Rutgers football must fix this issue for its offense to get back on track against UCLA

PISCATAWAY – Rutgers football’s offense took a step back in its last two games, and now the Scarlet Knights need to figure out how to get it back on track ahead of its upcoming game against UCLA.

One of the issues that has afflicted Kirk Ciarrocca’s unit?

Costly drops by receivers, stalling out the offense and eliminating potential big third-down plays.

“There’s a saying in football on defense, when you have a stop on third down, you don’t have to live to see everything that happens,” coach Greg Schiano said Monday to preview Saturday’s game (noon, FS1) at SHI Stadium. “And on offense when you get stopped on third down, you don’t get to live out everything that happens. We did some of those that would’ve been easy, clear first downs and didn’t execute.”

It’s hard to win that way and that was clear in Rutgers’ 42-7 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday – the Scarlet Knights committed at least eight drops against the Badgers.

For reference, Rutgers committed just seven drops in its first five games, according to Pro Football Focus.

Oct 5, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis (16) warms up before a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

So it hasn’t been a season-long issue, but when it does happen it slices the Scarlet Knights’ already thin margin of error considerably.

The loss on Saturday proved that.

Rutgers football QB Athan Kaliakmanis: ‘I could be better too.’

Those drops dented Athan Kaliakmanis’ stat line against Wisconsin – he finished 12-of-32 for 103 yards. He was inaccurate on some of his throws, but the drops didn’t help.

Still, Kaliakmanis refused to blame the receivers.

“We’re a team,” Kaliakmanis said. “I could also be better too. Whether that’s throwing after practice or just…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/rutgers-football-must-fix-issue-080552865.html

Author : App.com | Asbury Park Press

Publish date : 2024-10-16 08:05:52

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.