Rutgers Football: First Time in 6 Seasons Scarlet Knights Are Not Bowl Eligible

Remember in the “Big Least? What Is Going on with the BCS Conference This Year?” article, where I stated that Rutgers fans would be happy to finish 6-6 and make a joke of a bowl game?

Well, those hopes died when Rutgers was once again blown out at home, 40-13, to a pretty mediocre Louisville team. 

Props go out to Louisville this season for far exceeding expectations and becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2007, but the reality is they do not have too many top-tier players and simply should not have rolled over Rutgers the way they did.

The same can be said about the blowout loss to Cincinnati the week before.  Besides quarterback Zach Collaros and running back Isaiah Pead, no one on this team looks like a future NFL player, yet Rutgers got demolished.

So what is going on within the Scarlet Knights organization here? Why the sudden collapse this year?

As Jeff Kalafa has already done a nice job of pointing out, Rutgers has lost some truly elite talent in the past few years.

Ray Rice, Anthony Davis, Tim Brown, the McCourtey brothers and even though he was not always the most clutch guy, I don’t think any Rutgers fans would complain if Mike Teel was still throwing passes right now. 

Out of this list, only Rice is irreplaceable though.  Sophomore quarterback Tom Savage may not have had big, flashy stats last year in terms of yardage and touchdowns, but he won games and made good decisions last year.

Rutgers fans would have loved to have seen Davis and Brown come back this year, but Davis' replacement will be one of next year's starters and RU is certainly not short on receiver talent right now.

True freshman Chas Dodd was hot and cold this season, but he showed he has a ton of potential with a lot of heart to go with it.

Which leads to the next point: How does Dodd go off for 335 yards and three touchdowns one week, and then throw for 177 yards and two interceptions the next?

Well, there is not much question, at least in my mind, that players have been quitting routinely since the Pittsburgh game. 

To be fair, the team deserves a free pass on that game since it was just a week after the Eric LeGrand tragedy.  But to not win a game since then is truly mind-boggling.

It is really tough to say as a diehard Rutgers fan, but the tape does not lie.  Receivers have been guilty of running routes at half speed and dropping passes right in their hands.

Offensive linemen have clearly just not been blocking all season, but never has that been more evident when Dodd was sacked nine times against Louisville; it was a miracle he walked off the field without any injuries.

And does anyone know what happened to Rutgers' stout defense? In the past five games, the Knights have given up at least 40 points three times. 

The run defense clearly called it a season weeks ago, with Pittsburgh’s Dion Lewis, Cincinnati’s Isaiah Pead and Louisville’s Bilal Powell accounting for nine touchdowns combined against the black and red attack.

Pathetic. While these guys are great running backs, Rutgers made them look like they were all legitimate Heisman contenders, which none of them actually are.

Furthermore, it is not like Syracuse and USF had any trouble on the ground either as the Orange’s Delone Carter and Antwan Bailey accounted for 153 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, while USF’s Matt Plancher had 180 yards from scrimmage.

Defensive end Alexis Silvestro is really the only guy on the defensive front who has shown any heart these past few games.

The secondary is no better; look no further than the outing at Cincinnati where the Bearcat offense looked like they were playing Madden on the rookie difficulty.

Cornerbacks are getting beat by the pass all day at this point, and still somehow manage to get run over by running backs.

Brandon Bing has made some good plays, but he was been embarrassed quite a bit as well.

Strong safety Joe Lefeged looks like the only guy here who wants, or is even capable of playing 60 minutes of football each week in this defensive backfield.

The coaching staff has been annihilated by the media recently, but let us acknowledge it is not all their fault.  The players have shown a real lack of heart and determination on the field.

Don’t get it twisted though—Greg Schiano and Co. should not be off the hook by any means. 

Let’s call a screen pass in the end zone, while the team is up by one point in the fourth quarter.  Bye Kirk Ciarrocca, you basically signed your own pink slip with that one. 

It is tough to say what the organization wants to be with cornerback and special teams coordinator Robb Smith, but there is definitely a solid chance he does not come back next year either.

And of course the running game was an absolute travesty this season, so it may not be fair to declare running backs coach Chris Hewitt safe.

With all that being said, how does Greg Schiano have support of so many fans still?

If Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt is on the hot seat after two great seasons and one mediocre one (this year), then why are people singing Schiano’s praises?

Schiano has given Rutgers one great season, and three mediocre to good ones (depending who you ask) in 10 years.

For comparison’s sake, note that Wannstedt has only been a head coach for six seasons.  He was entitled to two or three bad seasons off the bat due to Rutgers' weak program prior to his arrival, but the 2006 season looks more and more like a flash in the pan as the years go by.

So who’s to blame in this abomination of a football season?  The answer is everyone—the entire coaching staff as well as the entire active roster of players.