Talk about a total gut punch! Rutgers’ season, already a complete disaster, took another brutal turn. Quarterback Dylan Lonergan was knocked out Saturday after playing just three offensive snaps in their 42-14 shellacking by Northwestern. He took a head injury and was instantly sidelined for the rest of the game.
Lonergan’s Season Sidelined at the Worst Time
This is just brutal timing for Lonergan. While his tenure at Rutgers has been a bit of a rollercoaster, he was coming off his best performance of the year, hands down. Against Maryland, he looked sharp, slinging it for 291 yards on 23-for-35 passing, racking up three touchdowns with only one interception. Coach Greg Schiano himself admitted Lonergan was finally hitting his stride. “I really felt like he was coming on very strong, like he was really against Maryland, I thought he had control of the offense and I was pleased,” Schiano said. Then, boom, third play of the game, and he’s gone. What rotten luck, right?
Two Backups, Zero Answers for Schiano
Now Schiano is staring down what the article calls an “impossible decision” if Lonergan misses significant time. And honestly, looking at the numbers from Saturday, you can see why. When Lonergan went down, AJ Surace, who has been the QB2 since training camp, stepped in. He went 7-for-18 for 64 yards with an interception. Not great. Then Sean Ashenfelder got his shot, completing only 2-of-9 throws for 36 yards, also tossing an interception. Both guys finished with a QBR under 8.0. That’s rough, folks.
Surace has seen action in five games this season, but only had extended time in one other start. That was against Boston College where he threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns, but also coughed up four interceptions. Schiano highlighted the challenge of splitting reps when you’re trying to establish a starter. He mentioned, “Unfortunately, (there is a) little bit of a compound effect…When you don’t name a starter until the end of training camp, you’re splitting reps because it’s got to be a fair competition. So then when you name your starter, he’s really got to get the reps. Then he gets hurt in two different occasions. So when he comes back, he’s really got to get the reps. So, the other guys suffer.” That’s a brutal cycle for any coaching staff to manage.
With the season officially “lost” for Rutgers, this quarterback dilemma piles on to an already dire situation for Coach Schiano. He’s reportedly on one of the hottest seats in the nation, and having to choose between two backup quarterbacks who’ve had little success, especially after Lonergan was finally getting into a rhythm, is absolutely not where any coach wants to be. What a mess.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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