PISCATAWAY, N.J.—As Rutgers’ losing streak extended to five games, their consecutive bowl streak was snapped at five in a 40–13 home loss to Louisville on Friday.
After getting embarrassed by Cincinnati for 661 yards and 69 points last week, Rutgers’ defense didn’t look much better in the first half against Louisville.
This coming from a defense that’s carried the team through much of the season and has been a staple during head coach Greg Schiano’s tenure.
“Attention to detail,” senior defensive tackle Charlie Noonan said of the struggles. “It’s the same scheme. It’s not like we’re running anything differently. It’s not like offenses are doing anything different to us. We’re just not executing. Period.”
Rutgers’ (4–7, 1–5) defense didn’t look like it was paying attention at all throughout the first half as Louisville (6–6, 3–4) drove up and down the field.
It began when Louisville quarterback Justin Burke completed a pass to his running back Bilal Powell for a 17-yard touchdown on the Cardinals first drive of the game.
Louisville would score on every drive of the first half aside from their final one, giving them a commanding 28–7 lead.
Two of those touchdowns came with Will Stein under center as Burke left the game with back spasms early in the second quarter.
As for getting punched in the mouth, Rutgers just didn’t look like their heads were in the game.
“I wouldn’t say we were emotionally ready,” Noonan said.
While they never used it as an excuse, the team has been through an emotional rollercoaster during the past six weeks. Teammate Eric LeGrand was paralyzed from the neck down against Army and despite winning that game in overtime, Rutgers has lost every game since.
“I’d be naive to think it hasn’t had an effect on our football team,” Schiano said. “But as I’ve told them, in life you’re going to have things that are thrown at you, and the rest of your life doesn’t stop.”
After struggling throughout the half, the Scarlet Knights offense finally got going late in the second quarter. Jordan Thomas scored on a 17-yard run with 3:08 left in the half.
The true freshman running back finished with 120 yards—the first 100-yard game of his career.
“It’s just the line,” Thomas said of his career day. “They did extremely well today and all I did was follow them and they led me.”
While the offensive line paved the way for a 100-yard rusher, protecting the passer was still a major issue. The line surrendered nine sacks on the day.
“A lot of mental errors,” senior center Howard Barbieri said. “Not knowing what you’re doing.”
When Rutgers’ defense finally made their first stop of the first half, the offense got the ball back with just over a minute left. However, they couldn’t capitalize, starting on their own 10-yard line with three timeouts.
Once quarterback Chas Dodd was sacked on the first play, the Knights had to be content going into the half down 21.
Although the defense held up in the second half—only giving up a Jeremy Wright 64-yard touchdown run followed by a botched extra point—the offense remained anemic.
Jeremy Deering ran in for a 1-yard touchdown out of the “Wildknight,” capping off the last positive drive for the offense. And it ended with a missed two-point conversion.
Dodd also had a pass picked off and returned 35 yards down the sideline for a score by cornerback Johnny Patrick. The true fresman’s second interception thrown on the day put a cap on the 40–13 loss.
After taking over a struggling program in the Big East cellar and building it up to a consistent bowl team, the season will end in disappointment no matter what happens. Even if Rutgers wins in Morgantown next week for the first time ever and beats West Virginia for the first time in 16 years, they will still finish in the basement of the Big East.
“It took a while to get built, but this program will continue to grow,” Schiano said. “We’re having a little bend in the road. It’s not the end. We’ll be back. This isn’t the end of the world.”
Just the end of a bowl streak.
Follow Matt on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MattSugam and tune in every Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST on WRSU-FM as he co-hosts Scarlet Football Fever discussing Rutgers football as well as the N.Y. Jets and Giants.
After getting embarrassed by Cincinnati for 661 yards and 69 points last week, Rutgers’ defense didn’t look much better in the first half against Louisville.
This coming from a defense that’s carried the team through much of the season and has been a staple during head coach Greg Schiano’s tenure.
“Attention to detail,” senior defensive tackle Charlie Noonan said of the struggles. “It’s the same scheme. It’s not like we’re running anything differently. It’s not like offenses are doing anything different to us. We’re just not executing. Period.”
Rutgers’ (4–7, 1–5) defense didn’t look like it was paying attention at all throughout the first half as Louisville (6–6, 3–4) drove up and down the field.
It began when Louisville quarterback Justin Burke completed a pass to his running back Bilal Powell for a 17-yard touchdown on the Cardinals first drive of the game.
Louisville would score on every drive of the first half aside from their final one, giving them a commanding 28–7 lead.
Two of those touchdowns came with Will Stein under center as Burke left the game with back spasms early in the second quarter.
As for getting punched in the mouth, Rutgers just didn’t look like their heads were in the game.
“I wouldn’t say we were emotionally ready,” Noonan said.
While they never used it as an excuse, the team has been through an emotional rollercoaster during the past six weeks. Teammate Eric LeGrand was paralyzed from the neck down against Army and despite winning that game in overtime, Rutgers has lost every game since.
“I’d be naive to think it hasn’t had an effect on our football team,” Schiano said. “But as I’ve told them, in life you’re going to have things that are thrown at you, and the rest of your life doesn’t stop.”
After struggling throughout the half, the Scarlet Knights offense finally got going late in the second quarter. Jordan Thomas scored on a 17-yard run with 3:08 left in the half.
The true freshman running back finished with 120 yards—the first 100-yard game of his career.
“It’s just the line,” Thomas said of his career day. “They did extremely well today and all I did was follow them and they led me.”
While the offensive line paved the way for a 100-yard rusher, protecting the passer was still a major issue. The line surrendered nine sacks on the day.
“A lot of mental errors,” senior center Howard Barbieri said. “Not knowing what you’re doing.”
When Rutgers’ defense finally made their first stop of the first half, the offense got the ball back with just over a minute left. However, they couldn’t capitalize, starting on their own 10-yard line with three timeouts.
Once quarterback Chas Dodd was sacked on the first play, the Knights had to be content going into the half down 21.
Although the defense held up in the second half—only giving up a Jeremy Wright 64-yard touchdown run followed by a botched extra point—the offense remained anemic.
Jeremy Deering ran in for a 1-yard touchdown out of the “Wildknight,” capping off the last positive drive for the offense. And it ended with a missed two-point conversion.
Dodd also had a pass picked off and returned 35 yards down the sideline for a score by cornerback Johnny Patrick. The true fresman’s second interception thrown on the day put a cap on the 40–13 loss.
After taking over a struggling program in the Big East cellar and building it up to a consistent bowl team, the season will end in disappointment no matter what happens. Even if Rutgers wins in Morgantown next week for the first time ever and beats West Virginia for the first time in 16 years, they will still finish in the basement of the Big East.
“It took a while to get built, but this program will continue to grow,” Schiano said. “We’re having a little bend in the road. It’s not the end. We’ll be back. This isn’t the end of the world.”
Just the end of a bowl streak.
Follow Matt on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MattSugam and tune in every Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST on WRSU-FM as he co-hosts Scarlet Football Fever discussing Rutgers football as well as the N.Y. Jets and Giants.
Friends Read Free