They showed up early. They showed up in scarlet.
They showed up ready to create a big-time college football atmosphere at SHI Stadium for this rare primetime closeup, and maybe if they allowed themselves to dream a little bit, they showed up believing their enthusiasm could help Rutgers improve to 4-0 with a victory over a flawed Iowa team.
And then, the game started.
And then, all that energy and optimism that the 53,117 fans brought with them to Piscataway disappeared as this Rutgers team threw away — quite literally — an opportunity to make a statement that it is ready to compete in the Big Ten this season.
“We’re just not quite ready to (perform) in that environment, as when you’re ready, you do it,” Greg Schiano said after his Scarlet Knights fell to the Hawkeyes. “We just weren’t able to quite execute every job to the point where we put it together.”
Schiano called the 27-10 loss “a growth process for everybody — fans included.” But let’s be clear: The fans, often criticized for arriving late and giving up too soon, weren’t the problem here. It was an offense that handed Iowa two touchdowns in the first half with turnovers and, despite a spirited second-half effort, wasn’t nearly good enough to recover.
The result was the 20th straight Big Ten home loss for the Scarlet Knights dating back a Nov. 4, 2017 victory over Maryland. Schiano bristled a bit when asked about that streak at a press conference last week, and perhaps understandably so. It predates him by two full seasons, after all, and his team has won five Big Ten games in his first two seasons.
Home. Away. They count the same, right?
Try telling that to the paying customers. Rutgers fans haven’t witnessed a home victory over a conference team in 1,786 days and counting. They’ve been told, again and again, that this program is about to turn the corner. They been told, again and again, that they can make a difference if they get in their seats early and wear red (or black or whatever).
And then, they go home unhappy.
“I do want the fans to know, like I said when I took the job, we don’t need you when we’re Top-10, right?” Schiano said. “Then everybody wants to be here. They are part of building this just like we are, and I believe that our fans are awesome, and they are going to stick by us and they are going to get better, and they are going to see a lot of good football.”
They did not see good football on Saturday night.
Rutgers had a 3-0 lead when quarterback Evan Simon, with an Iowa defensive lineman in his face, threw a pass that Hawkeyes linebacker Cooper DeJean picked off and returned 44 yards for a touchdown. It was one of two defensive scores that Iowa scored in the first half, creating a deficit that no fan who has paid attention could have expected this team to overcome.
It isn’t fair to blame Simon for the offense’s struggles. He is a third-string quarterback forced to throw 49 passes because of injuries to starter Noah Vedral and freshman Gavin Wimsatt left him as the only scholarship quarterback available. Rutgers is no closer to knowing who the long-term answer is at quarterback than it was when Schiano was rehired in December 2019, and that’s a problem.
“Losing is never okay, especially in a program like this,” Simon said. “We set the standard really high and it’s unacceptable.”
College football has never been more unpredictable. Middle Tennessee shocked Miami on Saturday in Coral Gables. Kansas State beat Oklahoma in Norman. Appalachian State stunned Texas A&M a couple weeks ago, the same day that Marshall knocked off Notre Dame. Each week, it seems, a half dozen surprising results scroll across the bottom of our TV screens.
Rutgers, meanwhile, is waiting for its turn. Fans understand that Schiano inherited a dumpster fire and has steadily improved the roster, but they are forgiven for wondering when they’ll get a moment to float out of SHI Stadium after a huge upset.
They are forgiven if they’re tired of being told that they are part of the “growth process” when they’re really just growing old.
Rutgers has four home games remaining: Oct. 7 vs. Nebraska, Oct. 22 vs. Indiana, Nov. 5 vs. Michigan and Nov. 19 vs. Penn State. No one expects the Scarlet Knights to march into Columbus next weekend and stun Ohio State, but it’s not too much to expect this team to compete against everyone else.
The crowd showed up on Saturday night.
The team? Not so much.
MORE FROM STEVE POLITI:
Punting Picasso: How Adam Korsak became a Rutgers star
How an ex-Rutgers athlete ended up charged with murder in Tijuana
The search for Luther Wright, once N.J.’s greatest hoops talent
Masters: The bathroom secrets of Augusta National
Why tiny Saint Peter’s is the best Cinderella in March Madness history
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Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com.
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