I never saw 2-10 coming this season.

[AreYouNUTS]

Inexperience at the HC and OC positions also hurt RU's chances to win.
Sometimes the breaks might hurt chances of victory but good coaching can overcome that and bring home a win .
Ash and Mehringer might prove to be good ones in the future, but that weren't this season and that can't be blamed all on the players talent level.
Besides that I must question Ash's choice of staff and feel some aren't B1G worthy, but like Flood did Ash went with who he knew and was comfortable around over some who knew more but expected to have more input then Ash was willing to give.
Next season might not be much of an improvement if Ash doesn't work on getting a staff that can help him while he's learning everything he needs to be a good HC.

Here's the thing: if the KIDS execute, against Iowa and Illinois, then you probably don't feel quite the same way about the staff. Those were winnable games. Some bad play calls, sure, but it happens for every staff at every level every week. Bottom line is we had 3 game-winning type plays against Iowa that we simply DID NOT execute. Bottom line is the kids turned the ball over, what, 5 times against Illinois? Some guys here seem to feel that's on the coaches, too, but let's be real now.

Yes, the staff need work, NO QUESTION, but we're closer to a lot of these programs then some might think. It's the big boys that we are light year's behind right now and the talent disparity makes it much worse come game day.

 

[Extra Point]

If it wasn't for Grant we would have only won 1 game. We would have lost to New Mexico. We have the talent to have won 5 games.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

If it wasn't for Grant we would have only won 1 game. We would have lost to New Mexico. We have the talent to have won 5 games.

The odds of winning 3 "toss-up" games this year were minimal. Even with Grant. 2, sure, but 3 is where, IMHO, I just couldn't get there even if I WANTED us to pull it off. Hopefully with better receivers next year, and better ST's, we DO pull off a few of those toss-up games! Fingers crossed!

 

[REDRICH65]

So far Ash = Shea. Over- rated. Remember we beat his defenses twice. His career depends on his ability to recruit.

 

[FELONIOUSMONK]

There were those who did. Was Ash one of them ? By his body language he looks he didnt.

 

[RUbacker]

The odds of winning 3 "toss-up" games this year were minimal. Even with Grant. 2, sure, but 3 is where, IMHO, I just couldn't get there even if I WANTED us to pull it off. Hopefully with better receivers next year, and better ST's, we DO pull off a few of those toss-up games! Fingers crossed!

I think we can get 4 wins next year with a year under their belts and a few more players. Keep hope alive.

 

[RU#1fan]

With Iowa, Illinois, and Minny as winnable games, a victory over Maryland would give us 6 wins. Woulda, shoulda, coulda!

This.
Not mind boggling at all that we could have 6 games this year.

 

[RU#1fan]

I think we can get 4 wins next year with a year under their belts and a few more players. Keep hope alive.

"Hope to get to 4 wins next year " ?
Boy are you setting your expectations as low as humanly possible. And giving our Coach and Staff a huge pass. Home to Morgan St., Eastern Michigan, Purdue, Maryland ( @ Yankee Stadium) , @Indiana, and at Illinois. For gripes sake my 75 year old neighbor could get 4 wins out of that schedule .

 

[newell138]

This.
Not mind boggling at all that we could have 6 games this year.

We could easily have 5, MD is TBD. No one else played 4 top 10 teams either. It's not as bad as it looks. Ash recruits this class as is and things will get better. Keep recruiting top 30 classes and getting better as coaches. He will be fine

 

[koleszar]

I thought 6 wins at the beginning of the year. And no I'm not new to football or a buffoon like many of you think. However,
-First it dawned on me, I never figured in how difficult it is to install a brandy new offensive scheme. Although I had the blueprint right in front of me from that 2010 disaster.

-Then I watched Vince Okruch's units hit the field. We looked like turtles running down field. My talent expectations were exaggerated.

-Next I saw a brutal 5 game stretch that I've never seen scheduled by anybody in all of college football in my entire life.

-Then I realized this team was a mess last year. It hit me some things got lost in that locker over the past four years and needed to take precedence like reinstalling discipline and hard work.

-In conclusion I didn't factor in quite a few factors in my original prediction. So yes 6 wins was possible before you figure in these factors. However, upon learning my mistakes I now have a newfound sense of patience's.

 

[ruready4somefootball]

That's part of the problem fans will be fans and too often like this poster are unrealistic as they don't know anything about a football program. Summer practice where players are just running around don't mean anything.

Yup I Know absolutely nothing,thanks,lol.

 

[ATIOH]

It's funny how so many posters knew we would lose at least 9 games this year, yet no one predicted that in the two preseason prediction threads. (Except for one guy)

The greatest rebuilding project in the history of college football only became that, AFTER the blowouts started to pile up.

 

[Knight Shift]

Yup I Know absolutely nothing,thanks,lol.

That guy loves to trot out this line and flaunt his purported superior knowledge. Ignore him.

 

[Unionst]

Can't say I knew the coach wouldn't play his best players: Martin, Hicks, Turay, then Grant gets hurt. That leaves Hamilton from the top 5 who saw starter minutes. Current quarterback gets spotted leading the scout team one week and goes from 4th string to first. Worrisome.

 

[JQRU91]

via Imgflip Meme Generator

 

[RU#1fan]

It's funny how so many posters knew we would lose at least 9 games this year, yet no one predicted that in the two preseason prediction threads. (Except for one guy)

The greatest rebuilding project in the history of college football only became that, AFTER the blowouts started to pile up.

WTF are you talking about ? This is nowhere the greatest rebuilding job ever in CFB. It might look that the way with the performance of our green Coaching staff. FWIW what Schiano inherited from Shea in 2000 was a hundred times worse than the situation Ash came into.

 

[rufeelinit]

At this point, I am more conditioned to expect 2-10 next year than I was this year. The talent gets worse before its gets better. A couple of freshman will be ready and we will force feed others but I still don't think we have a QB ready to make this offense go. While there is a lot returning on defense, I think we need upgrades in several areas.

 

[RUsince52]

That's part of the problem fans will be fans and too often like this poster are unrealistic as they don't know anything about a football program. Summer practice where players are just running around don't mean anything.

I think the second scrimmage in 104 degree heat took its toll and we never recovered. Sure sounds more plausible than we just didn't get better and some could argue - worse.

 

[Veiox]

An observation, our preseason prediction poll had several hundred votes and not one person said 2-10. Not one.

One person said 3-9 . The median was around 6 wins or maybe slightly below. Anyone saying they expected 2-10 is FOS. The stats bear out that NO ONE expected us to be this bad.

 

[RU31trap]

An observation, our preseason prediction poll had several hundred votes and not one person said 2-10. Not one.

One person said 3-9 . The median was around 6 wins or maybe slightly below. Anyone saying they expected 2-10 is FOS. The stats bear out that NO ONE expected us to be this bad.

I was the 3-9 guy. Both Rutgersal and I wrote a few posts expressing serious reservations due to a lack of experience. Actually, I have nothing against Ash, if I were him I would have jumped at the opportunity and the money. Just not sure he is the guy. I guess we'll find out in 2018.

 

[Veiox]

It's funny how so many posters knew we would lose at least 9 games this year, yet no one predicted that in the two preseason prediction threads. (Except for one guy)

The greatest rebuilding project in the history of college football only became that, AFTER the blowouts started to pile up.

Sorry, it looks like I just said the same thing as you. I responded after reading page 1 of this thread.

 

[RUChoppin]

My worst case scenario heading into the season was 2-10, and my best case was 6-6... but I really thought both were fairly unlikely. I was expecting 4-8, but wouldn't have been too surprised by 3-9 or 5-7. Grant/Lambert going down in game four tilted the table downward a bit.

Edit: I really thought we'd have wins over Howard, NM, and Illinois, to be honest... with the flex games being Indiana and Maryland. Didn't think the games against Iowa/Minnesota would have been as close as they were, nor did I think the games against Michigan/MSU/PA St would have been as bad as they were.

 

[rurahrah000]

Didn't care about wins and losses, but thought the games would at least be competitive, and fun to watch.

Agree whole heartedly. I wasn't expecting a bowl game but competitiveness and willing to play against top teams would be nice. These games are not close at all. 10 minutes into the game we are down 28-0. Agree that Ash looks clueless. I agree with what someone said earlier that a good coach can make any team competitive. Hard to have any hope right now.

 

[vkj91]

An observation, our preseason prediction poll had several hundred votes and not one person said 2-10. Not one.

One person said 3-9 . The median was around 6 wins or maybe slightly below. Anyone saying they expected 2-10 is FOS. The stats bear out that NO ONE expected us to be this bad.

I said 6 wins.
Figured 1AA, NM, and Ilinois were locks. Thought Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Indiana were all very winnable.
Thought we would steal a game from PSU or MSU
Was wrong.

 

[RU#1fan]

Reread my post.

Gotcha. Agree that we regressed so badly to a level that we have no business being at this year.
Staff has much work to do to prove itself.

 

[BigEastPhil]

An observation, our preseason prediction poll had several hundred votes and not one person said 2-10. Not one.

One person said 3-9 . The median was around 6 wins or maybe slightly below. Anyone saying they expected 2-10 is FOS. The stats bear out that NO ONE expected us to be this bad.

Vegas at the beginning of the year had the over / under for us at 4 1/2. If I was in Vegas - I would have bet the over thinking 1AA; New Mexico; Illinois; Indiana were wins - with winning another game against Maryland or a WTF win against another opponent......hence 5-7.

 

[RUSK97]

"Hope to get to 4 wins next year " ?
Boy are you setting your expectations as low as humanly possible. And giving our Coach and Staff a huge pass. Home to Morgan St., Eastern Michigan, Purdue, Maryland ( @ Yankee Stadium) , @Indiana, and at Illinois. For gripes sake my 75 year old neighbor could get 4 wins out of that schedule .

You absolutely HAVE to revise next year's expectations based on this year's results. We're going to have an extremely young team on the field. They're going to make plenty of mistakes. Hoping to get 4 wins is absolutely right. It's possible if the ball bounces our way, but realistically, it's a 1-11 season. It's just about working towards 2018.

 

[RUSK97]

An observation, our preseason prediction poll had several hundred votes and not one person said 2-10. Not one.

One person said 3-9 . The median was around 6 wins or maybe slightly below. Anyone saying they expected 2-10 is FOS. The stats bear out that NO ONE expected us to be this bad.

I would've laughed in your face and called you a troll had you told me in the preseason that we'd go 2-10. I thought 4-8 with max of two blowouts.

 

[RUbacker]

I would've laughed in your face and called you a troll had you told me in the preseason that we'd go 2-10. I thought 4-8 with max of two blowouts.

There were quite s few experts predicted us last with 2 to 3 wins don't act like we were picked above that.

 

[RUSK97]

There were quite s few experts predicted us last with 2 to 3 wins don't act like we were picked above that.

Oh, I don't doubt it. I just didn't think we'd be as atrocious as we are.

 

[ElmiraExpress]

You absolutely HAVE to revise next year's expectations based on this year's results. We're going to have an extremely young team on the field. They're going to make plenty of mistakes. Hoping to get 4 wins is absolutely right. It's possible if the ball bounces our way, but realistically, it's a 1-11 season. It's just about working towards 2018.

One win ??? So you are predicting Rutgers loses to Eastern Michigan and is 0 for the Big 10. You must really hate Coach Ash if you think that is the best the team can do. How many players on Eastern Michigan could have been offered a scholarship to play at Rutgers ? ... not many

 

[RUSK97]

One win ??? So you are predicting Rutgers loses to Eastern Michigan and is 0 for the Big 10. You must really hate Coach Ash if you think that is the best the team can do. How many players on Eastern Michigan could have been offered a scholarship to play at Rutgers ? ... not many

Eastern Michigan is going to be led by a senior QB and senior WR on offense next year and veteran DBs. Their lines, particularly on O will face a shakeup, but they're going to faceoff against rebuilt O and D lines. Many of RU's skill players will be a few months separated from their high school prom. Gio is going to try to pass to freshmen receivers from behind turnstile O linemen. Talent is talent, but experience, physical and emotional maturity will make a difference.

 

[AshSaturday]

The talent and athleticism deficit of our roster was magnified 10-fold against Wash/PSU/OSU/Mich/MSU. That was the single biggest issue in terms of the blowouts as such, IMHO, and those teams took full advantage. PSU, for instance, poured it on once our D got worn down. Nearly 300 yards of O and 21 points the last 17-minutes of the game (only had 260 yards O prior to that point).

Yeah the D wore down again-AFTER THE OFFENSE COULDNT MOVE THE BALL. Though Penn State looked flat until the 3rd quarter, the secondary/safeties actually looked decent. I think I saw a few pass breakups that I haven't seen (if ever) since the McCourtys and Ryan. The D actually seemed to play fairly well IMHO in the 1st half

 

[RUsince52]

Arizona, 2-9, going against ASU. Won 56 - 35. 510 yds rushing
Not like us.

 

[Debtbubble]

Flood was fired for winning 4 games. o_O

 

[ruready4somefootball]

There were quite s few experts predicted us last with 2 to 3 wins don't act like we were picked above that.

And of course you were one of them experts that knows everything,lol. So you saw it coming and a lot of us know nothings didn't, here's your trophy.

 

[Knight Shift]

Flood was fired for winning 4 games. o_O

No he was not. He was fired for numerous off field issues, the academic nonsense, letting the program slide and years of poor recruiting.

Are you a fan of RU?

 

[OTBOTOR]

Flood was fired for winning 4 games. o_O

You didn't read many newspapers last year, did ya.

 

[RUTrack94]

4-8 ... Thought we'd get Illinois and then either Indy or Maryland