The Rutgers Scarlet Knights did not see it coming. The Scarlet Knights got hit with reality in the season opener, getting dominated by UMass’s defense and offense.
One of the things we couldn’t stress enough is that this team can’t give up too many points or commit turnovers. Rutgers managed to do both things. Rutgers quarterback Dylan Lonergan had a very rough start in his first game with the team. Lonergan finished with two touchdowns but three interceptions. There was a lot of miscommunication, and the offensive line struggled to protect him on certain plays.
Lonergan had 242 passing yards and sustained an injury. His next start needs to be much better. Lonergan must read the defense well for long-term success. This is the worst season-opener loss in the Greg Schiano era. Rutgers were not prepared for this type of performance. UMass knew that many people didn’t give them a chance to win this game.
After trailing 7-0. The Minutemen scored 30 straight unanswered points. UMass’s defense was all over the place. They were in total command. The Scarlet Knights’ defense allowed over 400 total yards. Massachusetts rushed for exactly 200 yards. That’s unacceptable for a team that entered this season with a lot of expectations.
Schiano believes that this team will turn it around and will grow from it. He admits that the team got outplayed. Rutgers had a good spring practice and training camp. He liked everything he saw way before this game. Schiano, just like the rest of the world, was caught by surprise by the outcome of the game.
“They outcoached me,” Schiano said. “They outcoached our players. We got licked tonight, and there’s no other thing to say about it.”
The Scarlet Knights have a lot to work on. It’s going to be a long week of practice and film tape. The Scarlet Knights’ running game was a no-show, but give much credit to the UMass defense for coming with a game plan. Antwan Raymond is one of the best players on the team, and UMass understood the assignment.
UMass came way better prepared and made better adjustments. Schiano didn’t have his team 100 percent ready to play. Schiano is responsible for every department on this team. He’ll make sure to communicate with everyone throughout the week so they can have a much better result in Week 2. It’s the Scarlet Knights’ first loss to UMass since 1973.
Rutgers will play at Boston College on Friday, Sep 11 at 7:30 and will be televised on ESPN2.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
