COLUMN: Will Rutgers football ever end its 'developmental program' phase?
In his Monday press conference, head coach Greg Schiano of the Rutgers football team spoke highly of some of the Scarlet Knights' (6-5, 3-5) oldest players, who are set to play in their Senior Day game against Maryland at SHI Stadium on Busch campus this Saturday.
For each player, Schiano highlighted a character trait that has helped take Rutgers to new heights and may continue to do so in the future.
He mentioned how important senior defensive lineman Mayan Ahanotu's leadership has been throughout the season. He talked about senior linebacker Deion Jennings and senior offensive lineman Reggie Sutton's resilience. He dove into senior tight end Johnny Langan’s rollercoaster collegiate career and then raved about senior defensive back Kessawn Abraham's great attitude.
"Those are the kind of guys that 20 years from now — when they come back and Rutgers is winning Big Ten championships and playing in the College Football Playoff and winning national championships — they are going to know they are the ones who laid the foundation for this program," Schiano said. "So, I'm very thankful for them."
What stood out in Schiano's Monday press conference was his hopes for the success the Knights will have in the next few decades, including playoff berths and trophies hoisted in the conference and across the nation.
Since the College Football Playoff was founded in 2014, Rutgers has seen only one winning season. That was 2014, the year it joined the Big Ten Conference and went 8-5 with a Quick Lane Bowl win over North Carolina. From 2015 to 2022, though, the Knights have gone 25-69 with at least eight losses in 7 of those 8 seasons.
This season, Rutgers has shown improvement with a bowl-clinching, sixth win over Indiana in just the eighth week. It will be the Knights' 12th bowl appearance in their 109 seasons of football.
In the past few weeks, Rutgers has hit a speed bump with three straight losses to some of the best teams in the country: Ohio State, Iowa and Penn State. The Knights had mustered 22 points on offense in those three games and just 6 points in their last two games.
The lack of offense, inability to convert in big spots and careless mistakes have proved how big the gap between Rutgers and the college football behemoths in its conference is.
Schiano has mentioned countless times how the Knights are a developmental team. They are slowly making progress as they improve their program and its pipeline of talent.
"At this place, you really got to stay focused on who you are," Schiano said before the game against the Nittany Lions (9-2, 6-2). "The way we've played the game has allowed us to be in every single game this year going into the fourth quarter, with an opportunity to win. In the past, that wasn't the case. So, to me, that's an incremental improvement. I know we'd all love to go from 4-8 to 12-0, but it’s just not going to work that way at Rutgers."
So, when will Rutgers close the gaps between itself and every National Championship contending team? How can the Knights ever compete with the great reputations and recruitment pools of teams in all of the Power Five Conferences?
Sure, this season, Rutgers has played much better against its tougher Big Ten opponents, but it is clear that it still doesn't have what it takes to upset these teams. At least not in the next few seasons.
It will get even harder with an expanding conference that will feature current No. 4 ranked Washington and No. 6 ranked Oregon in 2024. If the Knights can't close that gap against their own conference foes, what chance does Rutgers have against teams like Georgia, Alabama, Florida State, Texas and LSU?
While the NFL has seen its fair share of former Knights in recent years, Rutgers' growing reputation is still far behind those of more prestigious football programs across the NCAA.
As of now, Schiano's visions of the Big Ten and of winning national titles in the next 20 years feel more like a pipe dream than an actual reality.
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