Rutgers Head Coach Greg Schiano hosted his post-game press conference after the Scarlet Knights’ 35-20 win over Maryland.
The first question Schiano was asked pertained to the improvement on the defensive side of the ball and how they were able to secure key stops and get off the field in the fourth quarter. Schiano responded with his usual mantra of incremental improvement and how the defense has been committed to getting better each week.
The next question had to do with Antwan Raymond’s historic day rushing, as he had 240 yards on 41 carries, and if they intended to use him that much or if that was just how the game flowed. Schiano said that they definitely wanted to run the football, but he did not anticipate how large Raymond’s workload would be. He then gave nods to both Raymond and the offensive line before stating how they planned to run the ball repeatedly in this game in order to wear down the opposing defense.
Later on in the press conference, Schiano was asked what the biggest flip on the offensive side of the ball was that allowed them to operate much more efficiently in this game than in the past two weeks. One of the things that Schiano mentioned was the return of offensive tackle Taj White from injury and how that helped them get their offensive line back in order because the players were back to playing where they are supposed to play. Another reason, according to Schiano, that the Knights were able to operate more efficiently was the return of Ian Strong to practice. Last game, Strong did play but did not practice the week prior. This week, Strong was able to practice and get back into a groove before his outstanding performance on Saturday, where he had five catches for 88 yards and three touchdowns.
About Midway through the press conference, Schiano was asked how much of a motivator it is to get to bowl eligibility, sitting at 5-5 with two games left to go.
“Certainly, that is out there. The minimum of a year, right, is that you want to get to a bowl game. That is not our goal around here. I did not come back, I’ve said that many times, we did not come back just to do that. Do I want to do that? Yeah, I want to do that. I want to do it for a lot of reasons. They deserve it.”
To view the entire press conference, click here.
