So we should expect 2-3 wins max. No sense in watching or following Rutgers Football after listening to Gerry, Josh, Howard and Davey Boy. We all realize the situation we as a program are still in but I have to believe somebody’s is going to get beat that doesn’t expect to from the top tier . Keep Choppin !!!!!!!!??
Well Dinardo thinks we will stink
- Thread starter Plum Street
- Start date
It's a little harsh, and I disagree that the QBs are all that bad or that there's no threat at RB. But otherwise, I mostly agree with you.
We're going to struggle on D due to the inexperience at LB. No way to sugarcoat that and LBs are too critical to defense to just wave away the concern. Which means we're going to have to score more than we've been scoring. And that will depend entirely on how good the OL transfers really are and how well the OL can mesh before the season starts. If the OL is no better than last season, then any QBs or RBs would struggle.
I very much hope I'm wrong, but I currently project between 1 and 3 wins for this season. I think it's gonna be an extremely challenging year and I suspect this board will be in full meltdown mode for much of it. We're gonna see if GS can: (a) hold together a decent recruiting class in the face of a rough season and NIL, (b) coach-up our inexperienced players, and (c) regain the upwards trajectory he's established since he's been back for the 2023-2024 season.
OTOH, injuries could affect other programs and we could get lucky and have a magically good OL which would change everything. Let's hope for that.
Last year, 5-7, lost bowl. (5-8), 256-333, -77
Wins 3-9 Temple(+47), 5-7 Syracuse(+10), Delaware(+32), 5-7 Illinois(+6), 2-10 Indiana(+35)
Loss 12-2 UM(-7), 11-2 OSU(-39), 11-2 MSU(-18), 7-6 PSU(-28), 7-6 Md(-24), 9-4 UW(-49), *3-9 NW(-14), 11-3 WF(-28)
2014 last winning/bowl, 8-5, 347-392, -45
Wins 3-9 Wash St(+3), Howard(+13), 8-5 Navy(+7), 3-9 Tulane(+25), 5-7 UM(+7), 4-8 Indiana(+22), 7-6 Md(+3), 6-7 UNC(+19)
Losses 7-6 PSU(-3), 14-1 OSU(-39), 9-4 Nebraska(-18), 11-3 UW(-37), 11-2 MSU(-42)
Record is all relative to how you do against better(9-12+ wins), equal(5-8 wins) and worse(0-4 wins) teams you face in a year, and how many games you can squeak out vs teams with equal talent and record.
2021, 4 equal(2-2), 4 worse(3-1, NW), 4 better(0-4, WF L), (5-8)
2014, 4 equal(3-1, UNC W), 4 worse(4-0, none), 4 better(0-4), (8-5)
2022 @BC(6-6, 2021), Wagner, @Temple(2-10), Iowa(10-4), @OSU(11-2), Nebraska(3-9), Indiana (2-10), @Minesota(9-4), UM(12-2), @MSU(11-2), PSU(7-6), @Md(7-6)
3 teams equal(2021), 4 worse(2021), 5 better(2021)
It will probably be a 4/4/4 balance at the end.
0% chance of losing to Wagner or Temple, BC our toughest non-conf.
Of the 3 West teams, Iowa and Minnesota don't score many points, play defense and potentially could be the right opponents for us in the same year to win one. Nebraska(3-9) lost 9 close games by 56 points, none more than 9pts in 2021. Nebraska is kind of of scary game after @Ohio St, they could flip many losses to wins in 2022.
Ohio St and Michigan will be the top 2. We will be competing with Md, Indiana, Penn St and Mich St to stay out of the bottom. Pretty much sums it up.
Wins 3-9 Temple(+47), 5-7 Syracuse(+10), Delaware(+32), 5-7 Illinois(+6), 2-10 Indiana(+35)
Loss 12-2 UM(-7), 11-2 OSU(-39), 11-2 MSU(-18), 7-6 PSU(-28), 7-6 Md(-24), 9-4 UW(-49), *3-9 NW(-14), 11-3 WF(-28)
2014 last winning/bowl, 8-5, 347-392, -45
Wins 3-9 Wash St(+3), Howard(+13), 8-5 Navy(+7), 3-9 Tulane(+25), 5-7 UM(+7), 4-8 Indiana(+22), 7-6 Md(+3), 6-7 UNC(+19)
Losses 7-6 PSU(-3), 14-1 OSU(-39), 9-4 Nebraska(-18), 11-3 UW(-37), 11-2 MSU(-42)
Record is all relative to how you do against better(9-12+ wins), equal(5-8 wins) and worse(0-4 wins) teams you face in a year, and how many games you can squeak out vs teams with equal talent and record.
2021, 4 equal(2-2), 4 worse(3-1, NW), 4 better(0-4, WF L), (5-8)
2014, 4 equal(3-1, UNC W), 4 worse(4-0, none), 4 better(0-4), (8-5)
2022 @BC(6-6, 2021), Wagner, @Temple(2-10), Iowa(10-4), @OSU(11-2), Nebraska(3-9), Indiana (2-10), @Minesota(9-4), UM(12-2), @MSU(11-2), PSU(7-6), @Md(7-6)
3 teams equal(2021), 4 worse(2021), 5 better(2021)
It will probably be a 4/4/4 balance at the end.
0% chance of losing to Wagner or Temple, BC our toughest non-conf.
Of the 3 West teams, Iowa and Minnesota don't score many points, play defense and potentially could be the right opponents for us in the same year to win one. Nebraska(3-9) lost 9 close games by 56 points, none more than 9pts in 2021. Nebraska is kind of of scary game after @Ohio St, they could flip many losses to wins in 2022.
Ohio St and Michigan will be the top 2. We will be competing with Md, Indiana, Penn St and Mich St to stay out of the bottom. Pretty much sums it up.
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It is, I agree. But we've known that there would be valleys among the peaks of rebuilding the program since GS got back. Hopefully, if the season goes poorly, fans can be understanding about taking a step backwards, in some seasons, among the many steps forward GS has been making.
Sounds to me like he went out of his way to avoid saying anything negative, while actually accurately highlighting some of the challenges for the season. He is definitely not bashing RUFB in any way.
I hope not and, on paper, Wagner, at least, is a sure win. But RU MBB lost to DePaul, Lafayette and UMass at the start of last season. Something nobody would've thought possible. Stuff happens.
If RU can win those two and BC, that would be awesome. If they are reasonable quality wins, that would certainly alter my season wins projection a little.
DiNardo dined with Matt Millen the night before assessing our chances.
So uninformed to regurgitate “the 2.0 rebuild will take five years just like 1.0.”
1.0 wasn’t a rebuild. It was a bottom-half conference team which peaked at a third place conference finish after the top three teams left. The context of 2005-2006 is rarely recognized because it’s not as rosy as most want to remember.
If and When Clemson, FSU and Miami join the SEC, and UNC and UVA find richer pastures too, and Cuse and BC miraculously become the top ACC teams….would that really be a real rise or a false impression
?
1.0 wasn’t a rebuild. It was a bottom-half conference team which peaked at a third place conference finish after the top three teams left. The context of 2005-2006 is rarely recognized because it’s not as rosy as most want to remember.
If and When Clemson, FSU and Miami join the SEC, and UNC and UVA find richer pastures too, and Cuse and BC miraculously become the top ACC teams….would that really be a real rise or a false impression
?
Winning. Solves. All. The. Problems.
I keep posting this because people seem upset, or surprised, or offended that people have a bad opinion of RU football.
Let people hate. Go win and change the narrative.
Exactly.
It doesn't matter what anybody thinks, us as RU fans or outsiders who constantly mock RUFB. None of that means anything at all.
All that matters is winning. Win, consistently over a number of years, and we'll start to earn some respect. Nothing else will do it but winning.
he never said we "stink", this is Plum's standard BS. And anyone with a brain knows our expectations should be muted. Are five wins possible? maybe, but very difficult. So just enjoy the games and try supporting the team or if you are a downer who only supports a team that wins--try a pro teams bandwagon
Funny how we all loved DiNardo when he was overly complementary to Rutgers in years past.
I've played for and have watched this team for almost 30 years. I agree with DiNardo when he infers that it's going to be another bad year---but in GS I trust!
I've played for and have watched this team for almost 30 years. I agree with DiNardo when he infers that it's going to be another bad year---but in GS I trust!
He knows the team lost way too much depth through eligibility and various portal & transfer attrition
Outside of O'Neal how many key players did RU lose to portal attrition?
They were net positive in the portal by a wide margin.
Nice deflection on the hyperbole about portal attrition.
Harris could be as good as Bo and we'll start to get those answers in a couple of weeks.
CJ Onyechi is a loss as well in my opinion. He was impactful on the edge at DE.
He did the best he could but was not a B1G caliber player. Once some of these young guys get some experience you’ll see the difference with their size and speed.
Do t think we would be favored according to rankings. They are ranked at 63 and we are ranked at 78 in the top 100.
According to Massey the difference is even bigger. we're 92 and they're 63...one spot behind Army.
I love Army football and after RU they're my favorite college team. They've had some good years lately but outside of two or so games each year their schedule is weak. Last year it was Wisconsin and Wake Forest. On a neutral field, even at this stage of the rebuild, we're better than Army
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I think you see those head-scratchers in basketball more than football. Lafayette and even UMass were inexplicable, though DePaul was a perfectly respectable loss. (Without looking, they are something like 6-1 against the Big Ten over the past few seasons.)
Yes, these almost unthinkable things happen in football, too, but I think a loss to Wagner is literally unthinkable. Unless your team is chained up in the locker room for four quarters, you will not lose. And it'll be ugly, too.
Last year's Temple team was one of the worst I've ever seen. There was some isolated talent, but Rod Carey made Chris Ash look like Nick Saban and those guys quit on him. Some have admitted it. And still, they whupped Wagner; I want to say it was 41-7. Wagner did show up and took and early 7-0 lead and was damn close to making it 14-0 before the light came on for the Owls (who had not yet packed it in).
I expect you'll beat Temple this year, too, but it won't be like last year and a loss would not be outside the realm of my imagination. They should be much better, just even in terms of basic professionalism, effort, and coaching. There's a talent, athleticism, and size gap, but I think they'll be game. If the stars align the right way, I can see it being interesting for a while, especially if Rutgers is already looking ahead to Iowa. Schiano's record also includes a couple hard-to-believe losses, so I think it'll at least be worth tuning in for, even if I feel pretty confident you'll come away with the W.
Hope you are right on the significant upgrading of an Edge player like CJ.
Haven’t seen the big improvement there in recruiting there yet ( unless I am off here). The one exception could be Kenny Fletcher ?? He is slight and will benefit greatly in Jay Butler’s weight room.
There are a ton of young guys ready to play at DE. That’s why he’s gone.
If he said we compare to Hofstra and Temple I'd have to say he's being a bit pessimistic. For one thing Hofstra hasn't had a football team in years. And then there's the fact that we beat Temple by 60 last year.
It's really hard to tell how good a team is by watching one practice during their first week of training camp. Especially when it's the first time the OLine has played together.
It’s pretty easy on how to solve problems . The solution is there . We just have to achieve
Rutgers will not win anything until there is a cap. We are not winning since we just can't get good players.
That can only happen if there is a players salary cap.
We can't win with 3 stars when other teams have 5 stars. This can only be equalized with a hard salary cap.
We should start with $50M cap next year. Rutgers would immediately improve. OSU, PSU. Michigan would of course oppose this idea.
We have gone ten years playing into a system that does not favor us, but embarrass us.
Time to change the game and make it fair.
That can only happen if there is a players salary cap.
We can't win with 3 stars when other teams have 5 stars. This can only be equalized with a hard salary cap.
We should start with $50M cap next year. Rutgers would immediately improve. OSU, PSU. Michigan would of course oppose this idea.
We have gone ten years playing into a system that does not favor us, but embarrass us.
Time to change the game and make it fair.
No. We compete with a few teams on our schedule where we are outmanned at every position but punter and perhaps a DB or two. When you compare our starters to other teams’, very few of our players would start for the opponent if they were on the opponent’s roster instead. Our coaches are not miracle workers.
I think most people understand the situation. A competent coach and staff should be able to get this program to the level of 6-9 wins a year in most years . That would be acceptable
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