Rutgers coach Greg Schiano: '[We] fully expected to win today'
Greg Schiano’s Rutgers team came out swinging against Michigan, hitting the Wolverines with a 69-yard touchdown to get on the board first. U-M scored the next 31, but the Scarlet Knights moved the ball and played well for much of the game. They had a chance, even, to cut it to one score in the third quarter, but Schiano opted to go on fourth and two rather than kick the field goal.
In hindsight, it was a game changing play. Schiano, though, said he had no regrets, even after graduate nickel Mike Sainristil picked it off and returned it 71 yards for a touchdown.
“[He] jumped it. Getting ready for him you could tell, he is a glue guy for them,” Schiano said. “He’s a good player. You can see he makes a lot of checks. He’s always talking and communicating, and he did a heck of a job.
“That’s a tough one right there … and then you’ve got to get them on the ground. If they intercept it, you’ve got to get them on the ground. It’s still a 17-7 game … we weren’t able to do that. Some people said there was some … was a chance to get them, and they got blocked. I don’t know, I didn’t see any of it.”
He seemed to be insinuating there might have been a blindside block on defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, who was leading the way to the end zone. There was no call, though, and Sainristil scored.
“I’ve told you guys before – everything we do is with one mission in mind, and that’s to win the football game, so we felt like that was the right thing to do,” Schiano continued. “Like I said, we had our opportunities. You just have to convert, so whether we coach better, whether we play better … whatever it is, we’ll go back to work. This game won’t define us. We’ll go back to work and we’ll get better and our best will be good enough. We’ve just got to keep getting better …
“You’ll sense they’re very frustrated, because they fully expected to win today. They didn’t come out here to look good or keep it close. They came here to win, and we didn’t do that. When you have unfulfilled expectations, then there’s frustration. But I love this team. We’re going to go back to work. We’re going to get better.”
Their best was enough to hang with Michigan for a while, but some big plays on offense and a defense that stiffened on its side of the field was enough to get the win. The Wolverines seemed to get stronger as the game progressed.
“It was very much what we expected. Their defensive tackle [number] 55 [Mason Graham], did not play. I thought he was a dominant player,” Schiano continued. “But [number] 78 [Kenneth Grant] stepped in, and I think he did a good job. They played a lot of guys up front anyway … they were rotating 8-10 guys, so I think they just kind of ham and egged it there and covered it up for the loss. They got some of their DBs back that they had not had … I think they played well. That group can play pretty tight man coverage. They’re a good cover crew.
“But we gave up too many big plays. We busted twice in the first half. I shouldn’t say busted – that’s not fair. It might have been eye violations where we kind of let our eyes wander, but the end result was big plays. And you can’t. You’ve got to make them earn everything, and when you make those mistakes, those are chunks. And the quarterback [J.J. McCarthy] scrambled [and] got out of trouble well today. I thought we had some pressure on him at times, and he did a good job of getting away. A couple of those turned into big plays.
“Like I said, they’re number two in the country for a reason. It’s a good football team. They’re well coached, and they were talented.”
Schiano on his halftime comments
Schiano wasn’t pleased at the half, and it appeared he wasn’t happy with the officiating during his halftime interview. He scaled it back a bit in the postgame.
“Just the nuances of the game,” Schiano said. “I was frustrated with a few things, but look, they’re a very good football team, and you have to make sure that you are on point with everything. Because if you’re not, it’s not just a gain, it’s a touchdown. If you’re not, it’s not just a PBU – it’s a pick-six.
“We had three shots inside the 30-yard line. You get that against that team, [it was] 14-7 at half. I think anybody [who] comes out here playing the No. 2 team would sign up for that. We’ve been there before; we have to learn how. Some of it is again, the opponent we’re playing. So hats off to them. They did a good job.”
