Rutgers Head Coach Chris Ash Adamant Better Days Are Ahead After Penn State Loss

It was a painful night anyway you shook it for Rutgers, as Penn State shutout the Scarlet Knights on senior night 39-0. After keeping things close in the first half and down 9-0 at the break, the wheels came off after a blocked punt on Rutgers opening drive of the second half. The offense finished with a pitiful 87 total yards and just 5 first downs. Another major problem was that Rutgers was just 1 for 14 in 3rd down conversion attempts. It was ugly anyway you shook it.

Head coach Chris Ash didn’t try to sugarcoat the loss and was blunt in his assessment of the offense. I would have liked if he was asked about why Robert Martin and Josh Hicks only received 4 carries combined in the game, but hopefully that is addressed at Monday’s press conference.

Ash showed resolve in his message that the vision for the rebuild of this program remains the same, despite the many blowout losses the team has experienced this season. He said the focus is on developing the younger players and in improving recruiting. Ash was also remorseful that the seniors went out the way they did in their last home game.

I understand this season has made it easy for the doubters to say the future is not bright, but rebuilds take a lot of time. Take a look at our profile on all of the great coaches that struggled in their first season at new programs here. Rutgers was much farther behind than most of us suspected and the results of that have played out this season, proving to be a harsh wake up call. That doesn’t mean we should lose faith in Ash or his plan and the process the program is currently undergoing. I’ve been preaching patience since the summer, it takes time.

It was a brief press conference, concluding a very long night for everyone involved or who supports Rutgers Football. Watch the full presser here.