Let’s find some historical comparisons for what the Scarlet Knights just pulled off.
Rutgers lost a football game. That’s not especially surprising. It’s not even particularly surprising that Rutgers lost badly. After all, this is one of the worst Rutgers football teams in the history of Rutgers football, a program with a rich and storied history of mostly sucking.
But the manner that Rutgers lost a football game today is unique and interesting.
This was a truly historically bad passing performance.
The Scarlet Knights lost to Maryland, 34-7. And lets a look at that passing box score.
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ESPNWoof.
The last team to complete just two passes with a minimum of 17 attempts? Rutgers!
The feat has happened just three times since 2000, with Rutgers being the last team to do it, back when they lost to Michigan, 78-0, in 2016.
The last team to pass for fewer than 10 yards despite throwing the ball at least a dozen times? Also Rutgers.
That’s happened eight times since 2000, but again, the 78-0 debacle was the most recent example.
It’s the most interceptions thrown by one team since Arkansas threw six against North Texas on September 15.
North Texas won, in case you forgot, 44-17. Arkansas threw 45 passes in that game though. Nobody threw five picks on fewer than 20 attempts.
Rutgers threw more passes to Maryland football players than Rutgers football players.
That’s pretty hard to do, even if you’re like, a triple option team.
It’s probably the worst passing performance by a team in the Northeast since Rhode Island did this:
From my Twitter Doppelgänger:
On this day in 1949: Rhode Island threw a record 11 interceptions in one game. Brown's Walter Pastuszak had 5 of them. Joe Paterno returned one for a touchdown.
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownCFB) October 8, 2018
Rhode Island went 9 for 37 with 11 interceptionshttps://t.co/IY8CCqwYLFpic.twitter.com/R2ackPScaF
If we had a Rhode Island football blog back in 1949, I bet the comments section would have been LIT.
But don’t worry, it could be worse!
We had a seven-INT game back in 2007, when Washington State threw seven picks in a 52-17 loss to Oregon State (granted, they threw the ball 46 times). Florida had nine interceptions in a game back in 1969. If Rutgers doesn’t like, switch to the Air Raid in the next few weeks, they probably won’t break any of these records.
But they now own two of the worst passing performances of any team in the last two decades.
And they were both in Big Ten conference games. And with Michigan, Wisconsin, and Penn State still on the schedule, things could get even worse for the Scarlet Knights.