Rutgers Football hoping for improved defense in final stretch
Rutgers got a chance to relax and reflect last week on their bye week but now the Scarlet Knights are getting into the strength of their schedule. Their remaining schedule is one of the toughest in the country as it begins this weekend with a trip to Camp Randall Stadium to take on Wisconsin before returning home to host Michigan and Penn State and ending the season at Michigan State.
For Rutgers head coach Chris Ash, it’s all about getting back to the fundamentals, prepping much of the young talent on his squad for the challenges the Badgers will bring on Saturday.
In his weekly press conference, Ash said, “When you look at us offensively, there's a lot of different issues, there's not just one. And it's not the same player. It's not the same unit. It's not the same call. It would be really easy if it was just one problem, and it's not. That's usually what happens when things don't go the way you want.”
Nothing has really been going Rutgers way so far this season. Since their week one win against Texas State, the Scarlet Knights have been outscored by their next seven opponents 263-86. According to CBS Sports, they rank 129th nationally in total offense, with their rushing attack averaging 131.0 yards (106th) and their passing attack averaging 138.9 yards (122nd) per game.
“…I want to see us win the turnover battle. We've got to be able to take care of the football. We have not done that consistently enough. When we have done it, we've had a chance to be in games, and when we don't, obviously it gets ugly in a hurry,” Ash said.
Despite Rutgers offensive struggles, the Scarlet Knights’ defense has been doing its best to pick up the slack. Ranked 79th overall in the nation (116th against the run, 20th against the pass), Rutgers’ defense has done its best to keep games competitive.
Last week, Coach Ash mentioned taking on an upgraded role in the defensive play calling. But for Ash, it has less to do with calling the plays, but rather, more so with defensive preparation.
“The calls are the calls. I don't care who makes the call. It's about the preparation. It's about the attitude and the energy that we bring defensively,” Coach Ash said. “And that's my focus to help us defensively. It's my job to help the players and the staff prepare, be detailed and do the things that we can do with the players that we have, and then get our players to play really, really hard and execute the calls.”
Whatever the plan may be, Rutgers post-Wisconsin opponents are Big Ten juggernauts; they play at No. 5 Michigan in week 11, at No. 14 Penn State week 12, and host Michigan State to close out the season. Each one of these teams is in contention for, at minimum, a bowl game spot. With a 1-7 record, Rutgers should plan to take on the role of spoiler for these next four weeks, starting this weekend with their trip to Wisconsin.
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