Rutgers still stuck in neutral
In its dream season of 2006 and even at times last year, Rutgers could win despite not playing its best.
Those days, though, along with the Scarlet Knights' reputation as one of the nation's best, are long gone.
The Knights showed improvement in several facets Saturday at West Virginia and played perhaps their best game of the season. That, however, wasn't good enough.
Rutgers lost 24-17, dropping to 1-4 for the first time since 2002 and leading coach Greg Schiano to concede he had overestimated the quality of his team heading into the season.
"We had to replace some guys that were very good players,"
Schiano said Saturday. "I thought we would replace them more quickly than we did, but obviously I was incorrect."
Schaino spent much of yesterday's conference call with reporters searching for ways to explain his team's decline.
Rutgers, he reasoned, has "had a lot of guys who have gone on to the National Football League who are doing well at that level."
Ten players from the 2006 and 2007 Knights have been on NFL rosters at some point, and Schiano acknowledged yesterday the ability of some of the players who have replaced them may not be what he thought it was.
He said the talent level is one of many factors that has held Rutgers back.
"I don't think you can pin it on talent or ability to grasp or teaching,"
he said. "I think it's all of the above. I think we probably haven't taught quite well enough. Maybe they're not as talented as I maybe thought. ... After doing this for 20 years, it's never one thing."
Some things changed Saturday for the better. Rutgers played far better defense against the run than in had in previous weeks, got improved play from quarterback Mike Teel, and for the first time, didn't commit a turnover.
Yet many things stayed the same. The running game struggled, Tiquan Underwood was again virtually invisible, Kenny Britt dropped several passes and still doesn't have a touchdown reception, and the Knights failed again to score in the third quarter.
Rutgers has been outscored 52-0 in the third quarter this year, for reasons either nonexistent or simply unknown to Schiano.
"I don't know if it's a coincidence. We just haven't been able to be very effective there,"
he said.
Rutgers had been to one bowl game prior to 2005 and has been to three straight since. Yet a fourth straight bowl appearance - and a third straight victory - appears less likely by the week.
The Knights need to go 5-2 over their final seven games to get to 6-6 and simply quality for postseason play. But an extra win - and a 7-5 record - would likely be necessary to be selected for even a lower tier bowl.
Cincinnati (4-1) looms next week on the schedule. The Bearcats, who ended Rutgers' unbeaten run in 2006 and dealt the Knights a loss in their Big East opener last year, have sprinted past Rutgers in the Big East hierarchy, and have played well despite losing two quarterbacks to injuries.
Schiano said Saturday the Knights have no margin for error next week, and substantial improvement is needed as Rutgers gets further into Big East play. That, in spite of the way things have gone, is something Schiano said he's expecting.
"It just hasn't clicked yet,"
he said. "If they continue to work, which I know they will, it'll start to click. We just need to stick with it. We're going through a rough stretch, a little bit of adversity, but I believe the guys will stick with it and we'll come flying through it."
