Through the first two games of the season, Rutgers football’s revamped offensive line looked pretty good. On Saturday against Temple, that offensive line regressed in what was a 16-14 win for the Scarlet Knights.
The offensive line, featuring three new starters (all transfers) was responsible for the season-opening win at Boston College. In the second half of that game, Rutgers (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) simply physically dominated the Eagles on both sides of the ball. But against Temple, there were struggles from the get-go.
Rutgers had just 201 yards of total offense and 12 first downs, both season-lows. Their 3.5 yards per carry at Temple was also a season-low.
Against Boston College, for instance, Rutgers averaged 5.0 yards per carry.
The state of the offensive line against a strong Iowa (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) defense that shutout Nevada last weekend is a concern for Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano.
“You know, I wish it was one thing. You know, that would be an easier fix. But I do think there is some common all I think on some of the things, right?” Schiano told reporters on Monday.
“We need to just continue to get better at what we do technique wise and that may sound like why don’t you just do it. Because there’s a lot going on and then there’s this other thing, the guy on the other side trying to kick your rear end in. There’s a lot to get down for a group of guys that have not played together. But we’re going to be okay. Yeah, I’m confident on that.”
The struggles of the offense on Saturday, compounded by nine penalties for 80 yards at Temple, underscored the need for the group as a whole to come together ahead of their Big Ten opener against Iowa (7 P.M. ET, FS1).
On Monday, Schiano vowed support for Sean Gleeson. The third-year offensive coordinator has drawn some criticism from corners of the fanbase who were disappointed with the showing of the unit on Saturday.
Schiano said that the offensive struggles go beyond just a singular…
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