What did we really learn from Rutgers football’s loss at Minnesota?
Rutgers football was unable to follow up on their solid win from last week with a 31-0 loss at Minnesota on Saturday.
With the loss, Rutgers drops to 4-4 (1-4 Big Ten) on the season. Minnesota snaps a three-game losing streak and improves to 5-3 (2-3 Big Ten).
It was a lackluster showing from the Rutgers offense as the unit managed just 134 yards of total offense and just seven first downs. The defense did well in these circumstances but was handicapped consistently by a shortened field.
Gavin Wimsatt got the start at Minnesota and went 6-of-17 for 68 yards with an interception and a fumble lost.
Check out five thoughts about Rutgers football’s game at Minnesota!
As of now, the Rutgers football offense looks better with Noah Vedral
In his second start of the season (and his collegiate career), Wimsatt struggled. Knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter, it was probably Wimsatt’s toughest game in his short college career.
Having turned 19 years old this week, Wimsatt is still very young and this should be his freshman season (reminder, he enrolled early last year after playing the first three games of his senior season in high school). This type of performance is to be expected from a young, developing quarterback
Vedral’s run was limited and wasn’t too spectacular either against Minnesota. But being thrown into the game late and down 21-0 at the time shouldn’t mar his performance from a week ago against Indiana.
For now, Vedral is the best option to start for Rutgers if they are trying to chase bowl eligibility.
Samuel Brown is a huge loss for Rutgers football
Just a couple hours before Saturday’s kickoff, Rutgers football announced that Samuel Brown is out for the season due to the lower body injury suffered late in the previous Rutgers game.
Brown, in his first collegiate start last Saturday, had 101 rushing yards and a touchdown. On Saturday against Minnesota, the entire offense had 50 rushing yards on 28 carries.
Now, this comes with the caveat that Minnesota is an upgrade – a rather significant upgrade – in terms of opposition. But it is clear that Brown’s injury is a huge loss for this program.
The offensive issues go deeper than just whoever is the Rutgers football offensive coordinator
This is the second game under offensive coordinator Nunzio Campanile and while last week’s solid performance from the offense was a nice elixir, it is clear that the issues for this unit are deep.
The season-ending injury to Samuel Brown is a killer as Rutgers lost a promising player who made a huge impact last week. Missing Taj Harris, who left the program following the season opener, was another death knell for a program lacking depth at the skill positions.
And inconsistency at quarterback has plagued Rutgers all season.
All of which points to the fact that whether Campanile or former offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson, Rutgers needs a rather thorough revamp of the offense this offseason.
Adam Korsak is really something
Rutgers football fans only have four more regular season games left to enjoy Korsak, who is simply a tremendous ambassador for the program and might be the best Scarlet Knight to ever suit up for the program. Korsak is dominant.
Two of his five punts at Minnesota landed inside the 20-yard line, with one punt for 77 yards. All total, Korsak had 256 net yards of punting on the afternoon.
The Rutgers football defensive effort
Given the short field they were consistently handed, the effort from the defense on Saturday was not an overall poor one. Yes, the opening drive was disappointing but the defense had some good individual efforts.
Sophomore Desmond Igbinosun finished with 14 tackles and linebacker Deion Jennings, finished with 11 tackles.
Sophomore edge Aaron Lewis had nine tackles including a half-tackle for a loss.
