Rutgers traveled to Illinois looking for a second-straight Big Ten victory.
Greg Schiano needs to look outside his comfort zone for ideas on how to fix a struggling defense. Greg Schiano now prowls the sideline with a laminated call sheet hovering in front of his face, a clear sign he has fully taken control of a brokenThe Scarlet Knights still fail at defensive fundamentals like tackling and setting the edge, still can’t contain a quarterback with any mobility whatsoever, still make the kind of inexcusable mistakes that leave you shaking your head in disbelief week after week.
They are still among the Big Ten’s worst defenses in most statistical categories, a regression that is the biggest reason why this program — sitting at 4-5 afteron Saturday afternoon with top-ranked Ohio State looming on the schedule — likely will take a step back and fail to reach a bowl game. It seems silly to point out any one sequence at this point given the overall struggles, but one Illinois drive in the third quarter stands out. Rutgers had a chance to get the Illini off the field on a pair of fourth-down plays and at least keep hope alive for a miracle comeback. Both times, the Scarlet Knights jumped offsides — and, on the first play, they were flagged for pass interference, too. Where is the discipline? Where are the fundamentals? Where is the coaching? Not that it mattered. Illinois easily converted both times, including a Luke Altmyer pass to a wide open receiver, Colin Dixon, in the end zone. The Illini had a four-touchdown lead at that point, and at least it was early enough in the afternoon so fans could go outside rake the leaves. They’ll have plenty of time to take down the Halloween decorations and prepare for Thanksgiving, too. “As a team, we didn’t play well enough. As a coaching staff, we didn’t coach well enough,” Schiano said. “When you put those two things together …"against a bad Purdue team a week ago vanished quickly in Champaign, but let’s be real, the attention already had shifted to what Schiano can do going forward to fix this team .about the needed infusion of name, image and likeness cash ad nauseam — the race to fill the piggy bank is happening quietly. We are not willfully naive to what is happening around the country. If Rutgers had more money for players, it would have a better defense.But the additional resources alone won’t solve this program’s problems, and that starts with Schiano. He needs to surround himself with better coaches. He needs to stop leaning on people from his past — the same rotating cast of assistants in his comfort zone — and hire someone from outside the Rutgers family to fix this defense. He needs an infusion of new ideas. Hiring retread Robb Smith as co-defensive coordinator this offseason after a protracted search was a desperation move all about finding someone who could run Schiano’s system. It has, predictably, leftrunning it, stubbornly trying to do two jobs at a time when the most successful college football coaches are CEOs.“We’re in the middle of the season,” Schiano said when asked about how these results will impact the perception of the program. “When you start letting the future run your decision making — they’ll be a time to sit down and do that and, at that time, I’ll be anxious to do that. But right now is not that time."— that jumped out. Schiano must know that an organizational shakeup is a must this offseason, and it can’t just be moving on from Smith for a third time. Look: As hard as it is to believe, the Scarlet Knights can still salvage something from this season. Maryland, the next opponent, is 4-3 with its students chanting to fire Mike Locksley during is game against No. 2 Indiana this weekend. Penn State is 3-5 and riding a five-game losing streak with the high-powered Hoosiers up next, so it is possible that the Nittany Lions will be completely checked out in the season finale. A win over hated Penn State to steal a trip to the Bronx for the holidays would certainly take plenty of the sting off this season. It’s just hard to imagine that happening with a defense that, week after week, is getting exposed by any decent opponent. Schiano can’t solve that by grabbing the laminated call sheet and running the defensive meetings. He needs to leave his comfort zone and make meaningful changes in this offseason. Will he?Steve Politi is the sports columnist for NJ Advance Media. He has won top honors from the Associated Press Sports Editors in columns , long feature and investigations (with Matt Stanmyre...If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
EA Sports' 'College Football 26' Simulation Predicts Illinois vs. RutgersCan Illinois bounce back and punch its bowl ticket against Rutgers? We fired up the Xbox to find out in our Week 10 sim.
Read more »
How To Watch Rutgers Football At IllinoisRutgers takes on Illinois in a Big Ten showdown this Saturday at noon ET.
Read more »
Week 10 College Football Best Bets: Jake Butt's Top Picks for Rutgers vs Illinois & MoreJake Butt shares his top Week 10 NCAAF picks for Rutgers vs. Illinois, while also weighing in on Brian Kelly's firing and Michigan's playoff hopes.
Read more »
How to Watch Illinois Football vs. Rutgers in Week 10The Illini are in a defensive freefall, but do the Scarlet Knights have enough pop to keep pace with Luke Altmyer and Illinois' offense?
Read more »
Staff Picks: Who Wins Illinois Football vs. Rutgers?The Illini (5-3) are down, but the Scarlet Knights (4-4) offer them a chance to get upright again. Our Illinois on SI staff predicts whether they will.
Read more »
Rutgers down multiple starters vs. Illinois, but could get star back from injuryRutgers (4-4, 1-4) faces Illinois (5-3, 2-3) in Champaign on Saturday.
Read more »