Thoughts

[bac2therac]

Greg has done wonders this year in removing the stench of "Rutgers is supposed to be bad" that permeated through the Ash era and the first couple of GS seasons. That is gone. This team believes in itself and respects itself. Its not an accident RU has shown the ability to hang now in 3 games vs two playoff type teams and another strong team from the other side of the conference. Greg has instilled a confidence and mental toughness that is rarely seen. Rutgers lacks the physical talent across the board yet they are playing well above their heads. That goes to Greg and the players who have really bought into. Kudos all around

The issue that nags the program involves the strategy offensively. I still believe Greg wants to win games 16-14. In this day and age its virtually impossible and eventually trying to do that you are going to fail. It involves playing absolute perfect football and that is a tough ask for any team . While the team has a confidence and toughness level that is impressive it is missing that killer instinct to punish the opponents. The wait and see approach holds us back and you saw it clearly on that series leading to that held RU to just a fg. It was as if we were just happy to get a huge 4th day run. When we got down there, our play calling became so vanilla. That was followed up on the following 2 fgs where it RU looked uncomfortable in the red zone. A team more offensive minded is up 21-7. To beat OSU you have to take advantage of golden opportunities. This was stunningly a very winnable game and RU failed to capitalize in the first half and that meant not a lot of breathing space in the 2nd where just one error by Gavin turned the game around

Again as I said RU cannot win these type of games with a QB so erratic like Gavin. Is it fair to expect them to? At this juncture probably not. Its pretty hard to go negative sitting at 6-3 and outplaying OSU for large stretches of the game. Gavin is what he is and is wildly inconsistent and in all 3 losses has been responsible for 3 turnovers that transformed each game. QBs have to do more than just manage the game and we need to eye that for the future. Obviously the score of 35-16 does not reflect the closeness of the game. Make no mistake the Buckeyes know exactly how fortunate they were to escape today. This is the best Rutgers team since 2012. Today hopefully is a learning experience for Greg and the players.

Can RU take this performance to Iowa...we can hope yet I am almost expecting the proverbial letdown game next week. It would be understandable. Still RU has NEVER been better positioned to succeed in the Big 10 than it is now. I for one would have never said that coming into this season so GS has alleviated many fears that naysayers like me had. Long game here, this year could wind up 6-6 still but next season RU has a very very favorable year and another year of maturing could be poised for something special.

As for the fans.....solid crowd basically filled although still some empties around. Students and rest of the fans arriving late as usual. I still say Hobbs needs to get those kids on Busch so they are there in the seats to create an atmosphere. The game itself was a delight to watch however personally not impressed with the crowd atmosphere. Sadly the newer RU fans have alot to learn and some older ones beaten down by losing. Clearly the atmosphere is more jacked at night. For a game this close I did not like the crowd noise at all. Not til 21-16 did I feel there was a belief RU could win and where were the RU chants....one very weak one when RU had the ball. I just think the noise level was rather meh for the closeness of this game for the first 3 quarters. So yes the whole community needs to step it up, The teams effort today deserved a yeomens job by the crowd and just me but I thought it wasnt there although peeps showed up in big numbers so thats a start I guess

 

[NotInRHouse_anon]

tl;dr. guessing lots of complaints. be better.

Ok never thought I would say this about OP but it is fair post!

I said to my group, this is why we brought GS back. To be a bowl team in October who keeps it competitive with #1 Ohio State. A filled stadium. It felt like the old days.

A few better WRs, OL and more consistency at QB we probably win this game, maybe even by more than a score.

 

[RW90]

Greg has done wonders this year in removing the stench of "Rutgers is supposed to be bad" that permeated through the Ash era and the first couple of GS seasons. That is gone. This team believes in itself and respects itself. Its not an accident RU has shown the ability to hang now in 3 games vs two playoff type teams and another strong team from the other side of the conference. Greg has instilled a confidence and mental toughness that is rarely seen. Rutgers lacks the physical talent across the board yet they are playing well above their heads. That goes to Greg and the players who have really bought into. Kudos all around

The issue that nags the program involves the strategy offensively. I still believe Greg wants to win games 16-14. In this day and age its virtually impossible and eventually trying to do that you are going to fail. It involves playing absolute perfect football and that is a tough ask for any team . While the team has a confidence and toughness level that is impressive it is missing that killer instinct to punish the opponents. The wait and see approach holds us back and you saw it clearly on that series leading to that held RU to just a fg. It was as if we were just happy to get a huge 4th day run. When we got down there, our play calling became so vanilla. That was followed up on the following 2 fgs where it RU looked uncomfortable in the red zone. A team more offensive minded is up 21-7. To beat OSU you have to take advantage of golden opportunities. This was stunningly a very winnable game and RU failed to capitalize in the first half and that meant not a lot of breathing space in the 2nd where just one error by Gavin turned the game around

Again as I said RU cannot win these type of games with a QB so erratic like Gavin. Is it fair to expect them to? At this juncture probably not. Its pretty hard to go negative sitting at 6-3 and outplaying OSU for large stretches of the game. Gavin is what he is and is wildly inconsistent and in all 3 losses has been responsible for 3 turnovers that transformed each game. QBs have to do more than just manage the game and we need to eye that for the future. Obviously the score of 35-16 does not reflect the closeness of the game. Make no mistake the Buckeyes know exactly how fortunate they were to escape today. This is the best Rutgers team since 2012. Today hopefully is a learning experience for Greg and the players.

Can RU take this performance to Iowa...we can hope yet I am almost expecting the proverbial letdown game next week. It would be understandable. Still RU has NEVER been better positioned to succeed in the Big 10 than it is now. I for one would have never said that coming into this season so GS has alleviated many fears that naysayers like me had. Long game here, this year could wind up 6-6 still but next season RU has a very very favorable year and another year of maturing could be poised for something special.

As for the fans.....solid crowd basically filled although still some empties around. Students and rest of the fans arriving late as usual. I still say Hobbs needs to get those kids on Busch so they are there in the seats to create an atmosphere. The game itself was a delight to watch however personally not impressed with the crowd atmosphere. Sadly the newer RU fans have alot to learn and some older ones beaten down by losing. Clearly the atmosphere is more jacked at night. For a game this close I did not like the crowd noise at all. Not til 21-16 did I feel there was a belief RU could win and where were the RU chants....one very weak one when RU had the ball. I just think the noise level was rather meh for the closeness of this game for the first 3 quarters. So yes the whole community needs to step it up, The teams effort today deserved a yeomens job by the crowd and just me but I thought it wasnt there although peeps showed up in big numbers so thats a start I guess

OSU still travels. Until those tickets are only bought by RU fans, the crowd will underperform these games.

 

[MadRU]

Between the 20s we are a pretty good football team.

The few empty seats were probably Michigan coaches that didn’t make it to the game.

 

[ashokan]

I don't think Wimsatt is erratic
There are plays he makes well and plays he doesn't - consistently
The good coaches always say make your offense fit your players and not vice versa
RU coaches keep mysteriously abandoning the run to have Wimsatt make precision, vertical passes passes in tight spaces to small WRs,
RU likes the sideline passes that lock DBs out.
The usual fear of the INT
So run.

 

[ashokan]

Between the 20s we are a pretty good football team.

The few empty seats were probably Michigan coaches that didn’t make it to the game.

TV showed some fans wearing Michigan gear in the stands and the announcers chuckled

 

[Jerseylegends]

Greg has done wonders this year in removing the stench of "Rutgers is supposed to be bad" that permeated through the Ash era and the first couple of GS seasons. That is gone. This team believes in itself and respects itself. Its not an accident RU has shown the ability to hang now in 3 games vs two playoff type teams and another strong team from the other side of the conference. Greg has instilled a confidence and mental toughness that is rarely seen. Rutgers lacks the physical talent across the board yet they are playing well above their heads. That goes to Greg and the players who have really bought into. Kudos all around

The issue that nags the program involves the strategy offensively. I still believe Greg wants to win games 16-14. In this day and age its virtually impossible and eventually trying to do that you are going to fail. It involves playing absolute perfect football and that is a tough ask for any team . While the team has a confidence and toughness level that is impressive it is missing that killer instinct to punish the opponents. The wait and see approach holds us back and you saw it clearly on that series leading to that held RU to just a fg. It was as if we were just happy to get a huge 4th day run. When we got down there, our play calling became so vanilla. That was followed up on the following 2 fgs where it RU looked uncomfortable in the red zone. A team more offensive minded is up 21-7. To beat OSU you have to take advantage of golden opportunities. This was stunningly a very winnable game and RU failed to capitalize in the first half and that meant not a lot of breathing space in the 2nd where just one error by Gavin turned the game around

Again as I said RU cannot win these type of games with a QB so erratic like Gavin. Is it fair to expect them to? At this juncture probably not. Its pretty hard to go negative sitting at 6-3 and outplaying OSU for large stretches of the game. Gavin is what he is and is wildly inconsistent and in all 3 losses has been responsible for 3 turnovers that transformed each game. QBs have to do more than just manage the game and we need to eye that for the future. Obviously the score of 35-16 does not reflect the closeness of the game. Make no mistake the Buckeyes know exactly how fortunate they were to escape today. This is the best Rutgers team since 2012. Today hopefully is a learning experience for Greg and the players.

Can RU take this performance to Iowa...we can hope yet I am almost expecting the proverbial letdown game next week. It would be understandable. Still RU has NEVER been better positioned to succeed in the Big 10 than it is now. I for one would have never said that coming into this season so GS has alleviated many fears that naysayers like me had. Long game here, this year could wind up 6-6 still but next season RU has a very very favorable year and another year of maturing could be poised for something special.

As for the fans.....solid crowd basically filled although still some empties around. Students and rest of the fans arriving late as usual. I still say Hobbs needs to get those kids on Busch so they are there in the seats to create an atmosphere. The game itself was a delight to watch however personally not impressed with the crowd atmosphere. Sadly the newer RU fans have alot to learn and some older ones beaten down by losing. Clearly the atmosphere is more jacked at night. For a game this close I did not like the crowd noise at all. Not til 21-16 did I feel there was a belief RU could win and where were the RU chants....one very weak one when RU had the ball. I just think the noise level was rather meh for the closeness of this game for the first 3 quarters. So yes the whole community needs to step it up, The teams effort today deserved a yeomens job by the crowd and just me but I thought it wasnt there although peeps showed up in big numbers so thats a start I guess

You know how in the sec they have those male CHEER LEADERS with the bull horns... getting the crowd going and passing out T-shirts or whatever...we are probably too cool up north for that lol probably would have to pay..the only male cheerleaders I've seen up north idk if they fit the bill..

 

[zebnatto]

Greg has done wonders this year in removing the stench of "Rutgers is supposed to be bad" that permeated through the Ash era and the first couple of GS seasons. That is gone. This team believes in itself and respects itself. Its not an accident RU has shown the ability to hang now in 3 games vs two playoff type teams and another strong team from the other side of the conference. Greg has instilled a confidence and mental toughness that is rarely seen. Rutgers lacks the physical talent across the board yet they are playing well above their heads. That goes to Greg and the players who have really bought into. Kudos all around

The issue that nags the program involves the strategy offensively. I still believe Greg wants to win games 16-14. In this day and age its virtually impossible and eventually trying to do that you are going to fail. It involves playing absolute perfect football and that is a tough ask for any team . While the team has a confidence and toughness level that is impressive it is missing that killer instinct to punish the opponents. The wait and see approach holds us back and you saw it clearly on that series leading to that held RU to just a fg. It was as if we were just happy to get a huge 4th day run. When we got down there, our play calling became so vanilla. That was followed up on the following 2 fgs where it RU looked uncomfortable in the red zone. A team more offensive minded is up 21-7. To beat OSU you have to take advantage of golden opportunities. This was stunningly a very winnable game and RU failed to capitalize in the first half and that meant not a lot of breathing space in the 2nd where just one error by Gavin turned the game around

Again as I said RU cannot win these type of games with a QB so erratic like Gavin. Is it fair to expect them to? At this juncture probably not. Its pretty hard to go negative sitting at 6-3 and outplaying OSU for large stretches of the game. Gavin is what he is and is wildly inconsistent and in all 3 losses has been responsible for 3 turnovers that transformed each game. QBs have to do more than just manage the game and we need to eye that for the future. Obviously the score of 35-16 does not reflect the closeness of the game. Make no mistake the Buckeyes know exactly how fortunate they were to escape today. This is the best Rutgers team since 2012. Today hopefully is a learning experience for Greg and the players.

Can RU take this performance to Iowa...we can hope yet I am almost expecting the proverbial letdown game next week. It would be understandable. Still RU has NEVER been better positioned to succeed in the Big 10 than it is now. I for one would have never said that coming into this season so GS has alleviated many fears that naysayers like me had. Long game here, this year could wind up 6-6 still but next season RU has a very very favorable year and another year of maturing could be poised for something special.

As for the fans.....solid crowd basically filled although still some empties around. Students and rest of the fans arriving late as usual. I still say Hobbs needs to get those kids on Busch so they are there in the seats to create an atmosphere. The game itself was a delight to watch however personally not impressed with the crowd atmosphere. Sadly the newer RU fans have alot to learn and some older ones beaten down by losing. Clearly the atmosphere is more jacked at night. For a game this close I did not like the crowd noise at all. Not til 21-16 did I feel there was a belief RU could win and where were the RU chants....one very weak one when RU had the ball. I just think the noise level was rather meh for the closeness of this game for the first 3 quarters. So yes the whole community needs to step it up, The teams effort today deserved a yeomens job by the crowd and just me but I thought it wasnt there although peeps showed up in big numbers so thats a start I guess

By the final two minutes of the game and OSU BALL deep in our territory I began fiddling with my computer. But wasn’t Greg calling time outs. What did he think was gonna happen? There’s playing to the final whistle, then there’s silly.

 

[RUGuitarMan1]

Stick with Wimsatt, run the ball. He needs to keep some of those zone read plays and get the edge. He needs to continue to work at passing reads and throwing vertical routes. Keep playing top defense and they can win more B1G games this year. They basically held OSU to 24 today, pretty damn good. They had more yds than OSU today, that is good stuff. Don’t overreact to those that need “entertainment” at football games. The idea is to win with what you have.

 

[djrc89]

Bac
I think in general hes prefer to grind it out but when we had the horses he wasn’t shy about chucking the ball all over the place. Teel had 6 td passes at Pitt. Insight bowl we scored 50 with receiving a big part of it. We’ve lost 3 games this year in part because of pick 6s at the most inopportune moments. Somehow despite our passing poorly we managed to have a rb with 170 yards. I agree that we need to become a more balanced offense but we need to get the horses. Please tell me they’re on the way

 

[RUskoolie]

We are not the far away. I liked kicking the FGs it got us to within a one score game against OSU in the 4th.

We have no passing weapons so we are limited on offense.

Honestly no complaints about today. OSU has a gazillion 5 stars coached by a guy who is taking that program backwards not forwards.

Crowd was fine today too. Best atmosphere in years IMO.

 

[koleszar]

A few better WRs, OL and more consistency at QB we probably win this game, maybe even by more than a score.

OL?

You just rushed for over 200 yds. against one of the top defenses in all of college football and the 1st to do it this season and gave up just 1 sack. I'd limit this to a more consistent QB and better WR's

 

[Eagleton95.99]

Greg has done wonders this year in removing the stench of "Rutgers is supposed to be bad" that permeated through the Ash era and the first couple of GS seasons. That is gone. This team believes in itself and respects itself. Its not an accident RU has shown the ability to hang now in 3 games vs two playoff type teams and another strong team from the other side of the conference. Greg has instilled a confidence and mental toughness that is rarely seen. Rutgers lacks the physical talent across the board yet they are playing well above their heads. That goes to Greg and the players who have really bought into. Kudos all around

The issue that nags the program involves the strategy offensively. I still believe Greg wants to win games 16-14. In this day and age its virtually impossible and eventually trying to do that you are going to fail. It involves playing absolute perfect football and that is a tough ask for any team . While the team has a confidence and toughness level that is impressive it is missing that killer instinct to punish the opponents. The wait and see approach holds us back and you saw it clearly on that series leading to that held RU to just a fg. It was as if we were just happy to get a huge 4th day run. When we got down there, our play calling became so vanilla. That was followed up on the following 2 fgs where it RU looked uncomfortable in the red zone. A team more offensive minded is up 21-7. To beat OSU you have to take advantage of golden opportunities. This was stunningly a very winnable game and RU failed to capitalize in the first half and that meant not a lot of breathing space in the 2nd where just one error by Gavin turned the game around

Again as I said RU cannot win these type of games with a QB so erratic like Gavin. Is it fair to expect them to? At this juncture probably not. Its pretty hard to go negative sitting at 6-3 and outplaying OSU for large stretches of the game. Gavin is what he is and is wildly inconsistent and in all 3 losses has been responsible for 3 turnovers that transformed each game. QBs have to do more than just manage the game and we need to eye that for the future. Obviously the score of 35-16 does not reflect the closeness of the game. Make no mistake the Buckeyes know exactly how fortunate they were to escape today. This is the best Rutgers team since 2012. Today hopefully is a learning experience for Greg and the players.

Can RU take this performance to Iowa...we can hope yet I am almost expecting the proverbial letdown game next week. It would be understandable. Still RU has NEVER been better positioned to succeed in the Big 10 than it is now. I for one would have never said that coming into this season so GS has alleviated many fears that naysayers like me had. Long game here, this year could wind up 6-6 still but next season RU has a very very favorable year and another year of maturing could be poised for something special.

As for the fans.....solid crowd basically filled although still some empties around. Students and rest of the fans arriving late as usual. I still say Hobbs needs to get those kids on Busch so they are there in the seats to create an atmosphere. The game itself was a delight to watch however personally not impressed with the crowd atmosphere. Sadly the newer RU fans have alot to learn and some older ones beaten down by losing. Clearly the atmosphere is more jacked at night. For a game this close I did not like the crowd noise at all. Not til 21-16 did I feel there was a belief RU could win and where were the RU chants....one very weak one when RU had the ball. I just think the noise level was rather meh for the closeness of this game for the first 3 quarters. So yes the whole community needs to step it up, The teams effort today deserved a yeomens job by the crowd and just me but I thought it wasnt there although peeps showed up in big numbers so thats a start I guess

We run a vanilla offense because we don't have a QB that we can trust to do anything different.

 

[bethlehemfan]

We are not the far away. I liked kicking the FGs it got us to within a one score game against OSU in the 4th.

We have no passing weapons so we are limited on offense.

Honestly no complaints about today. OSU has a gazillion 5 stars coached by a guy who is taking that program backwards not forwards.

Crowd was fine today too. Best atmosphere in years IMO.

Agree we are getting there.

 

[RUevolution36]

TV showed some fans wearing Michigan gear in the stands and the announcers chuckled

 

[RUBlackout]

We are not the far away. I liked kicking the FGs it got us to within a one score game against OSU in the 4th.

We have no passing weapons so we are limited on offense.

Honestly no complaints about today. OSU has a gazillion 5 stars coached by a guy who is taking that program backwards not forwards.

Crowd was fine today too. Best atmosphere in years IMO.

We don’t have weapons?? Our RB is great. Our WRs are getting open but we lack anyone throwing them the ball to make catches. Dremel he proven reliable. Jackson is prob our best WR with his hands but we don’t create co so stench with him. Strong is a star in the making but again getting limited snaps and only used selectively and not in prime situations in the red zone where we have had success with him(only had the one throw today)

 

[brookdale-soda]

we have a QB with a completion pct hovering at 50 pct and you want Greg to sling it?

All well do is have more 3and outs.

You picked a bad game to complain about the offensive strategy. we moved the ball against a top 5 defense.

 

[RUScrew85]

You know how in the sec they have those male CHEER LEADERS with the bull horns... getting the crowd going and passing out T-shirts or whatever...we are probably too cool up north for that lol probably would have to pay..the only male cheerleaders I've seen up north idk if they fit the bill..

We have a guy on the girl's cheerleading squad who doesn't wear the red sequins for some reason. Does that count? Lolol

 

[RUevolution36]

We outgained OSU 361-328.

Had more 1st downs.

We were in this and should have won.

 

[RUmaz]

Greg has done wonders this year in removing the stench of "Rutgers is supposed to be bad" that permeated through the Ash era and the first couple of GS seasons. That is gone. This team believes in itself and respects itself. Its not an accident RU has shown the ability to hang now in 3 games vs two playoff type teams and another strong team from the other side of the conference. Greg has instilled a confidence and mental toughness that is rarely seen. Rutgers lacks the physical talent across the board yet they are playing well above their heads. That goes to Greg and the players who have really bought into. Kudos all around

The issue that nags the program involves the strategy offensively. I still believe Greg wants to win games 16-14. In this day and age its virtually impossible and eventually trying to do that you are going to fail. It involves playing absolute perfect football and that is a tough ask for any team . While the team has a confidence and toughness level that is impressive it is missing that killer instinct to punish the opponents. The wait and see approach holds us back and you saw it clearly on that series leading to that held RU to just a fg. It was as if we were just happy to get a huge 4th day run. When we got down there, our play calling became so vanilla. That was followed up on the following 2 fgs where it RU looked uncomfortable in the red zone. A team more offensive minded is up 21-7. To beat OSU you have to take advantage of golden opportunities. This was stunningly a very winnable game and RU failed to capitalize in the first half and that meant not a lot of breathing space in the 2nd where just one error by Gavin turned the game around

Again as I said RU cannot win these type of games with a QB so erratic like Gavin. Is it fair to expect them to? At this juncture probably not. Its pretty hard to go negative sitting at 6-3 and outplaying OSU for large stretches of the game. Gavin is what he is and is wildly inconsistent and in all 3 losses has been responsible for 3 turnovers that transformed each game. QBs have to do more than just manage the game and we need to eye that for the future. Obviously the score of 35-16 does not reflect the closeness of the game. Make no mistake the Buckeyes know exactly how fortunate they were to escape today. This is the best Rutgers team since 2012. Today hopefully is a learning experience for Greg and the players.

Can RU take this performance to Iowa...we can hope yet I am almost expecting the proverbial letdown game next week. It would be understandable. Still RU has NEVER been better positioned to succeed in the Big 10 than it is now. I for one would have never said that coming into this season so GS has alleviated many fears that naysayers like me had. Long game here, this year could wind up 6-6 still but next season RU has a very very favorable year and another year of maturing could be poised for something special.

As for the fans.....solid crowd basically filled although still some empties around. Students and rest of the fans arriving late as usual. I still say Hobbs needs to get those kids on Busch so they are there in the seats to create an atmosphere. The game itself was a delight to watch however personally not impressed with the crowd atmosphere. Sadly the newer RU fans have alot to learn and some older ones beaten down by losing. Clearly the atmosphere is more jacked at night. For a game this close I did not like the crowd noise at all. Not til 21-16 did I feel there was a belief RU could win and where were the RU chants....one very weak one when RU had the ball. I just think the noise level was rather meh for the closeness of this game for the first 3 quarters. So yes the whole community needs to step it up, The teams effort today deserved a yeomens job by the crowd and just me but I thought it wasnt there although peeps showed up in big numbers so thats a start I guess

I think the RU chant started when Rutgers had the ball was an attempt to drown out the Ohio State chant their fans started.

 

[FRA10Thunderbolt]

Greg has done wonders this year in removing the stench of "Rutgers is supposed to be bad" that permeated through the Ash era and the first couple of GS seasons. That is gone. This team believes in itself and respects itself. Its not an accident RU has shown the ability to hang now in 3 games vs two playoff type teams and another strong team from the other side of the conference. Greg has instilled a confidence and mental toughness that is rarely seen. Rutgers lacks the physical talent across the board yet they are playing well above their heads. That goes to Greg and the players who have really bought into. Kudos all around

The issue that nags the program involves the strategy offensively. I still believe Greg wants to win games 16-14. In this day and age its virtually impossible and eventually trying to do that you are going to fail. It involves playing absolute perfect football and that is a tough ask for any team . While the team has a confidence and toughness level that is impressive it is missing that killer instinct to punish the opponents. The wait and see approach holds us back and you saw it clearly on that series leading to that held RU to just a fg. It was as if we were just happy to get a huge 4th day run. When we got down there, our play calling became so vanilla. That was followed up on the following 2 fgs where it RU looked uncomfortable in the red zone. A team more offensive minded is up 21-7. To beat OSU you have to take advantage of golden opportunities. This was stunningly a very winnable game and RU failed to capitalize in the first half and that meant not a lot of breathing space in the 2nd where just one error by Gavin turned the game around

Again as I said RU cannot win these type of games with a QB so erratic like Gavin. Is it fair to expect them to? At this juncture probably not. Its pretty hard to go negative sitting at 6-3 and outplaying OSU for large stretches of the game. Gavin is what he is and is wildly inconsistent and in all 3 losses has been responsible for 3 turnovers that transformed each game. QBs have to do more than just manage the game and we need to eye that for the future. Obviously the score of 35-16 does not reflect the closeness of the game. Make no mistake the Buckeyes know exactly how fortunate they were to escape today. This is the best Rutgers team since 2012. Today hopefully is a learning experience for Greg and the players.

Can RU take this performance to Iowa...we can hope yet I am almost expecting the proverbial letdown game next week. It would be understandable. Still RU has NEVER been better positioned to succeed in the Big 10 than it is now. I for one would have never said that coming into this season so GS has alleviated many fears that naysayers like me had. Long game here, this year could wind up 6-6 still but next season RU has a very very favorable year and another year of maturing could be poised for something special.

As for the fans.....solid crowd basically filled although still some empties around. Students and rest of the fans arriving late as usual. I still say Hobbs needs to get those kids on Busch so they are there in the seats to create an atmosphere. The game itself was a delight to watch however personally not impressed with the crowd atmosphere. Sadly the newer RU fans have alot to learn and some older ones beaten down by losing. Clearly the atmosphere is more jacked at night. For a game this close I did not like the crowd noise at all. Not til 21-16 did I feel there was a belief RU could win and where were the RU chants....one very weak one when RU had the ball. I just think the noise level was rather meh for the closeness of this game for the first 3 quarters. So yes the whole community needs to step it up, The teams effort today deserved a yeomens job by the crowd and just me but I thought it wasnt there although peeps showed up in big numbers so thats a start I guess

Good stuff Bac. I agree the crowd was not where it needs to be for a game like this. Hopefully this game put a lot of people on notice that Rutgers is legit. Even on the Syracuse forum they were lamenting that Rutgers could beat Ohio State and “make this weekend even more miserable.” LOL!

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Greg has done wonders this year in removing the stench of "Rutgers is supposed to be bad" that permeated through the Ash era and the first couple of GS seasons. That is gone. This team believes in itself and respects itself. Its not an accident RU has shown the ability to hang now in 3 games vs two playoff type teams and another strong team from the other side of the conference. Greg has instilled a confidence and mental toughness that is rarely seen. Rutgers lacks the physical talent across the board yet they are playing well above their heads. That goes to Greg and the players who have really bought into. Kudos all around

The issue that nags the program involves the strategy offensively. I still believe Greg wants to win games 16-14. In this day and age its virtually impossible and eventually trying to do that you are going to fail. It involves playing absolute perfect football and that is a tough ask for any team . While the team has a confidence and toughness level that is impressive it is missing that killer instinct to punish the opponents. The wait and see approach holds us back and you saw it clearly on that series leading to that held RU to just a fg. It was as if we were just happy to get a huge 4th day run. When we got down there, our play calling became so vanilla. That was followed up on the following 2 fgs where it RU looked uncomfortable in the red zone. A team more offensive minded is up 21-7. To beat OSU you have to take advantage of golden opportunities. This was stunningly a very winnable game and RU failed to capitalize in the first half and that meant not a lot of breathing space in the 2nd where just one error by Gavin turned the game around

Again as I said RU cannot win these type of games with a QB so erratic like Gavin. Is it fair to expect them to? At this juncture probably not. Its pretty hard to go negative sitting at 6-3 and outplaying OSU for large stretches of the game. Gavin is what he is and is wildly inconsistent and in all 3 losses has been responsible for 3 turnovers that transformed each game. QBs have to do more than just manage the game and we need to eye that for the future. Obviously the score of 35-16 does not reflect the closeness of the game. Make no mistake the Buckeyes know exactly how fortunate they were to escape today. This is the best Rutgers team since 2012. Today hopefully is a learning experience for Greg and the players.

Can RU take this performance to Iowa...we can hope yet I am almost expecting the proverbial letdown game next week. It would be understandable. Still RU has NEVER been better positioned to succeed in the Big 10 than it is now. I for one would have never said that coming into this season so GS has alleviated many fears that naysayers like me had. Long game here, this year could wind up 6-6 still but next season RU has a very very favorable year and another year of maturing could be poised for something special.

As for the fans.....solid crowd basically filled although still some empties around. Students and rest of the fans arriving late as usual. I still say Hobbs needs to get those kids on Busch so they are there in the seats to create an atmosphere. The game itself was a delight to watch however personally not impressed with the crowd atmosphere. Sadly the newer RU fans have alot to learn and some older ones beaten down by losing. Clearly the atmosphere is more jacked at night. For a game this close I did not like the crowd noise at all. Not til 21-16 did I feel there was a belief RU could win and where were the RU chants....one very weak one when RU had the ball. I just think the noise level was rather meh for the closeness of this game for the first 3 quarters. So yes the whole community needs to step it up, The teams effort today deserved a yeomens job by the crowd and just me but I thought it wasnt there although peeps showed up in big numbers so thats a start I guess

Good post. Mostly fair points but I think the emphasis on coaching for 16-14 might be a little unfair. The bottom line is we’ve won 5 games by big scoring margins. In terms of play calling, the same fans complaining that we didn’t stick to the run in the red zone would probably be complaining that we were too conservative if we did. In terms of kicking the FGs, we’ve take the other approach in different games. I can understand the preference to go into the locker room with a sure lead and regardless of whether anyone agrees, the decisions in this game felt very much tied to this specific game situation (not necessarily trended towards a particular coaching style one way or the other- we were playing the best team in the country).

It mostly comes down to two things - 1) what you said about our QB limitations. There’s only so much you can do with play calling when your QB’s accuracy isn’t reliable. And 2) we’ve taken major steps forward in terms of explosiveness - executing big plays all season long. But we still seem to have some trouble taking it the distance on them. There’s a big difference in this game (even with our mistakes) if we can find the end zone on those big plays instead of getting pulled down just short. For a team without an accurate QB, the short field is a big challenge against top teams.

All this said - all our position groups are trending up in a big time way except the QB issues. That’s massively impressive considering the starting point of 2.0. Anyone who isn’t happy with where we are at is nuts IMO.

 

[hoquat63]

You know how in the sec they have those male CHEER LEADERS with the bull horns... getting the crowd going and passing out T-shirts or whatever...we are probably too cool up north for that lol probably would have to pay..the only male cheerleaders I've seen up north idk if they fit the bill..

When I was in RU there were only male cheerleaders. Of course Rutgers College was all male in the 60s

 

[RUbacker]

Greg has done wonders this year in removing the stench of "Rutgers is supposed to be bad" that permeated through the Ash era and the first couple of GS seasons. That is gone. This team believes in itself and respects itself. Its not an accident RU has shown the ability to hang now in 3 games vs two playoff type teams and another strong team from the other side of the conference. Greg has instilled a confidence and mental toughness that is rarely seen. Rutgers lacks the physical talent across the board yet they are playing well above their heads. That goes to Greg and the players who have really bought into. Kudos all around

The issue that nags the program involves the strategy offensively. I still believe Greg wants to win games 16-14. In this day and age its virtually impossible and eventually trying to do that you are going to fail. It involves playing absolute perfect football and that is a tough ask for any team . While the team has a confidence and toughness level that is impressive it is missing that killer instinct to punish the opponents. The wait and see approach holds us back and you saw it clearly on that series leading to that held RU to just a fg. It was as if we were just happy to get a huge 4th day run. When we got down there, our play calling became so vanilla. That was followed up on the following 2 fgs where it RU looked uncomfortable in the red zone. A team more offensive minded is up 21-7. To beat OSU you have to take advantage of golden opportunities. This was stunningly a very winnable game and RU failed to capitalize in the first half and that meant not a lot of breathing space in the 2nd where just one error by Gavin turned the game around

Again as I said RU cannot win these type of games with a QB so erratic like Gavin. Is it fair to expect them to? At this juncture probably not. Its pretty hard to go negative sitting at 6-3 and outplaying OSU for large stretches of the game. Gavin is what he is and is wildly inconsistent and in all 3 losses has been responsible for 3 turnovers that transformed each game. QBs have to do more than just manage the game and we need to eye that for the future. Obviously the score of 35-16 does not reflect the closeness of the game. Make no mistake the Buckeyes know exactly how fortunate they were to escape today. This is the best Rutgers team since 2012. Today hopefully is a learning experience for Greg and the players.

Can RU take this performance to Iowa...we can hope yet I am almost expecting the proverbial letdown game next week. It would be understandable. Still RU has NEVER been better positioned to succeed in the Big 10 than it is now. I for one would have never said that coming into this season so GS has alleviated many fears that naysayers like me had. Long game here, this year could wind up 6-6 still but next season RU has a very very favorable year and another year of maturing could be poised for something special.

As for the fans.....solid crowd basically filled although still some empties around. Students and rest of the fans arriving late as usual. I still say Hobbs needs to get those kids on Busch so they are there in the seats to create an atmosphere. The game itself was a delight to watch however personally not impressed with the crowd atmosphere. Sadly the newer RU fans have alot to learn and some older ones beaten down by losing. Clearly the atmosphere is more jacked at night. For a game this close I did not like the crowd noise at all. Not til 21-16 did I feel there was a belief RU could win and where were the RU chants....one very weak one when RU had the ball. I just think the noise level was rather meh for the closeness of this game for the first 3 quarters. So yes the whole community needs to step it up, The teams effort today deserved a yeomens job by the crowd and just me but I thought it wasnt there although peeps showed up in big numbers so thats a start I guess

Greg doesn’t want win games 16 to 14 , that is not an accurate statement.He builds super dominant defenses so we are in every game , then he builds the offense . Our offensive Roster is still a work in progress and better players are set to come in next year and beyond. You can see that blueprint with GS 1.0. Take a look at some of the players we had .

 

[Roy_Faulker]

Hopefully games like this show the big recruits that RU is rising and coming here isn’t necessarily taking a chance.

Just hope we continue to develop athletes to maintain the level of play especially on D. A bit worried the Jrs/Srs are mostly the Fran Brown era recruits.

 

[rutgersal_rivals139582]

Bac
I think in general hes prefer to grind it out but when we had the horses he wasn’t shy about chucking the ball all over the place. Teel had 6 td passes at Pitt. Insight bowl we scored 50 with receiving a big part of it. We’ve lost 3 games this year in part because of pick 6s at the most inopportune moments. Somehow despite our passing poorly we managed to have a rb with 170 yards. I agree that we need to become a more balanced offense but we need to get the horses. Please tell me they’re on the way

They’re on the way. Korey Duff was in the stands, and Ben Black and Crumpler will soon be arriving. Soon we’ll have more WR talent than we know what to do with.

 

[yessir321]

They’re on the way. Korey Duff was in the stands, and Ben Black and Crumpler will soon be arriving. Soon we’ll have more WR talent than we know what to do with.

Al I specifically recall you telling everyone that Dylan Braithwaite was going to be a freshman all American this year…. He has 1 catch this season.

Korey duff is a TE, he helps the passing game but not sure how he helps the receiver room.

‘Soon we’ll have more WR talent than we know what to do with’ gives off incredible Ryan dunleavy vibes… “Not sure where Saquon would fit in this loaded RU backfield’ before Saquon proceeded to run for like 200 yards on us.

 

[RUJMM78]

Greg has done wonders this year in removing the stench of "Rutgers is supposed to be bad" that permeated through the Ash era and the first couple of GS seasons. That is gone. This team believes in itself and respects itself. Its not an accident RU has shown the ability to hang now in 3 games vs two playoff type teams and another strong team from the other side of the conference. Greg has instilled a confidence and mental toughness that is rarely seen. Rutgers lacks the physical talent across the board yet they are playing well above their heads. That goes to Greg and the players who have really bought into. Kudos all around

The issue that nags the program involves the strategy offensively. I still believe Greg wants to win games 16-14. In this day and age its virtually impossible and eventually trying to do that you are going to fail. It involves playing absolute perfect football and that is a tough ask for any team . While the team has a confidence and toughness level that is impressive it is missing that killer instinct to punish the opponents. The wait and see approach holds us back and you saw it clearly on that series leading to that held RU to just a fg. It was as if we were just happy to get a huge 4th day run. When we got down there, our play calling became so vanilla. That was followed up on the following 2 fgs where it RU looked uncomfortable in the red zone. A team more offensive minded is up 21-7. To beat OSU you have to take advantage of golden opportunities. This was stunningly a very winnable game and RU failed to capitalize in the first half and that meant not a lot of breathing space in the 2nd where just one error by Gavin turned the game around

Again as I said RU cannot win these type of games with a QB so erratic like Gavin. Is it fair to expect them to? At this juncture probably not. Its pretty hard to go negative sitting at 6-3 and outplaying OSU for large stretches of the game. Gavin is what he is and is wildly inconsistent and in all 3 losses has been responsible for 3 turnovers that transformed each game. QBs have to do more than just manage the game and we need to eye that for the future. Obviously the score of 35-16 does not reflect the closeness of the game. Make no mistake the Buckeyes know exactly how fortunate they were to escape today. This is the best Rutgers team since 2012. Today hopefully is a learning experience for Greg and the players.

Can RU take this performance to Iowa...we can hope yet I am almost expecting the proverbial letdown game next week. It would be understandable. Still RU has NEVER been better positioned to succeed in the Big 10 than it is now. I for one would have never said that coming into this season so GS has alleviated many fears that naysayers like me had. Long game here, this year could wind up 6-6 still but next season RU has a very very favorable year and another year of maturing could be poised for something special.

As for the fans.....solid crowd basically filled although still some empties around. Students and rest of the fans arriving late as usual. I still say Hobbs needs to get those kids on Busch so they are there in the seats to create an atmosphere. The game itself was a delight to watch however personally not impressed with the crowd atmosphere. Sadly the newer RU fans have alot to learn and some older ones beaten down by losing. Clearly the atmosphere is more jacked at night. For a game this close I did not like the crowd noise at all. Not til 21-16 did I feel there was a belief RU could win and where were the RU chants....one very weak one when RU had the ball. I just think the noise level was rather meh for the closeness of this game for the first 3 quarters. So yes the whole community needs to step it up, The teams effort today deserved a yeomens job by the crowd and just me but I thought it wasnt there although peeps showed up in big numbers so thats a start I guess

bac- spot on comments touching on all the key aspects on and off the playing field.

 

[rutgersal_rivals139582]

Al I specifically recall you telling everyone that Dylan Braithwaite was going to be a freshman all American this year…. He has 1 catch this season.

Korey duff is a TE, he helps the passing game but not sure how he helps the receiver room.

‘Soon we’ll have more WR talent than we know what to do with’ gives off incredible Ryan dunleavy vibes… “Not sure where Saquon would fit in this loaded RU backfield’ before Saquon proceeded to run for like 200 yards on us.

Braithwaite is redshirting this year because he’s not physically ready and Dremel is having a solid season. Korey Duff will get his first shot at WR, and if that doesn’t work out, he will be moved to tight end. He absolutely killed it in Miami’s camp. So I expect him to stay at WR.

 

[NotInRHouse_anon]

OL?

You just rushed for over 200 yds. against one of the top defenses in all of college football and the 1st to do it this season and gave up just 1 sack. I'd limit this to a more consistent QB and better WR's

Yes that's fair, at least in this game. I was thinking more about UM/Wisc

 

[rubaseball78_rivals]

By the final two minutes of the game and OSU BALL deep in our territory I began fiddling with my computer. But wasn’t Greg calling time outs. What did he think was gonna happen? There’s playing to the final whistle, then there’s silly.

I’m guessing you had RU + 18.5?

 

[NickRU714]

Al I specifically recall you telling everyone that Dylan Braithwaite was going to be a freshman all American this year…. He has 1 catch this season.

Korey duff is a TE, he helps the passing game but not sure how he helps the receiver room.

‘Soon we’ll have more WR talent than we know what to do with’ gives off incredible Ryan dunleavy vibes… “Not sure where Saquon would fit in this loaded RU backfield’ before Saquon proceeded to run for like 200 yards on us.

Just search "Braithwaite" and Al's name.
There are literally pages of posts about Dylan being an impact WR from day 1. Even the GOAT slot WR here.

The lesson as always - following and getting excited over recruiting is a waste of time as nobody actually has valuable insight until they are actually on the field.

 

[Shelby65]

We run a vanilla offense because we don't have a QB that we can trust to do anything different.

I’m not even sure it’s vanilla-level, but it’s been just effective enough to surf the D’s wave to 6 wins.

 

[mdk02]

Al I specifically recall you telling everyone that Dylan Braithwaite was going to be a freshman all American this year…. He has 1 catch this season.

Korey duff is a TE, he helps the passing game but not sure how he helps the receiver room.

‘Soon we’ll have more WR talent than we know what to do with’ gives off incredible Ryan dunleavy vibes… “Not sure where Saquon would fit in this loaded RU backfield’ before Saquon proceeded to run for like 200 yards on us.

LOL. It never gets old. WAIT! Yes it does.

 

[RUBOB72]

They’re on the way. Korey Duff was in the stands, and Ben Black and Crumpler will soon be arriving. Soon we’ll have more WR talent than we know what to do with.

And you would be 100% correct… some legit talent with size, speed and able to highpoint the ball. Add them the 2023 class and we are trending towards the Britt, Carroo, Coleman, Brown era.

 

[RUBOB72]

Add another local Mo Sanu… just like people doubted Schiano's ability to rebuild Rutgers OL and DL and back 7 he is now going to rebuild the WR group.

 

[sct1111]

Just search "Braithwaite" and Al's name.
There are literally pages of posts about Dylan being an impact WR from day 1. Even the GOAT slot WR here.

The lesson as always - following and getting excited over recruiting is a waste of time as nobody actually has valuable insight until they are actually on the field.

He very well could be a weapon for us though. Doesn't he have elite speed?

 

[yessir321]

He very well could be a weapon for us though. Doesn't he have elite speed?

I was told emphatically by Al that Braithwaite would be a freshman all American this year…

He talked so highly of the kid I was under the impression we had the next Marvin Harrison Jr coming…. He has 1 catch this year and redshirted.

The point is Al is among the most clueless football fans on this board. Enthusiastic for sure! That’s where his posts should focus! He’s flaming moron when it comes to talent evaluation though. Stick to the ‘Jersey Power!!!’ Music videos and cry’s from the top of the Empire State Building and just stay out of talent evaluation

 

[RUbacker]

I was told emphatically by Al that Braithwaite would be a freshman all American this year…

He talked so highly of the kid I was under the impression we had the next Marvin Harrison Jr coming…. He has 1 catch this year and redshirted.

The point is Al is among the most clueless football fans on this board. Enthusiastic for sure! But a flaming moron when it comes to talent evaluation

He was never going to see much of the field in year one . His body is just not ready yet. The plan was to always red shirt him. Not sure where some of the info comes from .

 

[LeapinLou]

Stick with Wimsatt, run the ball. He needs to keep some of those zone read plays and get the edge. He needs to continue to work at passing reads and throwing vertical routes. Keep playing top defense and they can win more B1G games this year. They basically held OSU to 24 today, pretty damn good. They had more yds than OSU today, that is good stuff. Don’t overreact to those that need “entertainment” at football games. The idea is to win with what you have.

I agree with this post. @bac2therac you can't have it both ways. When we have players that allow us to open up the offense, the coaching staff will do it. Otherwise, you get what we had with Gleeson, and you lose a game to Nebraska you had no business losing. I don't see us making the same mistake in this Iowa game. PS - look forward to your recap of tonight's Princeton game.