“We didn’t block well, but we made up for it by not tackling.”
This quote, spoken to the press by former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach John McKay, pretty much sums up Rutgers’ performance against Wisconsin. The Badgers beat the Scarlet Knights 42-7 in what felt like one of the worst losses the Knights have sustained in the Schiano 2.0 era. The Wisconsin offense had its way with the Rutgers defense, especially as the game went on. The Knights’ offense failed to get anything going until late in the second half. Even the special teams units weren’t working well for the Knights as they had a field goal blocked and several weak punts.
The Woes of Rutgers
Starting off with the worst of the offense, the Knights went three and out four times in a row in the first half. Seven out of Rutger’s first nine drives resulted in a punt, the other two were a blocked field goal and a turnover on downs.
The “new and improved” passing game for Rutgers did not show up today as the Knights went 12/32 in the air for 103 yards managing only 3.2 yards per pass. The Knight’s pass catchers had several baffling drops, three of which came one play after another forcing Rutgers to go three and out. This is a trend that has carried over from last week as the Knights had several back breaking drops against Nebraska as well.
All of these issues came despite Kaliakmanis having a fairly clean pocket, as the Knights’ offensive line did not surrender a sack on the day.
The Knights’ rushing attack did not fare much better. Due to the struggles in the passing game, Wisconsin was able to pack the box against the Knights and keep the running game pretty well contained, aside from a few quarterback runs by Kaliakmanis and Ajani Sheppard where the Knights were able to find space. The running game totaled 168 yards on 35 carries for an average of 4.8 yards per carry and one touchdown.
However, when the quarterback scrambles are taken out, Rutgers running backs only managed 100 yards on 27 carries for an average of around 3.7 yards per rush. This is another trend that carried over from last week that needs to be addressed by the Knights soon. Rutgers is set up to be a run first team, however, over the last two weeks their bread and butter has been neutralized.
The Defense performed a little better than the offense, generating a few turnovers and only surrendering 14 points by halftime. However, with several key injuries still battering the defense and some new ones sustained during the game, it became impossible to hold forever. The Knight’s defense started the day without two of its most dynamic playmakers Robert Longerbeam and Tyreem Powell. During the game, safety Flip Dixon and defensive end Aaron Lewis got banged up and went down to the turf but would return to play later on.
The defense would show severe signs of struggle containing Wisconsin’s rushing attack surrendering 309 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. This issue was on display in Rutger’s game against Washington as well and should be a concern for the rest of the season as the Knight’s defense is looking more and more beaten up with every passing game. It will be interesting to see what the Knights do to shore up these issues.
For more Rutgers and College Football based content!
X account- https://x.com/Andrew78Rice