PISCATAWAY, N.J. – For the first time this season, Rutgers football has a losing streak following Saturday’s loss at Iowa. Bouncing back, especially with two games left in the season, is certainly a challenge.
And that is the challenge awaiting Gavin Wimsatt. Given that this is his third year with the program (and second full season of college football), it is easy at times to get that Wimsatt is just 20 years old.
A recently turned 20-year-old who is under an intense amount of scrutiny right.
The last four games have not been very good from Wimsatt, something that he has acknowledged each week. His completion percentage in those games has dipped below 50 percent and has actually fallen in each of the last four games.
Rutgers, not unlike other college football programs, has a 24-hour rule in place after games. Celebrating the victories or mourning a loss, the team has a day to respond before the attention turns to the next game and the next opponent.
“Try to look and watch the game at least. Go through some plays, see what went wrong here, what went wrong there,
“Sunday we’ll really dive into it. See, see what we can fix going into next week. But, yeah, I tried to use the whole 24 hours, separate a little bit, and then dive into the game and watch a little bit.”
With Penn State up next, a team that has a top-four scoring defense in the Big Ten this season, it is paramount that Wimsatt bounces back if Rutgers is going to be competitive.
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On the season, compared to a year ago, Wimsatt has shown improvement. His touchdown to interception ratio has been flipped and his completion percentage is up.
The need for Wimsatt to bounce back this weekend is important. A winning season is something Rutgers hasn’t achieved since 2014 and would be an important next step in the rebuilding process.
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“It might be a nap on the plane, or just talking to my parents – just something else that takes me away from football just for a little bit,” Wimsatt said.
“Not long, then I get my mind back to watching the game and seeing what we can fix.”