Three Thoughts on Rutgers Football's 49-10 loss to No. 3 Ohio State
Since starting 3-0, Rutgers has now dropped two in a row following its 49–10 loss to No. 3 Ohio State.
Here are three thoughts after the game….
TURNING THE PAGE....
While there is no easy way to take a 39-point shellacking, the Scarlet Knights need to move on quickly considering they now play a crucial game against Nebraska with one less day of preparation.
“We didn’t do enough things right in the end to be in the game,” head coach Schiano said. “Just not our time yet. Now the word ‘yet’ is the operative word.”
There is a good chance the next two games could make or break Rutgers’ season considering who it is facing and what lies ahead afterward. While Nebraska and Indiana should not be viewed as easy victories, they should be viewed as winnable games for the Scarlet Knights and ones they will need to reach the magic number of six.
RUTGERS OFFENSIVE WOES CONTINUE...
It was another tough day for Rutgers’ offense as it finished with 187 total yards and just one touchdown. Evan Simon also had a rough go as he finished 10-for-19 for 74 yards with a touchdown and an interception for a QBR of 19.7. Noah Vedral made his first appearance of the season with four carries for 10 yards but did not attempt a pass.
“Noah’s not ready to do the full gamut right now. It’s going to be a slow process for him to get back into it,” Schiano continued. “Gavin [Wimsatt] obviously wasn’t dressed so he couldn’t play today. So we’ll just keep practicing and see where it goes.”
Although the Scarlet Knights have played against arguably the two best defenses in college football the last two games, it is hard to get the benefit of the doubt things will turn around quickly when they also struggled to score against Temple the week prior. Rutgers can earn a lot of that goodwill back with impressive outings against the Cornhuskers and Hoosiers, but it will need to show it can hang sevens on the board because two offensive touchdowns the last three weeks will not cut it.
RUSHING DEFENSE TAKES A HIT...
Although Rutgers’ run defense has not been a problem so far, Miyan Williams gashed the Scarlet Knights with 21 carries for 189 yards and five touchdowns, tying an Ohio State record. The Buckeyes’ rushing attack also outgained Rutgers’ entire offensive output 252-187.
“The thing that had me the most fearful was their passing game,” Schiano said. “All in all, we did a pretty good job against the pass. You kind of have to dedicate your resources to stop one and cover up the other but they’re the third-ranked team in the country for a reason.”
At the end of the day, the Scarlet Knights have a long way to go before they can even think about knocking off a team like Ohio State. However, to get to the top they will need to prove they can hang in the middle and the next few matchups will be a good measuring stick in seeing where Rutgers is at in its rebuilding stage.
Rutgers will look to bounce back when it takes on Nebraska on Friday at 7 p.m. (ET) on FS1.
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