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There has been plenty of talk about Rutgers football’s 20-13 loss to then No. 19 Michigan this past weekend and the overwhelming positives that can be taken from the game. Former Rutgers player Julian Pinnix-Odrick said that the sentiment is nice but this team won’t buy moral victories as a substitute for actual victories.
It is a message that certainly carries some weight with Rutgers set to take on No. 11 Ohio State this Saturday at SHI Stadium.
Down 20-3 at halftime, Rutgers was dominant in the second half and had chances to draw closer and even tie the game. After the game, head coach Greg Schiano talked about his team stacking up against one of the best programs in the Big Ten but he sounded obvious disappointment about the loss.
On the outside, there was a buzz about how well Rutgers played and exceeded expectations. Pinnix-Odrick said during the ‘CHOP Weekly’ show that any talk about the program having a moral victory is not what is being said inside the Scarlet Knights locker room.
“And you know even walking out of the stadium, out of that game, Michigan fans ‘Oh you guys are a good team’…You can kind of feel like this consolation feeling,” Pinnix-Odrick said on the ‘CHOP Weekly’ show.
“But that’s not why coach Schiano is here it’s not why this Rutgers football team is here and like you said you love to hear that but at the end of the day you’re here to win football games. I know there’s a lot to be proud of, right? From a Rutgers fanbase point of view, especially with the last few years and a lot of ups and downs and disappointments, but the bottom line is when you go out there with football games – moral victories can’t be a thing. But that being said, there are a lot of positives to take away and things we haven’t seen, and things the team obviously needs to get better at.”
The overall take from the loss, while disappointing for Rutgers, was certainly that the program stacked up positively against one of the best programs in the Big Ten and the country. They responded incredibly well after halftime and were unfortunate to lose.
Rutgers limited Michigan to just 44 yards of total offense and two first downs in the second half of Saturday’s game. Rutgers now stands at 3-1 on the year.
Pinnix-Odrick is a former standout defensive lineman at Rutgers who is now a part of the Rutgers broadcasting crew along with Chris Carlin, Eric LeGrand, Mike Teel, and sideline reporter Anthony Fucilli.