It’s all about getting to 6 wins this season

[read option]

1) It would be a huge accomplishment for this team to reach a Bowl game in season two of Schiano 2.0

2) Optically it would be a big signal to recruits on which direction this program is headed in

3) 15 more practices prior to a Bowl game is big for development of our young players, especially Wimsatt

4) It would mean we went 6-1 vs. non-ranked teams. The truly “winnable” games on our schedule this season.

Just some perspective on what we’re really shooting for this season.

 

[Knight Shift]

1) It would be a huge accomplishment for this team to reach a Bowl game in season two of Schiano 2.0

2) Optically it would be a big signal to recruits on which direction this program is headed in

3) 15 more practices prior to a Bowl game is big for development of our young players, especially Wimsatt

4) It would mean we went 6-1 vs. non-ranked FBS teams. The truly “winnable” games on our schedule this season.

Just some perspective on what we’re really shooting for this season.

While I would like to agree as a normally glass is half full kind of fan, yesterday will be harder to erase from the minds of RU fans than the NW loss. It was an all around disaster. A bowl game is setting the bar too high after yesterday. It is still possible, but it will take a lot. That does not mean we should have won yesterday, but we should not have looked as bad as we did. I still believe Greg will get it done, but we must be patient.

 

[SBP]

No gimme games left… not even Indiana. That said looks like 5 wins, if that, especially with injuries

 

[zappaa]

No gimme games left… not even Indiana. That said looks like 5 wins, if that, especially with injuries

Holy shite, it’s unfathomable a Rutgers fan would use the word “gimme” in the same sentence with RU football

 

[RUGuitarMan]

There is a reason the Vegas over/under line was 4.5 wins for RU this season. After last season, some thought that would be easily accomplished. Its a reflection of the overall talent/depth relative to the competition. I think getting to 6 wins is a long shot , once again the team got really banged up against a bigger, stronger more physical B1G team. Maybe they split the Indiana/MD games. Until the recruiting/player development addresses the OL/DL and lack of playmakers on offense it will be a rough go. Don’t want to be negative but if you look at next year’s schedule, I can’t see the over/under in win totals being any higher than this year.

 

[RUfromNJ]

Yesterday’s margin of defeat is undoubtedly unacceptable. Especially frustrating that we continue to look impotent on offense year after year. However, I keep asking myself the same question each week: what did I expect going into this season?

I get not wanting to make excuses, but it’s an unfortunate reality. This time two years ago, the program had cratered - likely to its lowest point in history based on how far we had to go to compete with our league. The outgoing HC had decimated the program. We had the 100+ ranked recruiting class coming in at the time. Attendance for Liberty and MSU looked like Patriot League home games. Names like Willie Fritz, Jedd Fisch and Lance Leipold were being bandied about as candidates for our open position. I shutter to think what attendance and overall program morale would’ve looked like last year had COVID taken hold and prohibited fans at games.

Are we 7 TDs worse than Wisconsin? No. Are we 2 TDs worse than Northwestern? No. GS has to own that. But 4-5 (1-5) is about where I had us for overall record at this point. We are devoid of talent, plain and simple. No amount of scheming and trick plays will mask men against boys in the trenches. Not against the blue bloods in this conference.

There is still a path to 6-6 and a Bowl appearance for the first time in 7 years. It won’t be easy and managing the team morale will be an added task at this point, but that’s GS’ job. Get us 2 more wins.

 

[Knight Shift]

There is a reason the Vegas over/under line was 4.5 wins for RU this season. After last season, some thought that would be easily accomplished. Its a reflection of the overall talent/depth relative to the competition. I think getting to 6 wins is a long shot , once again the team got really banged up against a bigger, stronger more physical B1G team. Maybe they split the Indiana/MD games. Until the recruiting/player development addresses the OL/DL and lack of playmakers on offense it will be a rough go. Don’t want to be negative but if you look at next year’s schedule, I can’t see the over/under in win totals being any higher than this year.

Would not throw out the PSU game. Their performance has been very uneven (like RU's, but different). Their running game is terrible, but RU's pass protection needs to be at top of the game against PSU.

 

[ashokan]

RU isn't as bad as it looked yesterday and Wis isn't as good. I watched Army almost beat Wis with a back-up QB.

Yesterday was another example of what I call Rutger's "Cincinnati Syndrome" - named for the zombie game RU played after Louisville in 06.

My main complaint of Schiano's teams is they get too high after some nice wins, and DO NOT show-up the next week. Greg likes seeing guys happy, and has one of those "they earned the success and should enjoy it" attitudes. In reality he should pull out a psychicc pin and pop the team's bubble because they float off into space.

The team had a nice win vs Illinois, and Wimsatt threw one nice pass, and people already had RU in the Rose Bowl next year.

After the first quarter I turned-off the TV because I saw it coming - "Zombie RU" was in the house. I'm not a gambler, but if I was and saw RU get a nice win some week, I would pic the other team the following week. I've seen RU do this a dozen times (where RU doesn't just lose but gets its teeth knocked out like they were hit with a 2X4 in the dark)

 

[zappaa]

Indiana is bad football team, the winner of this coming Saturday’s game is not the team that plays better, it’s the team that sucks less.
I disagree ashoken,
We are fragile, unstable team on the verge of collapse every game.

 

[ashokan]

Indiana is bad football team, the winner of this coming Saturday’s game is not the team that plays better, it’s the team that sucks less.
I disagree ashoken,
We are fragile, unstable team on the verge of collapse every game.

Really bad football teams are bad every week and RU isnt bad every week

Illinois beat Minn yesterday and beat PSU a few weeks ago. RU beat a better Syracuse team than their record shows (they lost two OT games to Wake and Clemson). RU almost beat Michigan and almost gave Michigan St a good game. RUs worst performances were during stretch of playing 3 physical top ten teams in a row. RU plays too well at times to be awful. The main problem is RU's OL and DL - they aren't B1G level. I don't even know it they are BE level. You cant sleepwalk into a football game like it was soccer or something and RU does that. They take weeks off between their ears

 

[zappaa]

Really bad football teams are bad every week and RU isnt bad every week

Illinois beat Minn yesterday and beat PSU a few weeks ago. RU beat a better Syracuse team than their record shows (they lost two OT games to Wake and Clemson). RU almost beat Michigan and almost gave Michigan St a good game. RUs worst performances were during stretch of playing 3 physical top ten teams in a row. RU plays too well at times to be awful. The main problem is RU's OL and DL - they aren't B1G level. I don't even know it they are BE level. You cant sleepwalk into a football game like it was soccer or something and RU does that. They take weeks off between their ears

We have a talent issue, not a between the ears issue.
We look awful and like we’re sleep walking because we don’t have enough P-5 level players to sustain success on a weekly basis

 

[Local Shill]

We’ve won 1 of 6 Big Ten games and people are talking about winning 2 of the last 3?

 

[King of S]

1) It would be a huge accomplishment for this team to reach a Bowl game in season two of Schiano 2.0

2) Optically it would be a big signal to recruits on which direction this program is headed in

3) 15 more practices prior to a Bowl game is big for development of our young players, especially Wimsatt

4) It would mean we went 6-1 vs. non-ranked teams. The truly “winnable” games on our schedule this season.

Just some perspective on what we’re really shooting for this season.

Bowl game after losing 51-3 at home? Come on.

 

[RUfinally2008]

Before I make a decision on 6 wins, I'll wait on what RutgersAl thinks.😭

 

[ashokan]

We have a talent issue, not a between the ears issue.
We look awful and like we’re sleep walking because we don’t have enough P-5 level players to sustain success on a weekly basis

RU needs more talent that's certainly true
But a coach like Brian Kelly - who won BE title with a bunch of 2 stars - wouldn't let a team like RU sleepwalk, When you beat illinois one week and lose 50-3 the next week the problem is deeper than talent imo. Its something Schiano teams do over and over.

Beat #6 USF and get crushed by WV 31-3 the next week (2007)
Beat a good Cincy team in 2011 and get manhandled by a bad UConn 40-22 (RU garbage time points)
Beat a 7-2 USF 31-0 in 2011 and lose the next week to a 4-8 Syracuse 31-13
There are a bunch more like that including Cincy 06

 

[read option]

Bowl game after losing 51-3 at home? Come on.

Who have we lost to this season? Who are we playing in 2 of our last 3 games? Big difference in quality.

 

[RUinPAC10land]

Holy shite, it’s unfathomable a Rutgers fan would use the word “gimme” in the same sentence with RU football

Let's not get carried away. Temple and Delaware were "gimme" games for Rutgers.

We’ve won 1 of 6 Big Ten games and people are talking about winning 2 of the last 3?

4 out of 5 losses were against ranked teams and they do not play MSU or OSU in the last 3 games. Wisky would probably beat TTFP if they played them now.

 

[rutgersal]

We’ve won 1 of 6 Big Ten games and people are talking about winning 2 of the last 3?

The caliber of competition is different in 2 of the last three, which is why it’s possible.

 

[RUfromNJ]

Bowl game after losing 51-3 at home? Come on.

We’ve lost to #3, #5, #7, #21 and Northwestern. 1-4 was the likely ceiling there. While PSU is by far the toughest of the remaining 3, none of them are on the same planet as that gauntlet right now (save NW)

 

[NotInRHouse]

Indiana is bad football team, the winner of this coming Saturday’s game is not the team that plays better, it’s the team that sucks less.
I disagree ashoken,
We are fragile, unstable team on the verge of collapse every game.

To be fair, that's not how I viewed the team in September. They looked confident through Michigan.

OTOH the team that we saw versus NW, collapse would be a generous way to describe them.

Fragile/unstable is probably correct. We could beat Indiana or get blown out and neither would be a terrible surprise. But I hope the team understands that 2 more wins would be huge.

 

[NotInRHouse]

We’ve won 1 of 6 Big Ten games and people are talking about winning 2 of the last 3?

To be fair, we played most of the best teams so far. The NW game was IMO one of the most inexcusable games of both of GS' tenures but at least from the W/L perspective, I think most of the fanbase would have had us losing the games we did, and perhaps not giving Michigan the scare we did.

I think going into the season everyone had Indiana and MD circled (fair or not) as games that would be crucial, and maybe even worried about Indiana given how good they looked last year. I don't know that anyone had Wisconsin circled, certainly not tOSU. The other teams we've beaten or came close.

 

[Plum Street]

If we somehow beat Indiana , the coaching staff is gonna treat psu as a bye internally . Then it’s balls to the wall Maryland week

 

[kapyoche]

Rutgers has not been competitive against elite teams ever since it entered Big Ten. That is more than seven years.

We dress up against OSU, PSU, MSU, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, but when then game starts, we forget how to play basic sound football. We can't run, pass, tackle, block, etc. It is a total disaster.

No coach can fix this. It's not even a talent gap. We beat both MSU and Purdue last year and look how they are doing this year. This is a culture gap. And that can't be fixed.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Still think we have one upset in us and it won’t be Penn State. I think it’s Maryland in a meaningless game.

 

[fsg2]

I'll take 5 wins and not watching us lose in a bowl game. Will make for a cheerier holiday season.

 

[Knight Shift]

Still think we have one upset in us and it won’t be Penn State. I think it’s Maryland in a meaningless game.

No game is meaningless in a rebuild

 

[-RUFAN4LIFE-]

2) Optically it would be a big signal to recruits on which direction this program is headed in

Totally wrong on so many levels, if we needed these types of optics then you would not have Wimsatt, Brown, Brown, Walker, Johnson, etc. committed in this class. The top recruits in each class are all very aware of where RU is at with this rebuild.

If you had said it would optically be a big signal to the fair weather bandwagon then I would have wholeheartedly agreed with you.

 

[BigEastPhil]

Does anyone really truly think we are going to beat both Indiana and Maryland? I ll be thrilled with 1 win but I am really hoping for competitive games. It’s too early in the rebuild. This is not a bowl caliber team as of now.

 

[Bobbynieds]

The OP brings up a topic i think is stupid in the NCAA
Not letting bad teams practice if they don't get to a bowl game.
Everyone should be allowed to practice up until the new year.
Your rewarding the better teams and punishing the worse teams.

 

[beaced]

1) It would be a huge accomplishment for this team to reach a Bowl game in season two of Schiano 2.0

2) Optically it would be a big signal to recruits on which direction this program is headed in

3) 15 more practices prior to a Bowl game is big for development of our young players, especially Wimsatt

4) It would mean we went 6-1 vs. non-ranked teams. The truly “winnable” games on our schedule this season.

Just some perspective on what we’re really shooting for this season.

Would love to go bowling.Not counting on it though.Hopes larger than expectations

 

[Knightmoves]

Does anyone really truly think we are going to beat both Indiana and Maryland? I ll be thrilled with 1 win but I am really hoping for competitive games. It’s too early in the rebuild. This is not a bowl caliber team as of now.

I’ll be surprised if we beat Indy or Maryland.

Our team looks shot on both sides of the ball.

If Vedral can’t play this week our fans want to have Langan/Snyder/Simon play QB. Good luck with that.

 

[ScarletDave]

We’ve won 1 of 6 Big Ten games and people are talking about winning 2 of the last 3?

Yes because Indiana and Maryland are not Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, or Wisconsin

 

[Knightmoves]

Yes because Indiana and Maryland are not Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, or Wisconsin

Neither is Northwestern.

 

[KnightClub]

Each game has its own identity. If Rutgers does not turn the ball over 3 times inside their own red-zone, its a different game. We still lose but by much less.

In 2005 Rutgers got destroyed by #23 Louisville 56-6 (game 10 of 11). The following game Rutgers beat Cincinnati to clinch a bowl game. There is plenty of football to be played.

 

[beaced]

1) It would be a huge accomplishment for this team to reach a Bowl game in season two of Schiano 2.0

2) Optically it would be a big signal to recruits on which direction this program is headed in

3) 15 more practices prior to a Bowl game is big for development of our young players, especially Wimsatt

4) It would mean we went 6-1 vs. non-ranked teams. The truly “winnable” games on our schedule this season.

Just some perspective on what we’re really shooting for this season.

It is possibly too late.Seems as if the Scarlet has boarded the bus that is heading South.

 

[mdk01]

This is not a bowl caliber team as of now.

2 of the predicted opponents to Big 10 tie in bowls are BC and Western Michigan. They can be that caliber.

 

[jtung230]

Hopefully the coaches and team are just trying to go 1-0 this week. Need to play a good game and a little help. The other team doesn’t need our help.

 

[Knightmoves]

Hopefully the coaches and team are just trying to go 1-0 this week. Need to play a good game and a little help. The other team doesn’t need our help.

Thanks for the Kyle Flood tag line. Those were better times for RU fans.

 

[RUJMM78]

RU needs more talent that's certainly true
But a coach like Brian Kelly - who won BE title with a bunch of 2 stars - wouldn't let a team like RU sleepwalk, When you beat illinois one week and lose 50-3 the next week the problem is deeper than talent imo. Its something Schiano teams do over and over.

Beat #6 USF and get crushed by WV 31-3 the next week (2007)
Beat a good Cincy team in 2011 and get manhandled by a bad UConn 40-22 (RU garbage time points)
Beat a 7-2 USF 31-0 in 2011 and lose the next week to a 4-8 Syracuse 31-13
There are a bunch more like that including Cincy 06

It was far easier to win Big East games than what is happening against B1G opponents.Rutgers is getting manhandled at the line of scrimmage and has no pass rush and pass defense to stop long completions.There is a noticeable lack of play makers on offense and defense which gives opponents a decided advantage in time of possession.

 

[REDRICH65]

Lose Saturday and we don’t belong in the B1G. Even Purdue can beat the blue bloods. Tired of the blow outs