Chris Ash postgame presser after 30-0 loss to Iowa

It was a rough afternoon for the Rutgers football team, who lost to no. 20/19 Iowa by the score of 30-0 on the road in the Big Ten opener for both programs. You can read David Anderson’ instant reaction and full game recap here and here. Not much went right in the game, as the Scarlet Knights were outgained 438 to 125 in total yards, committed 3 turnovers and seven penalties. The Hawkeyes scored a 53 yard touchdown on the opening drive and although Rutgers kept it within one score midway through the second quarter, things unraveled soon thereafter.

Head coach Chris Ash addressed the media after the game. One important bit of news was Ash stating that starting quarterback McLane Carter didn’t return after halftime due to suffering an injury on the interception he threw on his last play of the day. Ash went on to discuss his team’s performance and where he felt the game went wrong.

Rutgers is on a bye next week before hosting Boston College on Saturday, September 21st. They’ll need the next two weeks to recover from this loss and hopefully come out better prepared against their former Big East foe in the second non-conference game of the season.

You can watch the video of the press conference here, followed by some key quotes transcribed as well.

Opening Statement: First, give all the credit to Iowa, they played a really good football game. Played well up front on both sides of the ball, controlled the line of scrimmage today. Winning in this league is hard, it’s difficult, you have to be able to run the ball, and stop the run to win. To score points, you have to be able to throw the ball and get some explosive plays”

On the matchup against Iowa: ”We give all the credit to Iowa, they played exceptionally well out there” ”We knew it was going to be a challenge, you know they are very strong up front and they play very well here at home but I thought we would have some opportunities to make some more plays and get some more yards, and earn more points.” ”They had 24 more plays that they ran more than us. We didn’t fit a couple things right”

On Rutgers’s Performance: ”I thought we got off to a pretty good start, especially defensively, we were doing a pretty good job hanging in there and stopping the run. We had given up a couple explosive pass plays, they kind of got us down there” ”But proud of our players, nobody flinched, nobody quit. They really believe in what we are doing and how we’re doing it. We will get back to work, we have a bye week this next week, we will get rested up and take a look at film and see where we have to improve some things” ”This game is not going to define our football team or season. I thought the attitude, obviously they are disappointed, but the attitude overall was very high and positive, and they are hungry to get back to work and continue to try improving as we move forward”

Question about McLane Injury: ”Yea, I have no comment about what it was, but yes he suffered an injury”