Everything Rutgers Football HC Greg Schiano said ahead of Oregon game week
Rutgers Football head coach Greg Schiano met with the media again today as the Scarlet Knights prep for the upcoming game against the Oregon Ducks this upcoming Saturday night inside of SHI Stadium.
Full Press Conference Transcript
GREG SCHIANO: Thanks for coming out guys, got back Saturday morning about nine o’clock. Guys had off Saturday and we got right back at it on Sunday and getting ready for what amounts to a really, really good Oregon team. I’ve been in the top ten for 38 straight weeks.
So I don’t know if you have to say more than that, but I will. They’re very talented, big, strong, very, very fast. Probably the fastest team we’ve played in a while.
Coach Lanning does a great job, he’s very impressive. He and his staff, not only are they very talented, but they’re very well coached. They do a lot, they present a lot of schematic issues, and they’re very, very efficient in situational football.
So my hat’s off to them, they’re doing a great job, top 15 in both scoring offense and defense. And then I think their special teams are very well coached, and special teams, they do a lot. So they challenge you at every turn, they’re very talented.
But it’s something that I know our whole program is excited about having the opportunity. It’s great to get back home, be with our fans. I’ve already announced the sellout, which is exciting.
So looking forward to getting into the week and getting our preparation underway. A great challenge for us, I’ll open it up for questions.
I guess as you reviewed this, the most recent game from the Washington game. What did you see defensively and kind of where those defensive breakdowns continue to be, especially in the secondary?
GREG SCHIANO: Yeah, I think the biggest issue we’re having right now is there’s some explosive plays, right? And when you talk about the plays that really got out, there was some unfortunate situations. We fell down twice, which in coverage, if you’re playing man coverage, you can’t do that, but it happened. I thought that they made some really good plays.
They had a very nice catch in the end zone. We made a nice play in the end zone and knocked it out. They’re a good football team.
They’re a very good offense. We knew that going in. And we just made some critical errors, and they capitalized on them, found the open guy.
We had some assignment errors as well, which, why does that happen? That’s the thing we need to get to the bottom of. And I put it on us, I put it on coaching. We have to get, my job and the coach’s job is to equip and inspire our players.
And we need to do a better job of that to get them to do it the way we want. Very talented team, as I said, Friday night after the game. So yeah, we’re getting better.
No, we did a lot of good things. I think anybody, the late field goal at the end of the half was disappointing, right? The three play drive and then the kick. But anybody would have signed up if you say, you’re gonna hold them to seven points or ten points in the first half.
I thought we did improve. It’s just when things didn’t go well, we kinda lost our way for a little bit. And that we were unable to then, again, as I mentioned, capitalize in some of our scoring situations.
But that’s where we find ourselves. So we just gotta keep moving forward because we’ve shown we can do it. We need to do it consistently.
I’ve been talking about that. But now you’re certainly going even up another notch in competition. So our improvement, we’re gonna really have to improve to be able to be effective.
There’s no secret, Oregon has a robust NIL budget program. I guess two part, how wide is the gap between Oregon and Rutgers? And how confident are you that you, Keli Zinn, and her administration are gonna be able to close that gap in the coming years?
GREG SCHIANO: Yeah, how wide the gap is really doesn’t matter. That’s where we find ourselves today, right? So I’ve never believed in that.
People like to talk about these gaps, and there are, but that’s not new. I’ve been doing this for 37 years. There’s always been haves and have-nots, right? I think the gaps are actually gonna start to close a little bit, which is good.
I think Keli and President Tate fully understand what is necessary. And we’re moving in the right direction, again. Would everybody like it to be faster? Sure, but I also know that when you’re at a program, you have to understand who you are and how you can be effective at that program.
When you try to be someone else or do it some other way, I don’t believe that’s effective. And I think that’s exactly what we’re doing right now, and I’m very excited about it.
Obviously, it’s a big national story out of State College with James Franklin. Were you surprised by that news? And what does it say about the broader state of college football, where a $50 million buyout is being paid off for?
GREG SCHIANO: Yeah, all good questions. I have a lot of respect for James, but I’m not gonna get into, I have so much on my own plate with Oregon. And that’s really what today is about, but certainly a valid point, Steve.
The offense ranks in the bottom half in the country in terms of red zone touchdown rate, despite the efficiency in the other parts of the field. What have you seen to cause that issue? And how can you remedy that against a very athletic defense this weekend?
GREG SCHIANO: If it was one thing, I think we had some opportunities, literally, where guys wide open and the ball gets batted down, right? Now, you can’t say, well, it got batted down. I mean, that’s what happened, and we didn’t score.
But some of those situations, twice that happened, that are frustrating. But you have to use that as fuel to figure out, okay, how are we gonna get? Maybe it’s a different protection scheme. Maybe it’s a different technique we teach them to get the hands down.
To me, you just keep looking at it, and you don’t allow yourself to throw your hands up in frustration, cuz that’s when people start, right, be a problem solver. How are we gonna help these guys? Equip and inspire. That’s to me what my coaching philosophy has always been, and that’s what we will do with this group.
And we’re gonna get the red zone figured out quickly, because we have a good offense. We do, we have a very good offense. And we need to turn those drives into touchdowns, and we will.
We spoke with Kelly Zinn this morning about NIL. And one of the things she said was, investment at NIL doesn’t necessarily equate to a better roster, but it can sure help. How important is NIL for bridging that competitive gap between just being a competitive team to being a team that consistently is beating and winning against peer programs?
GREG SCHIANO: Well, in the last five years, that’s been a new element to college football. But I think if you look at it like any other business, you tell me, how is it in your business? If one publication can pay $5 for their writer and another can pay $20 for a writer, usually the guy who’s paying $20 is gonna get the more established or veteran writer, the better writer, if you wanna say that. I don’t know. I think it’s no different than any business, but it’s a new business, right? I mean, this thing has really only started.
But as I mentioned, I think it was on Brian’s question, I don’t think that the differentiation hasn’t existed before. It’s been that way for a long time. I think what’s happened is there’s now a mechanism to close that gap.
And just how focused are we on doing that? I really feel very focused now, and I’m excited about it. Coaches, running back room looks a little bit different with some of the injuries than it did in the start of the season. Antoine Raymond getting a majority of the carries.
Do you see a bigger role for Jashon Benjamin going forward? Or do you think it’s gonna be a lot more of Antwan Raymond as the number one back?
GREG SCHIANO: Well, we lost CJ. That’s really the only thing that changed in that room, right? Where Sam is working back from an injury. And I think Sam, when he feels good, is gonna be able to contribute.
But I do think it is a little bit of a tricky recovery, a tricky return to play. But he’s doing everything he’s asked to do. And it’s just sometimes you have to be a little bit more patient.
I think Jason Benjamin’s been a big part of our plan all along. He really played well on Friday night. I thought he did a good job of what we asked him.
Does that usually amount to getting asked to do a little more? Yeah, when you do well at the things you’re asked, then your plate gets a little more full. I do think that Antoine’s playing well. So we’re gonna keep pumping him the ball as much as we can.
But we like to run the ball, we like to play action pass. So I think it all fits into what we’re doing.
Along those lines, actually, I mean, what has impressed you about the way Antwan has performed week to week? Especially cuz it seems like his skill set just continues to evolve and improve every single week. I guess, what has stood out on your end?
GREG SCHIANO: Well, first, I think it starts with their coach. I think Coach Shaw does a great job with the running backs. I think he did a great job developing in the past with Kyle.
And now I think he’s doing a great job with that room. And I think one of the things that’s critical, running back is such a tough position, because there’s only one ball and they all wanna touch it, right? What they have in that room is special. They really care about each other.
There’s a great love and camaraderie in that room. So they really support each other, and that’s cool to watch. And I think Antoine has really benefited first by having a year with Kyle, right? Kyle, I think, taught that whole room how to prepare like a pro.
And that room operates at a high level. It was a shame to lose CJ, because CJ really, I thought, would help us. He had a different running style than the other two guys.
But that happens, right? I mean, all these things happen in college football and pro football. You don’t have time to sit there and lament about what could have been? You gotta move on. You gotta move to the next step.
Just like coming, watch that tape all the way home. Get home, get some sleep, and then get back on it, right? Get back on. We got Oregon coming to town.
We got a great opportunity. And that’s life in the Big Ten. That’s why I love the Big Ten.
Every week is a big game, and this one’s no different.
You said Friday, you said in the past that this program’s close and guys are getting there. What is there? When you say we’re getting there, where are you looking to take this program?
GREG SCHIANO: Well, look, I’m not gonna get into, in the middle of the season, a perspective. But we came back, this is our sixth season back. And I think you, as well as anybody, because you were covering the team. We’ve made great strides.
Where is there? There is playing at championship level. And we’re not playing at a championship. Are we playing at a competitive level? Absolutely.
But we’re not playing at a championship level, because at a championship level, you find out how to win those games. We’ve had three games that I thought we had every opportunity in the world to win, and we didn’t, right? But we’re in those games. They’re competitive games.
We’ve won some of them in the last two years. We’ve lost some of them. This year, we haven’t won any of them yet.
So is it frustrating? Absolutely, it’s frustrating. But there, there is no there, right? The journey is the destination. There is no there. But winning more of those games than you lose is on the way to being there, right? And then winning them all is there, I guess. But that only lasts for that year. So we are getting closer.
And there’s a lot of things that go into getting it over the hump. Some of it is coaching. Some of it is playing. Some of it is offseason. Some of it is talent acquisition, right? There’s all that. But in the middle of the year, all you focus on is, okay, who’s healthy? These are the players we have.
These are the players we have to go against, and the scheme we have to go against. What’s the best way to deploy them, to give them the best chance to win the game? Sometimes you do it right. Sometimes you don’t.
You have to do it with your experiences and say, this is what we think is best. I think as a coach, once you do that, that’s equipping them, and then you have to inspire them. And I think this team is a very inspired team.
I thought we played our most violent game of the year out there on Friday night. I thought our guys flew around. It was a violent, violent game.
And that’s what this is in the Big Ten. And we just need to keep building on that, do a better job getting them in better positions, and let them play free. Let them go see what they can do. And that’s what we’re gonna do Saturday night.
I think some fans might see another NIL launch and say, well, we’ve done that. I guess if you were speaking to them directly, what about this week? We’ve tried that.
GREG SCHIANO: Where have we tried that? There’s been certainly K nights at the Raritan, there’s been other programs. We haven’t tried it. Let’s be real now.
We have not tried it. I’m not gonna get into what we do have and what we, we have not tried. All due respect to everybody who put forth their effort, we have not tried it.
Not at a Division I level, forget Big Ten level. We have not done it at the Division I. Let’s be clear on that. The only people who have done it is the guy you’re standing there looking at.
And that, you can’t do it that way at this level. Now, we have a plan. Now, we have a plan.
So leave it at that. I’m not gonna get into specifics, but that is, so there is, there has been no efforts of the level that it takes to play in the Big Ten. I’m not saying that people haven’t tried.
What it takes to win in the Big Ten, you can’t even say it’s minusculely close. And that’s it. That’s the end of the conversation.
There’s not gonna be a follow-up. That’s it. Will that determine the future? Yes.
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