Weeks before the start of the 2025 season, in the midst of training camp, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano warned that his team’s defense was a “work in progress.”
Three months later, there was still a lot to fix.
The Scarlet Knights had a disastrous season on defense, which was capitalized during a gut-wrenching 40-36 loss to Penn State on Saturday that ended their season.
Rutgers gave up 509 total yards and 36 points on 10 defensive drives, conceding 9.4 yards per play as the Nittany Lions racked up five plays of 40-plus yards. The visitors rushed for 300 yards and three touchdowns on three carries (9.1 yards per carry), getting whatever they wanted on the ground.
“Overall, we didn’t stop the run,” Schiano said. “It’s hard to win football games what you can’t stop the run, and yet, there were times we did. There were times that the guys executed it perfectly. It’s frustrating. It’s been frustrating all year. Just got to get it fixed.”
The Scarlet Knights gave up more gains of 50-plus yards than any team this season (15), the most yards per play in the country by a wide margin (7.6) and conceded at least 30 points in two-thirds of their 12 games.
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Big Ten football: Penn State at Rutgers
Midway through the season, after an embarrassing 56-10 loss to Oregon at home, Schiano took over the defense from coordinator Robb Smith, who is in the first year of his third stint under Schiano at Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights were able to win two of their final five games against Purdue and Maryland, but it was not enough to reach a bowl game. They nearly did punched their ticket against Penn State, but the defense could not make enough stops to supplement a strong game from the offense.
“All season long, that’s been something that has kept us from winning as many games as we possibly could,” Schiano said. “And somewhere in that time, I tried to get more involved, and I did. Sometimes it helped. Sometimes I’m not sure it did anything.”
Will the frustrating season lead to changes in the coaching staff?
“Now is not the time,” Schiano said when asked.
Schiano did say that there was “a lot” that went wrong for the unit, from losing starting defensive tackle Doug Blue-Eli and linebacker Moses Walker for the season early on. And he said his job is to fix it.
“Some years, you just don’t have it on one side of the ball or the other. This year we certainly didn’t have it (defensively) when you look at how we performed,” Schiano said. “Certainly, it is my job to make sure we do have it because if we had it both this year, we’re competing for some very exciting stuff. So it definitely feels like a bit of a missed opportunity.”