PISCATAWAY — In his Monday press conference, Rutgers football coach Greg Schiano implored fans to show up in droves for Saturday’s critical home game against Wisconsin. His rationale was perfectly sound.

“It’s only a home-field advantage if you make it one,” Schiano said. “We need to get our fans here.”

He’s right. Fans can make a huge difference. But Schiano has to do his part, too. He’s got to meet the fan base halfway by putting a competitive team on the field.

On Saturday, he failed to do that. Failed miserably. His team was embarrassed by Wisconsin 52-3, dropping to 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the Big Ten. The 30,000 loyalists who showed up wasted a nice November afternoon.

MORE:5 takeaways from Rutgers’ loss to Wisconsin

Wisconsin Badgers fullback John Chenal (44) celebrates his touchdown reception in front of Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive back Avery Young (2) half at SHI Stadium.

“We need our fans,” Schiano said after last week’s win at Illinois. “I don’t know how else to put it, but we need you desperately next Saturday. 3:30 kickoff. Plenty of time to get your stuff done and have a great, great Saturday.”

It was not a great Saturday because his Scarlet Knights didn’t block, tackle or compete at a respectable level. In year two of a total rebuild — remember, Schiano inherited an abject disaster — it’s not the end of the world that Rutgers is 4-5. This always was going to be a long haul.

But if you’re going to prod fans to turn out, you can’t put a Chris Ash product on the field. Schiano’s team has been outscored 135-29 in Big Ten home games this season. That’s Ash-era stuff. 

“I was brought back here to turn the program back to what we had,” Schiano said after the game, when asked for his message to the fan base. “I need and we need, this program needs all the help we can get. So I felt like as many people as we could get here, that would help us.”

He added, “It was all part of what I thought would be the plan to win this game. Get a lead, have a crowd loud, make them check (in passing situations) versus different pressure — pressures we really didn’t get a chance to run.”

View of SHU Stadium's empty seats at the opening kickoff of Rutgers-Wisconsin

Some folks are going to pin the meltdown on quarterback Noah Vedral, and he certainly struggled. But Vedral also gets pounded to a pulp each week. Unlike Wisconsin’s Graham Mertz, he has no running game to help him out. And Schiano’s defense was a sieve. The Badgers moved the ball on the ground and in the air like it was an August scrimmage.

We know Rutgers needs a talent upgrade. But the same team that won at Syracuse and Illinois and pushed Michigan to the brink on the road is capable of putting up a fight at home against Wisconsin. It didn’t, and that’s on everyone in the program — including the coaching staff.

“I appreciate our fans, I really do,” Schiano said afterward, unprompted. “I appreciate the fans that came, the fans that stayed. It was a tough day to be fan, but I really appreciate it. We’ll be back, and I look forward to seeing them when we get back.”

In the meantime, this was a stinkbomb in the middle of a banner week for Rutgers athletics. On Sunday, women’s soccer and field hockey are hosting the title games in their respective Big Ten tournaments. Both teams are capable of winning national championships. On Wednesday, men’s basketball opens with sky-high expectations after breaking a 30-year NCAA Tournament drought last March. Their game against Lehigh is sold out, and soon the entire home slate may be.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano coaches vs. Wisconsin

All week, thousands of fans flocked to women’s soccer and field hockey games. The entire men’s lacrosse team attended the field hockey semifinal vs. Penn State and — according to eyewitnesses — made such a racket in the bleachers that it visibly rattled the Nittany Lions. 

At SHI Stadium Saturday, the only sound you heard from the second quarter on was Wisconsin faithful hooting and hollering as their guys broke off big play after big play.

“I believe the home-field advantage is very real,” Schiano said Monday. “But you have to have it. We have to give our fans a reason to get excited on game day.”

Correct on all counts. Crowds matter. But if Schiano, twice in the same week, is going to challenge Rutgers fans to show up, there are two sides to that bargain.

His team has to show up, too.

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at [email protected].

Source: Asbury Park

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