Rutgers' Issues Are Two-fold

So, two weeks ago when Louisville lost to UCF, that put Rutgers right back into the race to win the AAC. But as we all know, when Rutgers can control its own destiny is when they are at their worst. Remember what happened last year? We had the Big East in our grasp and we lost two crucial games to Pitt and Louisville, thus ending our chances to win the Big East and go to our first ever BCS bowl. It happened once again with the humiliating loss to Houston last week. We're now behind the 8-ball once again thanks to Gary Nova. How many times is he going screw us? Almost every time he has an opportunity to be great, put his demons behind him, and take the next step in becoming a great quarterback, he falls flat on his face and drags the entire team down with him. Quite frankly, its not fair to his teammates. We have guys all over this team who have NFL potential. It's not like Nova doesn't have any weapons to help him succeed. Our offensive line gives him the protection he needs, we have a very skilled group of receivers, our running game is one of the best in the league, and our defense (last week notwithstanding) keeps us in games when the offense is struggling. It's gotten to the point where he has become THE reason we're losing football games.

However, reports have surfaced that head coach Kyle Flood is going to start giving Chas Dodd first team reps in practice. Because we all know how well that works for a head-case quarterback (see also: the circus known as the New York Jets before this year). For me, now another issue begins to creep into the back of my mind. Can Rutgers win anything substantial with Kyle Flood at the helm? I used to think this was solely a Gary Nova issue. Now, I'm not so sure. I understand that the players on the team love Flood, and that's great. The problem is that he's not getting the job done as a play-caller when it matters the most. Runs and three-yard passing plays when we have seven or more yards on third down, not targeting Brandon Coleman enough, and playing not to lose as opposed to playing to win. That last one burns me so much! I think the last time Rutgers stepped on a team's throat was against Louisville in 2008 when we won 63-14. We'll get a lead, then Flood decides to go conservative with the offense. I've seen him do this in the second quarter sometimes! It's getting to the point where I no longer think we'll be able to succeed in the Big Ten with Kyle Flood as our head coach. He's a great guy, but I don't know if he is the coach we need to take that next step. I think it's time for Rutgers to go out and get a big-name coach for this team so we can finally take next step as a program.

Rutgers Does it Again

Last night was a disappointment for Rutgers. We could have beaten Louisville. It was a typical Rutgers loss - the defense did every thing they could to win the game while the offense was doing everything they could to blow it. This time, the offense prevailed. Louisville was doing everything they could to gift-wrap us the game. They kept turning the ball over and getting stopped by the Rutgers defense. Yet, when we would get the ball, we would either turn the ball back over to Lousiville, or we wouldn't be able to move the ball at all on Louisville. Gary Nova fumbled the first snap of the game, and it was an omen of things to come. He threw FIVE interceptions. You can't win a football game if you throw five picks, I don't care how good your defense is. After a while, your defense has spent so much time on the field that they just can't keep up. We were within seven points, but we couldn't close the deal. I'm not shocked, but there are a few things that irked me about the fan reactions once the game ended.

1. The Dave Milewski fumble recovery

I can't believe how many people made a huge deal about Milewski not scooping up the ball and running the ball in for a touchdown. Would it have been nice? Absolutely! Are we going to really say that Dave Milewski cost us a chance to win this football game? Give me a break! First of all, if your number is 90 or above, you have every right to just fall on the football. How many times have you seen a player try to scoop up a fumble, but end up booting around and having the other team recovering. Had Milewski tried to scoop it up and failed, and Louisville recovered, the same people saying he should have ran with it would have said that Milewski should have just fallen on it. Come on, people! Think about what you say before you say it. Speaking of that...

2. Gary Nova

Let me set the record straight, I hate Gary Nova. He cost us our season last year, and he's the main reason we lost last night's game. Watching him play quarterback in torturous at times. He's inaccurate, a poor decision-maker, and he can't read defenses. That all being said, CHAS DODD IS NOT THE ANSWER! It's six of one, a half-dozen of another! Dodd can't help us win anymore than Nova can. Don't talk to me about him not getting first team reps either. It's like going to the driving range with a bad swing and no guidance. You just keep repeating bad habits until they become almost irreversible. Reps won't either of these guys because they are just that bad. I don't know if we have an answer this year. One thing is for certain, Chas Dodd is not going to help us.

3. Fan expectations

Some Rutgers fans say that you should just be happy with a 8- or 9-win season and a bowl game that's no on New Year's Day. For the next few years in the Big Ten, I agree that we should temper our expectations because we're going to get demolished by the most of conference. But, why should I be happy with only 8 wins? Because I'm a Rutgers fan? Sorry, I'm not the kind of fan that "settles." I expect this team in a crappy conference to win 10 games and go to a better than average bowl game. I hate that "I'm a Rutgers fan, so I know that my team will fall short of expectations so I'm going to be happy with mediocrity" mentality. Maybe if the fans change their attitude, the team might be able to handle controlling its own destiny. Whenever we have control of our destiny, we always shoot ourselves in the foot no matter who is on the team. Part of that has to be the players feeding off the fans. We don't think we can do it and we think that we'll blow it if given the chance. I'm not going to apologize for actually believing this team can be something special.