[mm-video type=playlist id=01fc3gzhz7qrm49z6q player_id=none image=https://rutgerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
It wasn’t pretty for Rutgers football on Saturday, the offense once again struggling in a 28-0 loss at Penn State. The hot-cold form of the Rutgers offense is a concern for head coach Greg Schiano.
The scoreboard told the full story for the Scarlet Knights on offense, Saturday’s shutout a clear indication of an inability to move the ball. Just 160 yards of total offense and 10 first downs underscoring how difficult of a game it was for Rutgers against one of the top defenses in the nation.
Coming off a 38-3 win at Indiana the week before, this performance was a reality check for Rutgers in terms of their ability to move the ball against a defense that is talented and deep.
“We need to do a better job in the skill positions. We get shut out so we didn’t do anything really well,” Schiano told reporters after the game.
“And we have to first look at coaching. We have to look at ourselves and then look at personnel – it’s easy to look at personnel – it’s what commentators do. We’re not commentators, we’re coaches. So we got to look in the mirror first and then we got to say ‘Are we giving them the best chance to succeed?’ And then are the people we’re giving that chance the best people [that] we have on our team to do it? If it is you keep playing the same guys. If it isn’t, you make changes. And that’s where we got to really examine.”
(ESPN FPI has Rutgers favored to make a bowl game in 2021)
Not surprisingly, Rutgers lost the time of possession battle as well; Penn State had the ball for 33:34 of the game.
Compounding matters for Rutgers is that Penn State didn’t turn the ball over once.
On Saturday, Rutgers will face Maryland with bowl eligibility on the line for both programs. The Terrapins lost 59-18 to Michigan, a game where Maryland managed just 20 first downs and 359 yards of total offense.