After losing a second consecutive home contest, in front of a sell out crowd each time, Rutgers football is returning to the drawing boards.

Head coach Greg Schiano must find some plan to implement before this season collapses in front of him. His team is slowly deteriorating even as the fans support their team at each game.

After Maryland entered Piscataway and left with a heart wrenching 34-24 victory two weekends ago, Big East rival Cincinnati proved to Knight fans why they are undefeated and ranked in the top 20. They also held Heisman candidate Ray Rice to a 2.8 yards per carry, the workhorse of this Knights offense.

Quarterback Mike Teel was inconsistent, really miserable at key moments of the game. He finished with over 300 yards passing on the day, but his three interceptions sealed the game for the Bearcats. In fact, the Knights had the ball in both games, with a few minutes remaining on the game clock. In both games, they forgot to play offense, turning the ball over on downs or via the interception.

Last year's team was obviously much better than this season's roster, especially many leaders graduated or entered the NFL draft, including Rice's fullback Brian Leonard , starting center Darnell Stapleton and tight end Clark Harris. On defense, the team lost several key players including Rameel Meekins, Joe Porter, and Derrick Roberson.

While Schiano might not want to consider this season a rebuilding campaign, his team has looked outmatched against competitive opponents.

The Knights play Syracuse on the road this upcoming weekend, a game they should win by a larger margin. If this does not happen, or if the Knights find a way to lose, they are in deep trouble the remainder of the season.

If they do win, No. 5 South Florida visits Piscataway, a team that has defeated both Auburn and West Virginia this season. Yikes

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