Was the 2024 Rutgers Football regular season a successful one?

[RU in IM]

Weird stalker move , but yes I did bet the over 6.5 wins on FanDuel back in August.

lol, what’s “weird is that you expected 7 wins, we got 7 wins, then you conclude it wasn’t a successful season. Not stalking, just an observation. I was reviewing predictions to see how everyone did in their predictions and noticed an obvious inconsistency.

 

[yesrutgers01]

6 wins would be a disappointing but not horrible season. 7 wins is what should have been expected and to get there with our injuries- makes it successful but not more than that.
The 8-10 floor guys pre season- none of us are sure what you were smoking.
Though, the way AK, Strong, Duff ended the last quarter of a season showed a lot and can get you excited for next year if both WRs stay.

 

[ScarletKid2008]

my view is ..

This season was respectable. The result was respectable and what we hope is a baseline going forward.

Compared to the last decade .. yes 7 wins is a success .

But we didn’t really change the trajectory of the program in any meaningful way or the perception around it in the general public eyes. Meaning we lost our games to all the traditional blue blood brand schools . We didn’t beat any ranked teams (and still hold a disgusting streak in that regard) .

So is success just making a bowl game ? I guess in some ways yes.

Or is it more about the program growing and reaching the next step ? And what is the next step and how big is it ?

Is it attracting more season tix ?
Is it getting more media/fan attention or aka “juice” so that we become a desired destination for both recruits and prospective students (aka increase in applications )?
Is it making a certain tier of bowl ?
Is it making it to the conference championship? CFP playoff?

I have my own personal answers and hopes but success can be defined in a lot of ways

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I was going to be happy with any outcome this season that resulted in a positive forward looking outlook.

I don’t see how anyone can reflect on this season and not feel good about our progress. The bottom line is we lost the heart and soul of our D before the season even started. Nobody was predicting us as a dark horse without Mo in the mix all other injuries aside. And that was far from the only major injury on D.

During that stretch with the UCLA loss our D resembled a MAC caliber D talent wise. The irony it that the disappointment was that if we even played to MaC level ability that probably would’ve been good enough at least for UclA because the offense was actually good enough to beat them. Our coaches did not do a great job of piecing together utility player bandaids during that stretch to form a cohesive unit. We couldn’t stop anyone. Then we got a few guys back and a week to regroup and figured things out. Credit them for that.

So ok - the record doesn’t reflect the magic season we hoped for but l can’t recall another season in a very long time where our offense steadily improved throughout the season like ours did on a team slated to return its starting QB along with 2 solid wide outs. Kyle graduates but we have. Solid RB group slated to return too. Nobody should be unhappy with our current positioning.

 

[DennisHajekRC84]

I've been thinking about that since yesterday's game (MSU). We had a rash of injuries to a few key areas which hurt, which played a hand in our 4 game losing streak midseason. And I feel coaching was a factor in that losing streak, particularly the Nebraska and UCLA games. However, even with the mounting list of injuries, we walked out of that with a victory against a good team, Minnesota, and ended the season going 3-1 in our last 4 games.

That last fact is huge, as we have had a middling to putrid record in November and December games. I put together our history in the Big 10 for this period, plus the preceding 5 years, to really put this in perspective:

2009 - 2-2
2010 - 0-4
2011 - 3-1
2012 - 2-2
2013 - 2-3

Big 10
2014 - 2-2 (2-2 B10)
2015 - 1-3 (0-3 B10)
2016 - 0-4 (0-4 B10)
2017 - 1-3 (1-3 B10)
2018 - 0-4 (0-4 B10)
2019 - 0-4 (0-4 B10)
2020 - 2-5 (2-5 B10) * Covid Year
2021 - 1-3 (1-3 B10)
2022 - 0-4 (0-4 B10)
2023 - 0-4 (0-4 B10)
2024 - 3-1 (3-1 B10)

So in that time period, after October 31st we have never won more than 2 games to end a season. We have always seemed to stagger to the end of the season just looking for it to end. To paraphrase: "The on field beatings will continue until the season is over." This year was different. We chopped up to the last game and turned in our first winning regular season record since 2014.

So, yes, this was a successful season for the Rutgers Football program. I am proud of our team and wish all the graduating seniors success and happiness in their new life as a Rutgers Alumni.

Edit: had 2-0 for 2011, it was actually 3-1.

NOT disagreeing with your overall thought here..just adding one consideration.

2023 play OSU, Iowa, PSU. Mary last 4
2022 Mich, MSU, Psu, Mary
2021 Wisky, Indy, PSU, Mary
2020 7 games after 31st but last 4 Purdue, PSU, Mary, Nebby

Winning the Bowl and going 4-1 to finish is really great..and man does it kill me we could have finished 5-0..

I'm also on the positive by the slime margin right now. Win the Bowl to go 8-5 and it goes solid green (not bright).

 

[fluoxetine]

lol, what’s “weird is that you expected 7 wins, we got 7 wins, then you conclude it wasn’t a successful season. Not stalking, just an observation. I was reviewing predictions to see how everyone did in their predictions and noticed an obvious inconsistency.

I don't think that logic works. If I expected the team to go 2-10, and then they went 2-10, it doesn't follow that I think going 2-10 was a success.

 

[RU in IM]

I don't think that logic works. If I expected the team to go 2-10, and then they went 2-10, it doesn't follow that I think going 2-10 was a success.

I agree with you if 2-10 was his expectation and we went 2-10, but that wasn’t the situation.

 

[thegock]

Two of the "no" votes were by our regular troll(s) with brand new user names. Must be cold in mom's basement...

 

[fluoxetine]

I agree with you if 2-10 was his expectation and we went 2-10, but that wasn’t the situation.

The same logic could apply to 7-5 though if 7-5 doesn't meet your definition of a successful season. It's not the 2-10 or 7-5 I'm commenting on here, it's that I don't think:
The season met your preseason expectation THEREFORE you should think the season was successful
is proper logic.

 

[RU in IM]

The same logic could apply to 7-5 though if 7-5 doesn't meet your definition of a successful season. It's not the 2-10 or 7-5 I'm commenting on here, it's that I don't think:
The season met your preseason expectation THEREFORE you should think the season was successful
is proper logic.

Relax with the caps. Initially he expected 7, but after season ended, he says he expected 8-10.

 

[fluoxetine]

Relax with the caps. Initially he expected 7, but after season ended, he says he expected 8-10.

The caps are just for EMPHASIS man, and I will use them HOW I PLEASE.

Okay, that part is fair.

 

[DJ Spanky]

Two of the "no" votes were by our regular troll(s) with brand new user names. Must be cold in mom's basement...

More than two.

 

[fluoxetine]

@MSUisGonnaCrushUs so much for that one.

 

[fsg2]

I don't think that logic works. If I expected the team to go 2-10, and then they went 2-10, it doesn't follow that I think going 2-10 was a success.

It absolutely works in the example of a winning season, especially since OP redefined his original "expectations."

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

I judge success by the volume of noise at Rutgers stadium.

And volume is at ear-splitting, mind-numbing, teeth-gnashing, head-for-the-exit level volume knob at 11 levels.

Success