Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano expressed disappointment following his team’s loss to No. 8 Oregon, citing the opponent’s strong performance and his own responsibility as head coach.
“We ran into a buzzsaw tonight. Not acceptable by our team. I’ve got a lot that I’ve got to think about, a lot that I’ve got to do. As the head coach of this program, it’s my responsibility and very disappointed. Very good football team, Oregon, there’s no doubt about it. They played with a heck of an edge. We didn’t,” Schiano said in his opening statement after the game.
When asked about Oregon’s 750 total yards and 415 rushing yards against Rutgers’ defense, Schiano responded: “‘Embarrassed’ is a tough word. Embarrassed would be if you didn’t have guys and players and coaches that are working their tail off. I’m very disappointed in those numbers. I would agree with you, 750 is a huge number, one that I’ve never — I can’t say I’ve never seen it, but I don’t remember it ever.”
Schiano also addressed the fan base after the defeat: “When you apologize for something, that means you didn’t do the very best we could. We did the very best we could. It wasn’t what was needed but that — it wasn’t where I look back at the week and say, what didn’t we do… Sometimes this happens. 750, that doesn’t happen. We’ve got to figure that out.”
On potential changes to fix defensive struggles going forward he added: “Like I said, 40 minutes after the game is not the time to make critical decisions… But you’ve really got to think.”
Schiano maintained there was no lack of effort from his players despite being outperformed: “Well, I’ll tell you, if you just watch the way they played till the very end, I mean, there’s no unraveling… It’s just not at that level.” He noted differences in physicality compared to previous games but credited Oregon as one of “the probably top five teams in America talent-wise.”
Addressing offensive issues including turnovers and slow starts for quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis and his offensive line’s output of 208 yards rushing—lower than earlier season performances—Schiano said these matters would be reviewed before next week’s matchup.
He further stated: “I’m a believer you are what your record says you are… Right now we are a 3-4 football team.” He emphasized focusing on each week individually as its own “season.”
Regarding player injuries such as Ian’s absence in the second half: “You know I’m not going to talk about injuries. But he had something that we felt was significant enough not to go back.”
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning praised both teams after securing victory on Rutgers’ home field.
“I was expecting our players to play with an edge,” Lanning said about his team’s preparation and execution.
Lanning complimented freshman quarterback Dante Moore’s performance: “He was out there playing with joy… But overall, I thought he executed the plan that we asked him to execute at a high level.”
Commenting on playing conditions and hospitality in New Jersey Lanning stated: “It was perfect weather for football… it’s been a good experience.”
Discussing turnovers created during the game Lanning noted their impact on success while stressing improvement remains necessary.
Lanning also spoke positively about Rutgers’ program: “Yeah, I think Rutgers is an extremely well coached team… They make it hard on you and I thought they had some good answers too for some things that we did.”
