Three Thoughts on Rutgers Football's 35-13 loss to Illinois
It was another disappointing Saturday for Rutgers Football as it fell to Illinois 35-13.
Here are three thoughts after the game….
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BACK TO REALITY
Coming off a last-second 27-24 victory over Purdue, there was hope that it could have been a turning point in a season that had seemingly spiraled. However, there was not much carryover from one week to the next for the Scarlet Knights (4-5, 1-5 Big Ten) as Illinois took it to them early and often.
“[We] certainly did not coach well enough, nor did we play well enough to give ourselves an opportunity to win the game, it’s very disappointing,” head coach Greg Schiano said. “It starts and ends with me, so I need to get on this plane, get to work, get back home, get to work, fix what we can fix now, and then get ready for Maryland.”
Despite opening the game with three drives that included 11, 13, and 10 plays, Rutgers could not cash in on its opportunities in the red zone and walked away with just six points. On the flip side, the Fighting Illini (6-3, 3-3) scored five touchdowns on its eight drives and punted just once the entire game.
DEFENSIVE STRUGGLES CONTINUE
Outside of a batted ball from Eric O’Neill that was intercepted by Farell Gnago, there is not much positive Rutgers can take defensively from this game as Illinois’ offense pretty much did whatever it wanted all day long.
“Like I said, we got outcoached,” Schiano said. “I got outcoached and we got outplayed. I thought they did a very good job, we stepped behind all day.”
Perhaps the biggest indictment on the unit came on the Illini’s opening drive when it drove the ball 99 yards to take a 7-0 lead with 4:04 left in the first quarter. Rutgers’ defense had a chance off the field early on in the drive with Illinois facing a third-and-four from its own seven-yard line. Luke Altmeyer found Hudson Clement for a 16-yard completion though and the Illini did not face a third down the rest of the drive.
NO MORE ROOM FOR ERROR
Unless Rutgers can pull off the shocker of all shockers and upset top-ranked Ohio State on Nov. 22, it will need to win two of its last three games to reach bowl eligibility.
“As a team, we didn’t play well enough,” Schiano said. “And as a team, as a coaching staff, we didn’t coach well enough. So, when you put those two things together, sometimes you cover for each other. Today, both sides didn’t live up.”
On one hand, it is feasible considering it is playing a Maryland squad that, similar to Rutgers, started its season well before things started to unravel. The Scarlet Knights also wrap up their regular season at home against a Penn State squad that saw its season go up in flames to the point where it fired its head coach halfway through the year.
At the end of the day, it is hard to be optimistic about this Rutgers team right now considering two of the last three games were uncompetitive. It will be worth watching if Schiano can turn things around though, otherwise the Scarlet Knights could be facing some uncomfortable conversations heading into 2026.
Rutgers will return to action next Saturday when it faces Maryland at SHI Stadium at 2:30 p.m. (ET) on FS1.
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