Posted:
#1
Cue the pitchforks and torches.
The alumni will call for Ash's head if they lose. Write it down now.
Why? Losing to Texas State will ensure a season of unmitigated, painful, indigestion inducing disaster and worse, no progress under Ash. Not progression. Regression. In a major way...
That is why this spot is a must win for Rutgers. They absolutely MUST win all the 'winnable' games in Sept and October because the toughest slate in the country comes on the back end :
@ Wisky
Michigan
Penn State
@ MSU
Throw in Ohio State in the second game just for good measure and yet another loss.
Lose this game and you are 0-2 for certain, then @ Kansas, Buffalo and Indiana. Rutgers always has the potential to let things spiral out of control and go 0-5 or 1-4 and then they head into the meat grinder of the schedule. Lucky them. Never underestimate their incompetence.
On top of this, Rutgers had 8 defensive players dismissed due to a credit card fraud scandal.
The very thing that got Flood fired (arrests, scandal), is now haunting Ash. And he was brought in as the Mr. Clean to right the wrongs of the program under Flood, both on and off the field. And here he stands...with scandal.
That leviathan that is back end of the schedule, the scandal, the lack of progress the first two years under Ash, the 138-0 beatings by OSU and Michigan as a black stain on the program heightens the urgency to not only win games like this, but pour it and and continue to pour it on even after "Mercy!" is screamed to the heavens by your opponent.
So will they win? You ACTUALLY have to ask IF they will win. I believe they will. They have to.
Now will they cover? I believe they will. They have to provide SOMETHING to the fans and alumni to inspire them that there is hope, there is a future for this team and that Ash was not an abomination of a hire.
Does Ash know all this? Your damn right he does and he has to release the hounds on Texas State (a team with weapons that can put points up but has an unconscionably bad D which is our saving grace).
I was waiting for Ash to announce his starting QB before posting this and was praying it was NOT Gio Rescigno. He plays like his cleats have concrete in them. It's true freshman Art Sitkowski and despite his inexperience and the inexperience of this team, Rutgers should have enough here to score and continue to score throughout 4 quarters. If it was Gio, this was a no play. Art was a godsend.
Included in all this that Vegas adjust this line a mere half point after all the suspensions came down: an indicator that they believe this team still has the same ability to blow out Texas State here.
Finally RU has a history of pouring it on these FCS teams (Texas State effectively is one):
2017 Morgan State 65-0
2016 Howard 52-14
2015 Norfolk State 63-13
2014 Howard 38-25
2013 Norfolk State 38-0
In contrast Texas State at -16 is a bargain as those lines were -40, -36, -35, -42 and -41 with AWFUL RU teams. So again Texas State is not an FCS team but masquerades as one at times. There's a difference there, but RU has no other options here. Win by blowout or let the rumblings start. Lose the game and it's off with Ash's head...
Did they pay $1.2 million to a team like Texas State to lose....No way. They can. But they won't on Saturday. Lay the points.
RUTGERS -16 over Texas State
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