minnesota- the boat ain't rowing. They've got problems and it wasn't Athan's fault PJ
Maryland - No Taulia and the offense has slowed after the UConn drubbing. You have to worry about Felton. The defense has also taken a step back.
Illinois - I have no idea where they came from but look really good. We'll see how they hold up not playing all West teams and playing some good teams.
Michigan St. - I don't get the love. They're a turnover machine, 10 in 4 games. We feast on sloppy play
Maryland- Edwards has thrown for 311 against Uconn, 253 against MSU, 263 against UVa and 328 against Villanova. It's him at 1155 yards and Rogers at 1048 as the leading passers in the B1G. Edwards also has a 75% completion. I don't see a slowdown at all? At this rate, he could be over 3,000 yards passing and surpass Taulia. Am I missing something?

Washington- Kind of concerned about Rogers (see above) and WR Giles Jackson.
 
I felt all along that RU has ten consecutive highly competitive games.

RU offense is better than expected. However, Indiana, Illinois and others may also be better than anticipated. This is great fun.

If anyone thinks we did GW dirty, the proof is in the pudding.
 
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Maryland- Edwards has thrown for 311 against Uconn, 253 against MSU, 263 against UVa and 328 against Villanova. It's him at 1155 yards and Rogers at 1048 as the leading passers in the B1G. Edwards also has a 75% completion. I don't see a slowdown at all? At this rate, he could be over 3,000 yards passing and surpass Taulia. Am I missing something?

Washington- Kind of concerned about Rogers (see above) and WR Giles Jackson.
I said, "and the offense has slowed after the UConn drubbing". They can't run, they have scored 24 vs MSU, 27 vs Virginia and 38 vs Villanova. MSU defense is good #14, Virginia is bad #98 and Villanova is FCS. We're at #35. Their defense has also fallen off and is ranked #74 and they have not faced murders row offensively.
 
Good point.

Overall - still about the same as I was at the beginning -cautiously optimistic.

We are a bit better than I think expected but overall I’m getting the sense that our schedule is a bit tougher than expected…. So kinda equals out in my mind

Each game remaining we have at least a chance to win but then again we can lose any of the games

It’s gonna be an interesting ride !!
Been saying for awhile now that our schedule is not as easy as most made it out to be .
 
I have no idea. Howard and Akron are turning out to be worse than I thought when we played them. Our offense is no longer live-and-die by the run and this may open up games a bit. The defense is significantly worse than I had hoped, given the returning production. What’s this mean for the remaining 9? Your guess is as good as mine.
Except- without what is usually a chip shot at 36 for a FG- fumble at the 3 and kneel at the 4 - we score 43-23
As you said- anyone’s guess lol
 
Except- without what is usually a chip shot at 36 for a FG- fumble at the 3 and kneel at the 4 - we score 43-23
As you said- anyone’s guess lol
Shoulda, coulda. If not for the late heroics of one Mr. Longerbeam, the VPI offense had all the momentum and likely would’ve rumbled down the field to take the W. But it happened the way it happened. It still doesn’t tell me how the remaining 9 games pan out.

Edit: did I say 9 games? I meant 12 games. B1G championship for the bye and two playoff games. Hey, we’re undefeated and a guy can dream.
 
They could win 8 or even 9. We will have some games where mistakes kill us or injuries prevent us from winning.

Revising expectations, again we have to see how they play Friday night and a lot depends on how deep we are heading into November.

Washington, Nebraska, Wisconsin, UCLA, Minnesota, Maryland and Michigan State are winnable; not that we win them all but we could. If we run that table it's a 10 win season.
You forgot Illinois...and those are all losable, too. I'm expecting to go 4-5 the rest of the way to finish at the 7-5 I expected, but I have a bit more confidence in winning 8 than I did before, given what I've seen. If we beat UW, then even 9 wins starts to look feasible if we can stay healthy.
 
My opinion Is the same, I believe 7-5
Low self-esteem issue?
You forgot Illinois...and those are all losable, too. I'm expecting to go 4-5 the rest of the way to finish at the 7-5 I expected, but I have a bit more confidence in winning 8 than I did before, given what I've seen. If we beat UW, then even 9 wins starts to look feasible if we can stay healthy.
It's all about matchups.
 
I said this elsewhere earlier today and I'll add something to as well:

The more I think about things:

- looked sloppy and slow out of the gate against Howard (tons of guys sat)
- cleaned that up against Akron (most still sat)
- looked dominating at times vs VT but some "head scratching" decisions kept us from stepping on their throats letting us coast to victory

....my guess? Greg "cleans" things up and doesn't let that happen again. We see the REAL Rutgers Football '24 Team out there, for the 1st time this season, vs The Huskies on Black Friday!!!

Okay adding the following:

When we saw this schedule the first thing that I thought was "the way this is set up....who we play when, who we play after our "byes," who has to travel when/where, who has a HUGE game the week after us....we've got a GREAT chance to win 8-9 games." Probably posted this, or similar, a dozen times since it came out and the start of the season.

- LOVE getting a "bye' before VT after 2 "scrimmages" and it paid off with Greg (apparently) running a VERY tough camp then having a month+ prior to travelling to B'Burg
- LOVE having a "bye" after traveling to LA and prior to getting Minny(H), @Mary, Ill (H finale), then @Sparty (who may be "done" by then....)
- LOVE that Washington has to travel across the country to play us on a Friday night with us coming off a road win, at Tech, undefeated
- LOVE that Washington knows it goes home for a rematch with Michigan the week after they play us
- LOVE getting UCLA for HC and Wiscy at home

....not unfortunately BOTH Nebby and Wiscy get Purdue the week prior to playing us BUT we only need to "split" those 2 IMHO. If we somehow get Washington, split with Neb/Wiscy, beat UCLA but drop one to SC, we come into the final stretch at 6-2 and I'm feeling VERY good about getting to 9 wins. JUST STAY HEALTHY!!!
 
I said this elsewhere earlier today and I'll add something to as well:

The more I think about things:

- looked sloppy and slow out of the gate against Howard (tons of guys sat)
- cleaned that up against Akron (most still sat)
- looked dominating at times vs VT but some "head scratching" decisions kept us from stepping on their throats letting us coast to victory

....my guess? Greg "cleans" things up and doesn't let that happen again. We see the REAL Rutgers Football '24 Team out there, for the 1st time this season, vs The Huskies on Black Friday!!!

Okay adding the following:

When we saw this schedule the first thing that I thought was "the way this is set up....who we play when, who we play after our "byes," who has to travel when/where, who has a HUGE game the week after us....we've got a GREAT chance to win 8-9 games." Probably posted this, or similar, a dozen times since it came out and the start of the season.

- LOVE getting a "bye' before VT after 2 "scrimmages" and it paid off with Greg (apparently) running a VERY tough camp then having a month+ prior to travelling to B'Burg
- LOVE having a "bye" after traveling to LA and prior to getting Minny(H), @Mary, Ill (H finale), then @Sparty (who may be "done" by then....)
- LOVE that Washington has to travel across the country to play us on a Friday night with us coming off a road win, at Tech, undefeated
- LOVE that Washington knows it goes home for a rematch with Michigan the week after they play us
- LOVE getting UCLA for HC and Wiscy at home

....not unfortunately BOTH Nebby and Wiscy get Purdue the week prior to playing us BUT we only need to "split" those 2 IMHO. If we somehow get Washington, split with Neb/Wiscy, beat UCLA but drop one to SC, we come into the final stretch at 6-2 and I'm feeling VERY good about getting to 9 wins. JUST STAY HEALTHY!!!
Wisconsin is a shell of itself even with a healthy QB. Nebby is who I thought they were all along, one score losers. New coach, same results. They have yet to learn how to deal and handle tight situations.
 
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Wisconsin is a shell of itself even with a healthy QB. Nebby is who I thought they were all along, one score losers. New coach, same results. They have yet to learn how to deal and handle tight situations.
Still not gonna be easy going out there especially after they lost Saturday and (likely) get to beat up on Purdue this week. Luckily we get an extra day to rest and prepare following Friday night's "W!"
 
Unlike our first 10 seasons in the B1G there is no game that’s an automatic loss. Most seasons it’s been at least 3 automatic losses. Of the 9 games remaining we should be favored in at least 5.
If we stay healthy with the key players see us finishing at 9-3 before the NYD Bowl.
To be fair, the only game I view as an automatic win left on the schedule is UCLA.

I still think 8 wins is a good possibility for this team, but there going to be a lot of close games.

The resiliency they just showed after getting tied in the VTech game is huge. The ability to completely counter strong, mid-game momentum in a tough environment is not a common factor in CFB.
 
Been saying for awhile now that our schedule is not as easy as most made it out to be .
This. We're going to learn a lot about our team on Friday. Beating two tomato cans and a bad VT team won't say as much as what we do versus Washington.
 
This. We're going to learn a lot about our team on Friday. Beating two tomato cans and a bad VT team won't say as much as what we do versus Washington.

Honestly - there’s not much data yet available out there to support any conclusions about how Washington would stack up vs VTech. Vandy can obviously be a tough out at home seeing that they just took Missouri to OT and lost because they missed a chip FG. Washington lost to Wash State and hasn’t played anyone else other than a depleted NW team at home. So the jury is still out.

The 76% completion percentage for Rogers is what scares me. That’s just insane.
 
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Still not gonna be easy going out there especially after they lost Saturday and (likely) get to beat up on Purdue this week. Luckily we get an extra day to rest and prepare following Friday night's "W!"
You know as well as I do, no game is easy. I just like the how Rutgers matches up against the remaining teams on the schedule. We established we can run the ball successfully enough against a 9 or 10 man box. Now you throw in a competent passing game, it makes us dangerous. We still know how to control the clock, which shortens the game in our favor. Add several key players back on defense, makes us one of the few complete teams in the B1G.
 
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I didn't say "huge mistake" - I said RU was replacing one cast-off with another. The QB of passing offense # 127 was being replaced by QB from #126 and that's not anything to buy season tickets over. All the QBs in portal and that's the best B1G RU could do - move up one spot?

Then there was all the malarkey about Wimsatt's coming "season of mastery" (third year) and GS saying the spring game was just a "scrimmage for the fans" and "nothing could be determined" about QB. Somehow one QB with 3 TDs (2 running) was blown away by a QB with two.

I like Greg but I've learned he can do QBs dirty when it suits him (Dodd a good example). He had GW miss his last year of HS ball (every year counts a lot for QB) and then admitted it was a mistake. Then there was the carousel of revolving OCs and D3 WRs with bad OL . Kid turned down ND, Oregon, Michigan, Nebraska, Michigan St et al for the hot mess at RU. Then fans hated him after pushing for him to start (but too soon). It was crazy.

If a kid wants to be a DB at RU he should run to the program. If a kid want to be a QB run away from RU even faster. AK seems like a cool dude and I hope he does well over the season. Even if he does I have zero confidence in Schiano's offenses (and don't fall for idea its all Kirk's plan - GS hired him because he's the same as he is


I saw what Teel saw and trust him more than forum anons

“His athletic ability and talent just shined there,” Mike Teel, arguably the best quarterback in program history, told NJ Advance Media. “And you said, ‘Man, this kid is super talented and he’s got a really good future if he can continue to develop..

I think you always have to judge a quarterback based upon what the record is and how the team does,” Teel said. “At the end of the day, the kid did win seven games this past year, and he did lead the team to a bowl win. Overall, I think he did a great job.”

he didn't do GW or Dodd dirty. GW was given a year and a half to prove himself. Dodd was given his chances as well. Dodd was really the perfect number 2 QB
 
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Have mentioned before that i thought every game, besides away at USC, was winnable and not a really difficult ask. Doesn’t mean that we’ll win all of those but still feel the same way. Nothing has changed for me.
 
You know as well as I do, no game is easy. I just like the how Rutgers matches up against the remaining teams on the schedule. We established we can run the ball successfully enough against a 9 or 10 man box. Now you throw in a competent passing game, it makes us dangerous. We still know how to control the clock, which shortens the game in our favor. Add several key players back on defense, makes us one of the few complete teams in the B1G.
I’m concerned about giving up chunk plays.
Washington is going to run a lot of sophisticated clear outs, underneath and seam routes.
I think our DB’s will be very busy and have to make a lot of important decisions.

QB pressure is obviously huge, but be aware, the immobile highly average Iowa QB carved us up in the 3rd and 4th quarter last year
 
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I was at 7.5 wins before MT tore his ACL last week of camp. Then 7.

My guess is 8 now, but realizing that missing MT from ACL, MM and DJ to the NFL takes a lot out of the tackling. Otherwise would go higher on the win total.
 
I’m concerned about giving up chunk plays.
Washington is going to run a lot of sophisticated clear outs, underneath and seam routes.
I think our DB’s will be very busy and have to make a lot of important decisions.

QB pressure is obviously huge, but be aware, the immobile highly average Iowa QB carved us up in the 3rd and 4th quarter last year
I think getting Wes Bailey at full speed this week is going to make a huge difference. He only played limited snaps last week and not in the 4th quarter and you saw the difference he makes. Lewis is not our best pass rusher like some want to believe, Bailey's play is far superior. Washington's line is very suspect, losing every single starter from last year.
 
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I think getting Wes Bailey at full speed this week is going to make a huge difference. He only played limited snaps last week and not in the 4th quarter and you saw the difference he makes. Lewis is not our best pass rusher like some want to believe, Bailey's play is far superior. Washington's line is very suspect, losing every single starter from last year.
This
When Wes came out in Q4 our Defense took a major step backwards. We all saw what happened . Hopefully he closer to 100% on Friday night.
 
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