Gerry DiNardo reacts to Rutgers win: ‘Greg Schiano just gets it’
What a difference a week makes for Rutgers football.
Last week, the mood around the Scarlet Knights march through the season was seemingly a funeral procession following a brutal home loss to Wisconsin, a game where Rutgers got dominated in every phase of the game. But following Saturday’s 38-3 win at Indiana, Rutgers is seemingly buoyant again.
Their second Big Ten win of the season has the program headed in the right direction and needing one win from their final two games to be bowl eligible.
“Pat Hobbs scheduling those three non-conference games – the athletic director- let Greg be 3-0, and then Rutgers loses to Northwestern, which was a matchup opponent, but they beat Illinois and they beat Indiana,” analyst Gerry DiNardo said on the Big Ten Network after the game.
(Check out the best photos from Rutgers big win on Saturday at Indiana)
“I mean, Greg Schiano just gets it. He knows the games that you put all your energy, all your emotions into and they play hard against the matchup opponents.”
Rutgers has not made a bowl game since 2014, their first season in the Big Ten.
DiNardo, a former head coach with stops at LSU and Indiana on his resume, was joined by Howard Griffith, a former Illinois standout who spent over a decade in the NFL, in praising the direction of the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers improved to 5-5 (2-5 Big Ten) on the season with the win. They’ve won two of their last three Big Ten games after starting conference play with four straight losses.
“It is a big time and you heard the coach talk about I mentioned you’re going to when you’re building there are going to be some ups and downs. This was one of those games that they should be able to go out and win and they went out and did it dramatically,” Griffith said.
“And this really continues to show that the program is headed in the right direction.”
(Nittany Lions Wire: Even after loss to Michigan, Sean Clifford deserves respect)
On Saturday, Rutgers will face Penn State (6-4, 3-4 Big Ten) at Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions had a tough and perhaps unfortunate 21-17 loss at home on Saturday to a Michigan side that was ranked sixth in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.
