During the RU Penn State game that RU hasn’t scored a TD at Happy Valley since 1994?
Did I hear this right about RU FB
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I mean RU football is vastly improved the defense is top tier in the big ten. You can hate them but jealously is weak.
They're actuallly playing for 4th place in a very tough division with most teams having way more resources than they have. It would be a big win for their program. I'm guessing a no fun bowl game at the pinstripe bowl. However it should save the state big money on sending the football team, staff, cheerleaders, band etc to some nice location for 7 days.
The program has vastly improved. But, the offense is still too one dimensional to beat good teams like Iowa and PSU, particularly on the road.
They need a quarterback who can complete passes downfield with some regularity. Wimsatt is not developing the way he was expected to.
Look at how the big games played out this year. In it at the half with PSU, UM and OSU. Can’t keep pace in the second against top tier. Against lower opponents, they wore down the lines and ran the ball the whole second half.
Maryland game will be telling.
I have a season ticket for Rutgers football and they have gotten so much better over the last couple of years. Still need a real QB though.
Penn State has ruled eastern college football for many decades. No one else comes close.
Do you consider Miami eastern college football? Miami kind of ruled it in the 80s and early 2000s.
They were terrible last year too. This year has been much better, but the Big 10 outside of a few teams, is really bad.
Channeling Seton75 here - WGAS? The same folks always seem to want to bring up Rutgers on this board.
True but somewhat misleading because the schools didn't play between 1995 and 2014 and didn't play at PSU from 1994 to 2015.
Since joining the Big 10, RU has scored 3, 6, 6, 0, 6 points in five games at PSU.
Sorry, but I don’t consider OSU and Michigan western football, especially since they’re in the same division. PSU is their bitch.
You can say PSU has ruled Rutgers, that’s fine.
PSU has won the Big Ten 4 times in the last 3 decades and hasn’t won a NC since the 80s. They haven’t ruled anything in the last 3 decades.
They did rule on pedophile scandals, although you can make the case that Michigan State was up there too.
Ok, then north east football is mediocre.
The poster claiming eastern dominance for decades neglects to consider south east and mid west.
It’s the gift that keeps on “hurting”. Unfortunately at the tax payers expense.
Rutgers hasn't scored a TD at all against anyone since about Halloween.
Defense is eighth out of 14 in Big Ten games; offense is 12th.
They're ... not good.
There is no point in discussing rankings of teams unless you use their conference games only, because otherwise, it's too non-standardized. Rutgers played an abominable nonconference schedule, lowlighted by games against one of the worst teams in the NEC and the very worst in the American, so throw those out. Virginia Tech is hapless, too.
When you compare them to their peers in the Big Ten, defense-driven as it might be, their national defensive ranking shrinks in the light. They are eighth (and that's with the benefit of having played Northwestern before they Wildcats figured things out. They likely wouldn't beat Northwestern today, let along dominate them).
They stink. The eye test says so and so do their numbers.
Down 17-7 in the 3rd quarter at Michigan stinks? a 4th down play where they should've kicked a FG to make it 17-10 but they decided to go for it and led to a pick 6. Having a lead at halftime vs OSU stinks? Harrison Jr held to about 25 yards stinks. My eye doctor would be prescribing new glasses if I gave those answers.
If we are that close to Marquette this year I'll be thrilled and I definitely won't be saying we stink.
It isn't anything; it's not a full game. Last year, they were actually beating Michigan at halftime, which sounds good, but then they lost something like 52-17. So, yeah, the only thing that matters is the final score. Ohio State covered against them, too.
What actually happened in that Michigan game, though, if you want to pull it apart, was that Rutgers scored almost immediately, in the first minute -- they came to play, Michigan was a little sleepy on an opponent they have annually mauled -- and then that was it for the game. 31-7 final, which is an ass kicking. They beat Bowling Green 31-6 the week before, so I guess Rutgers can take solace knowing that they'd give Bowling Green a pretty good fight.
I heard they’re getting primed to play in the Toilet Bowl. So much for New Jersey taxpayer bucks.
I actually think that Schiano has done a pretty good job turning the program around, even compared to his first go around (no doubt helped by the revolving door transfer portal). I believed last year that if they had a functioning offense and a competent quarterback they would have won six games, winning the Nebraska home game they embarrassingly lost and either the Iowa or Michigan State game. This year they have a marginally better offense and an marginally improved yet still incompetent quarterback, but I think if they were able to move the ball they would be looking at 7-8 wins this year.
They have a big decision to make in Wimsatt this off-season. He showed some signs of promise early in the season but it's clear he is the among the worst, if not the worst QB, when he's throwing the ball and not making plays with his legs, in the Big Ten. They have a 2024 schedule that omits OSU, Michigan, and PSU and includes one team currently ranked Top 25: Washington, at home. They have a solid recruiting class and a nice QB prospect in Surace coming in who should be the guy in '25, but until they have someone who can accurately throw the ball down the field, they will be stuck at a ceiling of 7-8 wins.
If they get someone in the portal who can step in on day 1 and play? They can have a season like 2006 or 2012 where they are in the conversation for a special year and yes, a possible college football playoff bid. If that sounds absurd to you, go look at the schedule they have next year. Their toughest non-conf game is at Virginia Tech. They have UW (losing Penix next year), UCLA (7-4 but who may fire Chip Kelly), Wisconsin (6-5), Minnesota (5-6), and Illinois (5-6). On the road they are at Nebraska (5-6), USC which is about to lose Caleb Williams and has plummeted this season, Maryland (6-5), and Michigan State (4-7 and currently coach-less/embroiled in another misconduct scandal). None of those programs have a recuriting class ranked by Rivals higher than no. 18 (Wisconsin), and Rutgers is no. 33 nationally. It's as if they got a temporary reprieve from the East and are going to play in the Big Ten West next year. It is possible, if not likely, they can get to 9-10 wins if they are able to build both a competent offense and a stout defense. For comparison: Penn State lost badly to both OSU and Michigan, but they are about to be 10-2, and if the playoff started today, they would be in at no. 11. If they are ever going to make a move in the B1G it has to be next year..
You're describing every underfunded college sports team in any sport in America. In basketball you're just hoping to make some magic in the tournament knowing full well that programs like Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, etc have way more talent. You're just hoping on that day your skill is better. It's tougher in football because it's more based on physical power than skill.
When I read your post, I immediately thought of our basketball program the last 2 decades. And yes the good times were exciting. Good enough to get us through the big east and into the tournament but needed a ton to go right to win a championship.
That's a lot of words to say the Big 10 outside of Michigan, OSU and PSU is a mediocre to bad football conference.
Maryland will be a very important game for gauging just how much progress has been made. When four of the five losses are to teams that are 11–0, 11–0, 9–2 and, 9–2, with only one loss in the aggregate outside of the top 10 nationally, it is hard to say. Even the other loss was on the road to a 6–5 team, which is tough at home. The Maryland game will be an interesting test of where the program is.
Good point, it’s more than just football. But it seems to be soooo much harder to compete with the best programs in football. Really, how many teams can ever hope to win a national title in football, maybe 10 at most?
However, that is pretty much the case for every team in the BIG not named
Ohio State or Michigan. No one else will win a championship either.
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