Tag: 2023 Rutgers football

Rutgers football: Missed opportunities and turnovers led to their Week 12 loss

Sloppiness killed Rutgers in their loss at No. 12 Penn State.

On Saturday, Rutgers football lost to their Big Ten rivals, the No. 12 Penn State Nittany Lions, The loss sees the Scarlet Knights drop to 6-5 (3-5 Big Ten) on the season.

Rutgers missed red zone opportunities and struggled with penalties and turnovers in what is now three-straight losses for the program.

During his post-game press conference, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano discussed the critical holding calls in the red zone that led to two field goals instead of touchdowns. Schiano gave credit to the Penn State defense and praised the Nittany Lions for their level of competition.

Schiano described his team’s missed red zone opportunities and turnovers as a factor in their loss.

“Really the game in a nutshell was three turnovers and missed red zone opportunities. If you get there, you have to score and it’s hard to win by threes,” Schiano stated in his post game press conference.

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The Scarlet Knights have attempted 37 red zone trips through 11 games, scoring 22 touchdowns on those 37 attempts (59.5 percent) this season. The Scarlet Knights have now turned the ball over 12 times (seven interceptions and five fumbles).

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“We are developing offense. I told you when we started this (season) there are not going to be any magic pills so it’s gonna take time,” Schiano said.

“We have had some good showings in the red zone and we have had some tough showings in the red zone.”

The Scarlet Knights recorded three turnovers on Saturday, all by quarterback Gavin Wimsatt (two fumbles and one interception). Along with their three turnovers, Rutgers also had six penalties for 48 yards against the Nittany Lions.

 

The five takeaways from Rutgers’ loss to Penn State

Rutgers football dropped their Week 12 matchup against the No. 12 Penn State Nittany Lions, 27-6. Here are the five takeaways from Week 12.

On Saturday, Rutgers football (6-5, 3-5) dropped their Week 12 matchup against the No. 12 Penn State Nittany Lions (9-2, 6-2), 27-6. The Scarlet Knights’ offense struggled against another ranked opponent, only producing six points in four quarters.

On offense, the Scarlets Knights only converted 30.8 percent of their third downs (4-of-13), struggling to move the chains. As a team, Rutgers recorded 99 rushing yards and 130 passing yards in Week 12against Penn State.

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Senior wide receiver Isaiah Washington recorded a career-high in catches with five for 55 yards. Sophomore kicker Jai Patel got the Scarlet Knights on the scoreboard in the first (35-yards) and second quarter (28-yards) with two made field goals, but Rutgers would go scoreless in the second half.

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On defense, senior linebacker Deion Jennings recorded a team-high eight tackles, while defensive back Eric Rogers logged two pass breakups. Also, senior linebacker Mohamed Toure logged five tackles, improving his total to 73 on the season.

Below are a few takeaways from Rutgers’ Week 12 loss to the Nittany Lions.

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The five keys for Rutgers to pull off an upset in Week 12 at Penn State

Can Week 12 finally be the game Rutgers ends their winless drought against Penn State? Here are the five keys for RU to pull off a victory.

On Saturday, Rutgers football (6-4, 3-4) will travel to Beaver Stadium (Pennsylvania) to take on the No. 12 Penn State Nittany Lions (8-2, 5-2) in their Week 12 matchup.

Rutgers’ Week 12 matchup will mark the third consecutive game against a ranked opponent and the second straight road opponent. Also, Week 12 will mark the tenth time Rutgers and Penn State played each other in the Big Ten Conference (34 times overall). The series between the two Big Ten schools started 103 years ago on Nov. 9, 1918, with a 26-3 Rutgers victory over Penn State.

 

The Scarlet Knights and the Nittany Lions have matched up against each other more than any other Big Ten opponent, playing each other annually from 1982 until 1995.

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The last time the Scarlet Knights defeated the Nittany Lions was in 1988 when Rutgers beat No. 15 Penn State 21-16. Since then, the Scarlet Knights are riding a 35-year winless drought against the Nittany Lions.

Can Week 12 finally be the game where the drought ends? Below are the five keys for Rutgers to defeat No. 12 Penn State.

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An airplane in his head and a sputtering offense: Greg Schiano has a literal and a metaphorical headache to deal with

Greg Schiano is hoping to address some penalty issues this week in practice.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The piped-in noise from practice, already deafening during a typical week for a road game, has seemingly been turned up a notch this week. It is an unsurprising development since Rutgers football is heading to one of the loudest environments in college football and in the Big Ten this weekend.

And given the struggles Rutgers has had on offense over the past month, the headache is both a literal one but also a metaphorical one for head coach Greg Schiano.

‘Happy Valley’ has been an unhappy place for Rutgers as the Scarlet Knights have been winless at Penn State since they joined the Big Ten in 2014. The last time they played at Penn State in 2021, Rutgers lost 28-0 in a game where the crowd noise, truth be told, didn’t factor in all that much.

Following Saturday’s struggles on offense, Rutgers is hoping to cut back on the self-inflicted wounds. In their loss at Iowa, Rutgers had seven penalties for 40 yards.

The major culprit? False starts by the offense, due in large part to crowd noise.

“Nothing was really effective Saturday after the first quarter. First quarter, you know, we’re moving the ball. We just shoot ourselves in the foot with those procedure penalties. It’s not going to be quiet this weekend,” Schiano said on Monday during his weekly press conference.

“So it was really loud at Iowa and guess what, at Beaver Stadium, it gets pretty loud. We are going to have to get over that and figure out how to operate in the noise. Poise in the noise.”

If Rutgers can get back to be the offense it was in the season opener against Northwestern, or against Virginia Tech or perhaps even in the second half against Michigan State, then it can hang in there and be effective against a good and quick Penn State defense.

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On Saturday, Rutgers managed just 127 yards of total offense. Iowa had more than triple that.

Even the way Rutgers played against then No. 1 Ohio State would be enough for Rutgers to hang in and make things interesting on Saturday. It certainly isn’t out of the question, but it comes down to execution.

Execution…and quieting down Beaver Stadium.

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With a capacity of 106,572, the volume and intensity of the Nittany Lions fanbase can make Beaver Stadium a brutal place to play.

“Well, when you look at last week, there was a period where I was very pleased with the offense – wasn’t pleased with the procedure penalties, but we were -I think it was like seven of 10 inn the first half. We were putting the ball where it needed to be, we were running the ball, but we had those penalties,” Schiano said on Wednesday following practice.

“And like I said earlier, we’re not good enough to overcome that. But look, we just need to run the ball the way, we do we need to throw the ball accurately. We need to avoid to having penalties we’ve been really good with penalties. The noise was a different thing and we’re gonna have the noise this weekend….It’s important that we have another opportunity to fix it.

“I got a splitting headache so it better work. Like having a jet engine for two hours in your head. But well worth it if it pays off.”

 

Week 11: The five takeaways from Rutgers football’s 22-0 loss to No. 22 Iowa

Rutgers football (6-4, 3-4) lost their Week 11 matchup against No. 22 Iowa, 22-0. Here are the five takeaways from Rutgers’ Week 11 loss.

On Saturday, Rutgers football (6-4, 3-4) lost their Week 11 road matchup against No. 22 Iowa (8-2, 5-2), 22-0.

The Scarlet Knights held the Hawkeyes to six points through three quarters, but the inability to move the chains on offense allowed Iowa to produce 16 points in the fourth quarter. Rutgers recorded 127 total yards on offense (93 passing yards and 34 rushing yards) in what was their worst performance of the season.

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On defense, the Scarlet Knights had three players record double-digit tackles, with linebacker Mohamed Toure, defensive back Desmond Igbinosun, and linebacker Deion Jennings recording ten tackles each. Toure’s ten tackles in Week 11 is a career-high for the senior linebacker. Also, the Rutgers defense registered another week with a turnover when defensive back Max Melton added his second interception on the season.

Scroll below to find the five takeaways from Rutgers’ Week 11 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes.

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Week 11: The five keys for a Rutgers’ victory against the Hawkeyes

Rutgers football will travel to Iowa to face the Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium in Week 11. Here are the five keys for Rutgers to surpass Iowa.

On Saturday, Rutgers football will travel to Iowa to face the Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium in a Week 11 matchup. This will mark the fourth all-time game on the gridiron between Rutgers and Iowa.

Last season, the Scarlet Knights dropped their Big Ten opener to Iowa 27-10, with the Hawkeyes forcing multiple turnovers against the Rutgers offense. The Scarlet Knights out-gained the Hawkeyes 361-277, and the Rutgers defense held them to a third down conversion rate of 11.1 percent (1-for-9).

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On Saturday, the Scarlet Knights will face an Iowa offense ranked No. 13 in scoring among the Big Ten Conference, averaging 18.4 points per game. Through nine games this season, the Hawkeyes have recorded 166 points, scoring 17 touchdowns and 14 field goals.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Hawkeyes are ranked No. 4 in the Big Ten for total defense, holding opponents to an average of 13.7 points per game.

Scroll down for five keys for a Rutgers’ victory against the Hawkeyes in Week 11.

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Week 10: The five takeaways from Rutgers football vs No. 1 Ohio State

The Scarlet Knights played tough against No. 1 Ohio State but fell short to the Buckeyes 35-16. Here are the five takeaways from Week 10.

On Saturday, the Scarlet Knights played tough against No. 1 Ohio State but fell short in a 35-16 loss.

The turning point of the game came in the third quarter when Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt threw an 80-yard interception inside the red zone, giving the Buckeyes a 14-9 lead. Rutgers was marching down the field with a 9-7 lead, but Buckeyes’ defensive back, Josh Proctor, made a crucial play to give his team the lead midway through the third quarter.

The Scarlet Knights leaned on their rushing attack in their Week 10 matchup, producing 232 yards on 43 attempts. Rutgers averaged 5.4 yards per carry and out-gained the Buckeyes by 93 yards on the ground.

 

Rutgers’ offensive struggles inside the red zone led to their Week 10 loss. The Scarlet Knights scored points only 66.7 percent of the time inside the red zone on Saturday, producing only 16 points compared to the Buckeyes 28.

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Scroll down for the five takeaways from Rutgers’ 35-16 loss to No. 1 Ohio State in Week 10.

 

Week 10: Five things Ohio State fans should know about Rutgers

Heading into Week 10, Rutgers is 6-2 this season with a 5-0 home record. Here are the five things Ohio State fans should know about RU.  

On Saturday,Rutgers football will host No. 3 Ohio State on Military Appreciation Day. Rutgers football will wear white helmets with the American flag inside the ‘Block R’ for the occasion while having a flyover by the New Jersey National Guard following the national anthem.

Heading into Week 10, the Scarlet Knights are 6-2 this season with a 5-0 home record. Also, Rutgers football is 11-5 under head coach Greg Schiano after their bye week. Through eight games this season, Rutgers has three Big Ten wins, matching the program high previously set on three other occasions.

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The Scarlet Knights are entering November with six wins for the eighth time in program history, the fifth this century, and the first time in the Big Ten era. They joined the conference in 2014.

Below are the five things Ohio State fans should know about Rutgers football heading into Week 10.

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The five keys to a Rutgers’ victory against the Buckeyes in Week 10

RU is coming off back-to-back Big Ten wins and is ready to host No. 3 Ohio State. Here are the five keys for Rutgers to pull off an upset.

Heading into Week 10, the Scarlet Knights are coming off back-to-back Big Ten wins and are ready to host No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday.

This will mark the tenth meeting between the Scarlet Knights and the Buckeyes, with Ohio State winning each matchup. Can this be the year the Scarlet Knights finally defeat the Buckeyes? The Scarlet Knights are 5-0 at home this season and 11-5 under head coach Greg Schiano after a bye week.

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The Scarlet Knights haven’t rushed for over 100 yards since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2014, but can Big Ten’s No. 2 leading rusher, Kyle Monangai, finally get over the 100-yard mark against the Buckeyes?

Check out the five keys for Rutgers to pull off an upset victory over No. 3 Ohio State in Week 10.

 

Rutgers football Christian Dremel got nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy

Christian Dremel got nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy, awarding the most outstanding football player who began his career as a walk-on.

On Tuesday, Rutgers football wide receiver Christian Dremel was nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy. The Burlsworth Trophy is an award given to the most outstanding football player who began his career as a walk-on and has performed highly on the field.

The senior from Caldwell, New Jersey, leads the Scarlet Knights in receptions with 23, recording 294 yards and three receiving touchdowns through eight games. Dremel has averaged 12.8 yards per catch and 36.8 yards per game this season. For his career, Dremel has recorded 33 catches for 363 yards and three touchdowns in 40 games.

Dremel’s best start in 2023 came against Michigan State in Week 7, where the first-year starter recorded six receptions for 80 yards. The senior wide receiver scored receiving touchdowns in three consecutive games from Week 3 to Week 5.

 

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After the conclusion of this past offseason and spring practices, Dremel achieved the Marks Mills Second Effort Award for his determination, dedication, and hard work on the offensive side of the ball. The award is named in memory of former Scarlet Knight running back Mark Mills. The award is given to an offensive player showing the most determination, dedication, hard work, and improvements in the offseason and spring practices.

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A three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Dremel will be back in action on Saturday against Ohio State, as the Scarlet Knights host the Buckeyes in Week 9.