Rutgers’ Season on the Brink as Team Prepares for Kansas

Rutgers offense in the huddle versus Penn State Sept. 19 / Photo: Catalina Fragoso, Double G Sports

After one week, Rutgers was 1-0, Leonte Carroo was the all-time leading touchdown receiver in RU history, and Coach Flood was on the sidelines, and the team seemed on its way.

59 minutes into week 2, Rutgers had a late lead on Washington State and seemed poised to be 2-0 heading into its clash with Penn State.

That was when it all fell apart.

Rutgers let WSU tear apart the secondary en-route to a game-winning td, the team fell to 1-1 and the news just got worse and worse.

Allegations against the aforementioned Carroo, a subsequent suspension, and then, the suspension of Flood for inappropriate emails sent to a professor regarding grades of a player (who by the way has been arrested and thrown off the team anyway), and Rutgers was left with Norries Wilson as its interim coach.

It was hoped the team would rally around the interim coach, dig in and get a result against Penn State in Happy Valley.

What happened instead was one of the worst performances on both sides of the ball the Knights have had in the Flood era showing an inability to compete offensively and defensively.

Now, a desperate 0-2 Kansas team comes in that has to be licking its chops thinking it has a chance to get off the mat at Highpoint Solutions Stadium on Saturday.

While Rutgers’ supporters could be thinking of a bounceback effort from the Knights, there were a few signs that could point to a team that has quit already just 3 games into 2015.

First, the offense, which looked like it could be dynamic against Norfolk State and against WSU, looked awful against PSU.

And although PSU’s defense is a strength of its team, Temple did run the ball effectively and Rutgers figured to have similar success – it didn’t, and running the ball requires effort that RU didn’t seem to have.

The Rutgers’ run defense, also a strength of its team, was ineffective all night against PSU, many plays, Nittany Lions’ backs going untouched for large gains, also indicative of a lack of effort.

There is no question Rutgers, even without Leonte Carroo, is more talented than Kansas and if they lose Saturday, there is a major problem in this program not just off the field, but now, on the field.