2010 Record: 4-8 (1-6), 8th Big East
2010 Bowl Game: None
2010 Schedule/Results
Norfolk State, W 31-0
@ FIU, W 19-14
North Carolina, L 17-13
Tulane, L 17-14
UConn, W 27-24
Army, W 23-20
@ Pittsburgh, L 41-21
@ South Florida, L 28-27
Syracuse, L 13-10
@ Cincinnati, L 69-38
Louisville, L 40-13
@ West Virginia, L 35-14
REVIEW
Everywhere you went on the east coast last summer, you would find a college football magazine with QB Tom Savage on the cover. Savage was basically being called the next great thing at the QB position in the northeast. Some were even referring to him as Tom Terrific. Terrific he was not. Downright putrid is what he was. He never matched the expecations or the hype, and by the middle of the season, he was out of a job. By the end of the season, he was no longer at Rutgers, and had transferred. Freshman Chas Dodd was the guy that took over, and he looks to be the guy for awhile after tossing 11 TDs in 11 games.
The run game was a mess. It took another freshman, Jordan Thomas, to step in to the mix, and it looks as if Greg Schiano will be forced to build around him. Thomas rushed for 417 yards, but he only saw the endzone once.
Mark Harrison stepped up at WR as a sophomore, as he caught 44 passes for 829 yards and 9 TDs. In stark contrast, Mohamed Sanu also caught 44 passes, but only for 418 yards and 2 TDs. Jeremy Deering didn't do much, but when he did something, it was worth 21.13 yards per reception on 16 grabs.
Defensively, LB Antonio Lowery racked up 108 tackles on the season, and he cashed out as the best defender that the Knights had on the field. Joe Lefeged (DB) also checked out after a solid 84 tackle season. The Scarlet Knights D spent a bunch of time on the field due to the implosion of what was supposed to be a strong offense.
Lowery finished with 8.5 TFLs on the season, but it was another senior, Alex Silvestro, a lineman, who led the team with 14.5 TFLs on the season. The defense did their job to the best that they could, but they got hung out to dry after some solid performances. The Knights did not put nearly enough pressure on the oppsing QBs, as Silvestro led the team in sacks with 5.5, but nobody else came close to that.
Lefeged led the team with 6 pass breakups, and David Rowe broke up 5 on the season, but this secondary still gave up 217 yards passing per game. There were very few picks from this group, and the defense gave up 39 TDs on the season, 19 of which were passing TDs.
San San Te was passable at best as a PK on the year, hitting ony 14 of his 20 kicks, good for only 70%. It's not great, and it reads as just another offensive failure. Teddy Dellaganna did a solid job as a punter, but he was called on often, as he punted 6 times per game. He averaged 41.87 yards, which was solid.
FINAL NOTES
Rutgers did not live up to expectations on any level in 2010. Tom Savage was a disaster, and the defense was schooled and hung out to dry. Greg Schiano went from the top of the world at an average football school, to now wondering where the hell to go from here. If you thought this season was bad, next season will not be building up to be much better, with a ton of holes to fill on defense, and a ton of offensive skill players that have to get good in a hurry, and that's a far cry from what they were this season. Rutgers could be at the threshold of sliding back into college football anonymity.
No comments:
Post a Comment