The Monday Morning Kickoff
Rutgers dropped its second contest of the season on Saturday as the Scarlet Knights lost 16-13 to Eastern Michigan. One of the positives in the loss was a decent showing by the defense, although the offensive woes remain.
"Hats off to Eastern Michigan,” said starting defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph. “They came out ready to play. They played a great game. They had a plan and they stuck to it. I just think we all could've played better on both sides. It's not one side of the ball or one person. We're a team. We win together and lose together, so as a whole, we all could have played better."
Joseph that was part of a defensive line that was short a few players as Jon Bateky and Jimmy Hogan were out with an injuries while Eric Wiafe was not at the game.
However, the defense still put Rutgers in a position to win, but it was the offense that could not finish.
“We just didn't make some plays that were there,” head coach Chris Ash said during his post-game press conference. “I don't want to overcomplicate it, oversimplify it. However, you want to look at it, we need to play better. We will play better but we need to play better, win football games and that's on me. I've got to get the football team ready and our coaching staff we have to get the football team ready to make those plays that are out there.”
Ash will take to the podium again today at 11:45 p.m. and he will be followed by defensive coordinator Jay Niemann and offensive coordinator Jerry Kill.
Looking ahead, Rutgers will face Morgan State this week in a game that is likely to land the Scarlet Knights their first win since Sept 17th of last year. Morgan State is 0-2 and has not scored a point after two shutout losses to open the season.
"You just have to learn from the film and come back to work tomorrow. I know the guys will be ready to do that,” starting left guard Dorian Miller said following the EMU loss. “That's the beautiful thing about sports. You get a chance to do it again. You get another game, you get another practice, you get another rep. I think guys have played long enough to understand that.”
Scarlet Nation will be on hand at The Hale Center today with Live updates from the coaches’ press conference and more.
