First Three Games Positives-

[Knight Shift]

Aaron Breitman is great:






Others:

Rutgers has 3 players in top 10 in tackles for B1G: Powell, Jennings Dixon.

Monangai is 3rd in B1G in Scoring with 30 points

Jai Patel is ranked 3rd in B1G in kicking. He and the MSU kickers are the only 2 kickers 100% from 40+ yards out.

Rutgers Defense is tied for 7th in nation with 10 points per game allowed, third in B1G.

 

[willisneverrana43]

And here comes Michigan.

 

[Knight Shift]

And here comes Michigan.

Who has played nobody and looked flat beating 0-3 East Carolina 30-3, UNLV 35-7 and crappy Bowling Green 31-6.
Blake Corum has 103 fewer rushing yards that Monangai. And their QB has thrown 3 picks.

I was expecting a post like this. Whatever.
Let's just end the party now and go home.
Rutgers fans gonna be Rutgers fans

Sorry for the feel good post on a rainy day and Monday.

Carry on. . . . .

 

[MGSA99]

House money playing Michigan. Ya never know.

 

[RUPete]

It has been a solid start, arguably better than last year's start so fans should enjoy it and try to be optimistic.

 

[willisneverrana43]

Who has played nobody and looked flat beating 0-3 East Carolina 30-3, UNLV 35-7 and crappy Bowling Green 31-6.
Blake Corum has 103 fewer rushing yards that Monangai. And their QB has thrown 3 picks.

I was expecting a post like this. Whatever.
Let's just end the party now and go home.
Rutgers fans gonna be Rutgers fans

Sorry for the feel good post on a rainy day and Monday.

Carry on. . . . .

I hope you're right.

 

[RU848789]

It has been a solid start, arguably better than last year's start so fans should enjoy it and try to be optimistic.

inarguably better than last year's start, IMO - doesn't mean we're going 12-0, but we're better than last year...

 

[bitnez]

inarguably better than last year's start, IMO - doesn't mean we're going 12-0, but we're better than last year...

This. We’re playing cleaner football and the offense now actually looks like it’s “coordinated”. The defense is tackling better and we’ve improved the kicking game. I am curious to see how we play against Michigan. I’m not even thinking win, but solid competitive football for 60 minutes would be a very positive sign.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

We have 12 offensive touchdowns and we haven’t played Wagner yet. Last year 13 offensive TDs (not including 9 vs. Wagner).

We scored 24+ in all 3 games including two 30+ games. That ties the total number of 24+ point games we’ve had against FBS teams over the past 2 seasons. Oh yeah - and in the 24 point game last year one of the TDs was a pick six

Clear progress on offense. Not debatable.

Perhaps the best part is that we still have the Wagner game to work on things. That game couldn’t be scheduled for a better time and I’ll call it now that we’ll have fans who will be unhappy when the play calling in that one includes a heavy dose of short routes. Gavin can benefit most from live snap practice running the short pass routes to work on toning down his speed (for what he needs to focus on - the level of the defense isn’t really that important which is why this game offers a great opportunity for us). Im sure we’ll have some fans complaining when maybe we only win by 40 or so because of this - but Kirk is smart enough to use the game to help us improve most rather than score as many points as possible.

 

[RUPete]

inarguably better than last year's start, IMO - doesn't mean we're going 12-0, but we're better than last year...

Okay, "inarguably." Geez, it was intended as a positive post.

 

[RU848789]

Okay, "inarguably." Geez, it was intended as a positive post.

It wasn't positive enough for either me or @Knight Shift lol...

 

[JRZEER]

House money playing Michigan. Ya never know.

I’m looking forward to a competitive game, I think ru goes there and plays well.

 

[JavaDunk18]

2.5 of the last 3 games vs Michigan have been competitive.. Should have beaten them in 2020 (easy FG missed in OT), 2021 game on road went down to the last possession, & 2022 we were leading at the half. In the 2nd half the RU defense wore down due to lack of offense.
Hopefully we have better/longer offensive drives now.. also predicting a breakaway TD for KM, much like that of Pacheco vs Michigan years ago..

 

[RU Husky]

No false start penalties - that’s incredible
Fewer sacks
Fewer loss yardage plays

 

[Samson1975!!!]

Definitely better but we still cant pass. it's not being negative to point out thus objective truth which will catch up to us. It almost did Saturday till the gane broke open in the 4th. 2.9 yards per pass attempt. Under 100 yards passing and sub 50% completion % how long can the defense, special teams and running game cover this?

 

[Dpgru]

Last week, based on the Massey site, they had three teams, Iowa State, Cincy, and Ok State, who were 20+ favorite who lost. FSU was a 30+ fav and won by only 2. It happens several times every week in college football. Why not us. This team is not like the past few years. There is talent and coaching. We can win this, yes, it is not probable but it is very possible. Go RU.

 

[RedTeamUpstream94]

Definitely better but we still cant pass. it's not being negative to point out thus objective truth which will catch up to us. It almost did Saturday till the gane broke open in the 4th. 2.9 yards per pass attempt. Under 100 yards passing and sub 50% completion % how long can the defense, special teams and running game cover this?

Maybe they’ve been holding the pass attack back in order to surprise Michigan

…a Rutgers fan can dream

 

[Knight Shift]

I hope you're right.

Note I made no predictions. So for the haters of positivity (@rutgersal , I'm not talking about you!! ), don't come back on Saturday if we get steamrolled by Michigan. I will not be surprised with any result on Saturday. In this regard, if Gavin plays a clean game with 1 or fewer turnovers, and we can manage to have 180 plus yards of passing plus the usual run game, we could keep it close or may even win. On the other hand, if we come out flat and Michigan lives up to their ranking, we may be in for a long day. But I will not go negative and start with shitposts about "same old Rutgers."

The above is not directed at you. I know from the Mets threads that you are a take it in stride and take the long view kind of fan.

 

[MADHAT1]

And here comes Michigan.

let others enjoy the moment

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Definitely better but we still cant pass. it's not being negative to point out thus objective truth which will catch up to us. It almost did Saturday till the gane broke open in the 4th. 2.9 yards per pass attempt. Under 100 yards passing and sub 50% completion % how long can the defense, special teams and running game cover this?

This is grossly exaggerated. First of all, when you pass less, you accumulate less yards. That’s simple math. Among FBS teams that have played 3 games, we’ve attempted less passes than all but 6 teams. 3 of those teams are the military academies who don’t scheme pass plays at all. The other 3 teams combined for 10 interceptions which is probably why they scaled back passing - each lost several games each by big margins. We scaled back passing because we were winning and went on to clear a MOV of 17+ in all games.

As for our completion percentage - that needs to improve, but accuracy hasn’t been nearly as big of a problem as the numbers indicate. Most QBs pad the completion metric with lateral passes that may or may not result in positive yardage (extension of run game). If you strip out those types of passes (which we rarely throw), Gavin’s numbers relative to other QBs wouldn’t look as bad.

Now - that said - there’s no denying we’ve avoided the short routes (laterals, screen plays, etc.) like the plague outside of a few predesigned set plays where Gavin knew exactly where the ball was going (most went for big plays to RB). The line drive throw to Kyle gave a hint as to why. This is obviously an area Gavin still needs to work on. That probably doesn’t happen in prep for Michigan but you can bet it will be a focus the following 2 weeks.

 

[Knight Shift]

Look out PSU.

 

[wisr01]

It wasn't positive enough for either me or @Knight Shift lol...

Or me!!!!!!

 

[Ru-baby]

House money playing Michigan

That should be the take on an enjoyable one to look forward to!

 

[mildone_rivals]

It's been a great start, no doubt. The team passed the first 3 tests in fine fashion. There's no arguing that there's been a lot of progress over last season. We've put up good stats against 3 teams that might have caused a real struggle over most of the years since joining the Big Ten.

First really tough test coming up this Saturday. If we beat UM, I'll abandon my traditional early-season reserve and switch on the optimism for the season. But for now, I'm remaining in wait and see mode.

 

[Knight Shift]

 

[Ru-baby]

f we beat UM, I'll abandon my traditional early-season reserve and switch on the optimism for the season.

Think it's great to be positive but beating the number 2 team in the nation is quite a high standard needed to be positive, but does represent a certain % of the fanbase.

I'm sure even with a win there will be some who will declare they will be positive only if we beat Ohio State....and then some who will also require those two wins and a win against USC in future seasons before

 

[Shelby65]

This is grossly exaggerated. First of all, when you pass less, you accumulate less yards. That’s simple math. Among FBS teams that have played 3 games, we’ve attempted less passes than all but 6 teams. 3 of those teams are the military academies who don’t scheme pass plays at all. The other 3 teams combined for 10 interceptions which is probably why they scaled back passing - each lost several games each by big margins. We scaled back passing because we were winning and went on to clear a MOV of 17+ in all games.

As for our completion percentage - that needs to improve, but accuracy hasn’t been nearly as big of a problem as the numbers indicate. Most QBs pad the completion metric with lateral passes that may or may not result in positive yardage (extension of run game). If you strip out those types of passes (which we rarely throw), Gavin’s numbers relative to other QBs wouldn’t look as bad.

Now - that said - there’s no denying we’ve avoided the short routes (laterals, screen plays, etc.) like the plague outside of a few predesigned set plays where Gavin knew exactly where the ball was going (most went for big plays to RB). The line drive throw to Kyle gave a hint as to why. This is obviously an area Gavin still needs to work on. That probably doesn’t happen in prep for Michigan but you can bet it will be a focus the following 2 weeks.

You missed the ‘per pass attempt’ stat which doesn’t relate to # of passes. It suggests extreme conservative playcalling and inaccuracy.

Carry on…

 

[Samson1975!!!]

2.9 yards per attempt. 16 passes for 40 ish yards.

 

[wisr01]

You missed the ‘per pass attempt’ stat which doesn’t relate to # of passes. It suggests extreme conservative playcalling and inaccuracy.

Carry on…

Or 3 drops and two incorrect routes

 

[Samson1975!!!]

Running game looks amazing and the blocking is much improved. There are things to be excited about. It just seems like the passing gane problems are going to potentially cause real issues as the season progresses.

 

[mildone_rivals]

Think it's great to be positive but beating the number 2 team in the nation is quite a high standard needed to be positive, but does represent a certain % of the fanbase.

I'm sure even with a win there will be some who will declare they will be positive only if we beat Ohio State....and then some who will also require those two wins and a win against USC in future seasons before

I'm not saying I expect to win. I don't, although I hope we do like everyone else.

I'm just saying, if we do defy the odds and beat them, then I'll abandon my traditional reserved approach to forming win/loss expectations for the season and I'll be pretty optimistic about 6+ wins instead of neither optimistic nor pessimistic, which is where I'm at now. I usually wait for the first 6 games to be played before forming any real expectations.

 

[goru7]

Look out PSU.

All 3 are future Pros . Powell was all over the field on Saturday. His being on the tight end or running back on a quick swing pass in a NY minute is the stuff NFL scouts love to see. Jennings was doing that well early but not so much last week. Toure is so multi dimensional as he can be an edge rusher , clog up the running backs up the middle and cover the receivers coming over the middle. We could have the best linebackers as a group in the country.

 

[Shelby65]

Or 3 drops and two incorrect routes

yes, in theory. the three drops I remember were thrown too hard to the RB two yards downfield (2) and one downfield pass behind the WR.

There’s no excusing 46 yards passing with 23 coming on one play.

UM will crowd the box like VT did but with more talent. We will find out if the offense has anything more than we’ve seen so far.

 

[MADHAT1]

2.9 yards per attempt. 16 passes for 40 ish yards.

RU won with his legs doing better than his arm.
Seize the day, whether by air or ground, making sure you win
even if all aspects of your game aren't doing as well as should be expected
We can find fault in some parts of the game , but also can enjoy the win
3-0 :WooHoo:

 

[Rutgers Chris]

No disrespect to him personally and all he’s done for the team when asked…but a big positive for me is we’ve gone for it on multiple 3rd and 4th and short situations and not once did our tight end carry the ball.

 

[yesrutgers01]

All 3 are future Pros . Powell was all over the field on Saturday. His being on the tight end or running back on a quick swing pass in a NY minute is the stuff NFL scouts love to see. Jennings was doing that well early but not so much last week. Toure is so multi dimensional as he can be an edge rusher , clog up the running backs up the middle and cover the receivers coming over the middle. We could have the best linebackers as a group in the country.

The D may have 8+ potential NFL'res

 

[RUPete]

No disrespect to him personally and all he’s done for the team when asked…but a big positive for me is we’ve gone for it on multiple 3rd and 4th and short situations and not once did our tight end carry the ball.

Good point. But sometimes, I felt that play started too deep in the backfield given the distance needed.

 

[Scarlet16e2]

The truth is that even if we haven't completed as many passes as we would all like, the opposing defenses still have to account for that possibility. They cant simply stack the box on all downs.
Also, as it happens, stacking the box hasn't yet stopped our running game anyway.

My favorite play this week was the GW rushing touchdown run where he faked the handoff to KM, who proceeded to lead the way blocking right up the middle. Beautifully executed.

 

[Samson1975!!!]

It hasn't stopped our run gane because we were more talented. What happens when the talent variable is equal to or less than that of the opponent?

 

[MADHAT1]

It hasn't stopped our run gane because we were more talented. What happens when the talent variable is equal to or less than that of the opponent?

step up or be shut down> simple as that
Rutgers is 3-0 and has done what's needed to win so far.
I expect some loses on the horizon but won't try to act like wins should be ruled out

But understand, for some , posting on this board,who say they are RU fans:
never is heard an encouraging word and the clouds are painted gray all day .