Rutgers football future after Rate Bowl defeat: What happens next?

PHOENIX — They walked quietly back to the locker room in the bowels of Chase Field, some with stunned expressions on their faces. Members of the Rutgers football team left frustrated and disappointed after a Rate Bowl victory eluded them.

A 17-point lead in the second half, only for Kansas State to mount a comeback that ended in a 44-41 win for the Wildcats – a loss that will haunt Rutgers for a while.

The Scarlet Knights defense struggled. An offense that was virtually unstoppable in the first half stagnated in the second.

Mistake. Misplays. Mistake.

They piled up.

So instead of celebrating a bowl victory, Rutgers left the field and plunged into what comes next.

This game offered both promising and troubling insights.

Because even though the offense struggled to move the ball after halftime, it clearly has potential. However, the defense faces questions, the biggest of which centers on who exactly will lead them as coach Greg Schiano searches for a new defensive coordinator to replace Joe Harasymiak.

“Losing Joe Harasymiak certainly wasn’t a good thing for us,” Schiano said. “Everyone worked really hard to try to make it work. I’m not going to rush to hire someone to do this just for the bowl game. We will find the right man for the future here. We will.”

Rutgers needs it.

Rutgers Football’s defense faces questions about its future

The Scarlet Knights’ performance on Thursday was underwhelming – even though Kansas State’s offense is a solid unit.

The Wildcats had 542 yards of total offense. They had 347 rushing yards, 196 of which came from running back Dylan Edwards. They made one big play after another in the second half, especially to make the comeback happen.

Perhaps nothing reflected that more than Edwards, who scored on a 65-yard run on the first play of a third-quarter drive that cut Rutgers’ 17-point lead.

The Scarlet Knights defense will lose key pieces including linebacker Tyreem Powell, defensive end Aaron Lewis, defensive tackle Kyonte Hamilton, cornerback Robert Longerbeam and safety Flip Dixon.

There is talent returning – including linebacker Dariel Djabome and safety Kaj Sanders – but much of that talent is relatively inexperienced and unproven.

Overcoming this will be part of the new coordinator’s challenge, and along with Schiano, he will need to fill gaps in several areas through transfer portal additions.

Defensive performance has been subpar for much of this season, but injuries have undoubtedly played a big part in that. They piled up in a way Schiano had never seen in his coaching career. Harasymiak rebuilt the unity during the team’s second bye week and that helped the team finish the regular season 3-1, helping the Scarlet Knights secure that trip to Arizona.

“I wish I could have done a better job, I wish we all could have done a better job,” Schiano said. “But here too we did everything we could, but came up a little short.”

Rutgers’ offense shows potential to build on

Offensively, Rutgers showed promise and potential.

The unit this season was the best the Scarlet Knights have had in years.

Was it always perfect? Absolutely not. But it was largely productive, as quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis made sustained progress.

Rutgers scored at least 30 points in its last four games and at least 40 points in its last two, something it hadn’t done against consecutive FBS opponents since 2005.

The Scarlet Knights averaged 28.9 points per game, their highest since an average of 29.0 in 2008.

MOREThe headset debacle adds to the Rutgers football offense’s second-half woes in the Rate Bowl

Star running back Kyle Monangai opted out of the Rate Bowl to avoid injury risks as he heads into the NFL draft process, but true freshman Antwan Raymond made it through with 113 yards and three touchdowns.

Sophomore receiver Ian Strong caught five passes for 105 yards. True freshman wideout KJ Duff had 58 yards.

The Scarlet Knights have other promising receivers, including freshman Benjamin Black. They have a vastly improved offensive line and bring in more weapons like Florida Atlantic transfer running back CJ Campbell Jr. and North Texas transfer receiver DT Sheffield.

Wide receiver Christian Dremel has experienced a lot in his six seasons at Rutgers, including developing an offense that was powerless not long ago.

“It just shows growth,” Dremel said. “This offense is only going to get better. A lot of people come back. A great quarterback is coming back. I’m looking forward to seeing them because I feel like the last two years we’ve been able to lay the foundation and this year towards the end we were able to see it. I think the sky is the limit. There’s still more meat on the bone.”

With Rutgers’ 2024 season over, its future begins now.

There are questions that need to be answered defensively and potential to build on offensively.

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