I am a long time Rutgers football fan, and have seen the RU and Syracuse programs have their ups and downs over the years. I wish that the two schools could play each other more frequently - I think that actually would be good for both fan bases, as well as regional interest in Northeast football. I couldn't make the trip up to Syracuse this year, but I have been there before, and enjoyed chatting with mostly older alumni.
I understand your fan's frustration with yesterday's game. It was a tough defensive battle, and neither offense seemed like they could take control of the game. Here are my independent observations about why Rutgers won. They are mostly congruent with what your fanbase has said, with just a few more insights:
1. Our punter is an all-American, and he was our greatest weapon yesterday, and perhaps most responsible for the win. He consistently was able to put Syracuse in very difficult field position. Someone once said that if you can land a punt inside the 5 yard line, it's like a turnover, speaking of which...
2. Schiano has always placed a huge emphasis on forcing opponent turnovers and minimizing them for our team, as well as special teams play. That was another huge contribution to our victory yesterday. The blocked punt, fumble recovery, interception, etc. all contributed to the win.
3. There were some very questionable coaching decisions that contributed to your loss. I don't think that Babers is a bad coach, and he has recruited many talented players, but he did not call a good game yesterday. You know what I'm talking about - not going for it on the 4th down, switching the punter which resulted in the very short punt, getting the penalty for running onto the field and barking at the refs (yes, I know Schiano gets emotional as well, but he knows enough to stay on the sideline and not say anything that could result in a penalty). Babers should not have put himself in a position to get a penalty, but he did.
Despite all of these coaching miscues, the one that was the most mind-blowing to me was to pull your backup QB. I thought that he would have a better chance of moving the ball, and Rutgers ALWAYS has trouble with backup quarterbacks. It's a joke among our fan base. When Shrader came into the game, I thought we would lose for sure. I was actually happy when DeVito came back in the game.
4. I was very impressed with three things - your defense, your special teams on punt returns, and the crowd noise.
Finally, I know that the loss was bitter, and some posters have suggested giving up on the team, not attending games, etc. I know that I felt the same way during our previous regime. Even though I'm a die hard fan, I actually left a game at halftime after watching us getting destroyed by Ohio State in two quarters. My perspective is that you don't have a bad team, and you will win some more and at least be competitive in others. Athletics success runs in cycles for most teams (look at Florida State and Miami this year). Things could be worse - you could be UConn fans!
Hang in there, and I'm glad that we had an injury free game. Good luck the rest of the season.
I understand your fan's frustration with yesterday's game. It was a tough defensive battle, and neither offense seemed like they could take control of the game. Here are my independent observations about why Rutgers won. They are mostly congruent with what your fanbase has said, with just a few more insights:
1. Our punter is an all-American, and he was our greatest weapon yesterday, and perhaps most responsible for the win. He consistently was able to put Syracuse in very difficult field position. Someone once said that if you can land a punt inside the 5 yard line, it's like a turnover, speaking of which...
2. Schiano has always placed a huge emphasis on forcing opponent turnovers and minimizing them for our team, as well as special teams play. That was another huge contribution to our victory yesterday. The blocked punt, fumble recovery, interception, etc. all contributed to the win.
3. There were some very questionable coaching decisions that contributed to your loss. I don't think that Babers is a bad coach, and he has recruited many talented players, but he did not call a good game yesterday. You know what I'm talking about - not going for it on the 4th down, switching the punter which resulted in the very short punt, getting the penalty for running onto the field and barking at the refs (yes, I know Schiano gets emotional as well, but he knows enough to stay on the sideline and not say anything that could result in a penalty). Babers should not have put himself in a position to get a penalty, but he did.
Despite all of these coaching miscues, the one that was the most mind-blowing to me was to pull your backup QB. I thought that he would have a better chance of moving the ball, and Rutgers ALWAYS has trouble with backup quarterbacks. It's a joke among our fan base. When Shrader came into the game, I thought we would lose for sure. I was actually happy when DeVito came back in the game.
4. I was very impressed with three things - your defense, your special teams on punt returns, and the crowd noise.
- We had a very difficult time running the ball, and I credit both your team's defensive schemes and performance. Our O-line is one of our weakest areas, but our running backs are pretty talented and usually make some plays. You also kept pressure on Vedral and sacked him a few times, so while he completed a high percentage of his passes, only one of them really was a deep completion. Schiano praised your defense during this press conference after the game.
- We have the best kick return tandem in the Big Ten, and one of the best in the country, and you prevented our team from having any big returns.
- The crowd noise also contributed to a few of our miscues. Even though the dome was not full, it was very loud. I could barely hear our radio announcers talking during some parts of the game. Hats off to your fans for that.
Finally, I know that the loss was bitter, and some posters have suggested giving up on the team, not attending games, etc. I know that I felt the same way during our previous regime. Even though I'm a die hard fan, I actually left a game at halftime after watching us getting destroyed by Ohio State in two quarters. My perspective is that you don't have a bad team, and you will win some more and at least be competitive in others. Athletics success runs in cycles for most teams (look at Florida State and Miami this year). Things could be worse - you could be UConn fans!
Hang in there, and I'm glad that we had an injury free game. Good luck the rest of the season.
