Rutgers football's end of season recap
The Rutgers football team ended its season in a very disappointing way on Saturday, being dominated in a 37-0 loss at Maryland. The Scarlet Knights (4-8, 1-8) dropped five straight games to end their season, so the team is no longer eligible to receive a bid to a Bowl game.
The 2022 campaign began as expected with Rutgers winning all three of its non-conference matchups. The season-opening victory against Boston College brought optimism, especially after the 96-yard drive that led to sophomore running back Al-Shadee Salaam's game-winning touchdown.
Once the schedule shifted to the Big Ten opposition, the Knights were shown how much work they still have to do to contend in the conference. They were only able to muster one win: a homecoming victory over Indiana.
Rutgers needed to win 2 of its final 5 games in order to make a postseason appearance. The team responded with four lopsided losses and one close game at Michigan State, which was lost in part due to coaching mishaps.
The Knights' overall record represents a step back from 2021 when they won five games and two Big Ten games.
Early in the season, the program had a rotating quarterback carousel, with senior Noah Vedral and sophomores Evan Simon and Gavin Wimsatt all getting time behind center.
The final stretch of the season saw Wimsatt get full reign leading the offense, but the results were less than ideal. The young quarterback completed less than 45 percent of his passes and threw more interceptions than touchdowns. While the future of the program was originally meant to be in the control of Wimsatt, that is now in question after high school senior Ajani Sheppard announced that he was flipping his commitment from Old Dominion to Rutgers.
Despite all the complications faced this season, some players showed out and had a great year. Senior punter Adam Korsak finished his fifth year on the Banks and concluded one of the best careers by a punter in college football history. He holds the all-time record for both punting yards and attempts while being a three-time captain for the Knights.
The defensive side of the ball saw the most improvement for Rutgers. Sophomore defensive lineman Aaron Lewis is one of the most promising players that will return next season. He made the All-Big Ten Third Team after recording 55 tackles and two sacks this season.
Head coach Greg Schiano has a lot of questions to answer in the offseason, including who his offensive coordinator will be for 2023. He enters the fourth year of his second term leading the Knights and will need to show improvement or questions will start to be asked about him.
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