Rutgers stumbles yet again

Northwestern’s Ryan Hilinski threw for 267 yards and two touchdown passes on Saturday afternoon as Rutgers lost, 21-7, in Evanston, Ill.

The Wildcats (3-3, 1-2) appeared to be a favorable matchup for the Scarlet Knights (3-4, 0-4 Big Ten), who were coming off three consecutive games against opponents currently ranked in the top 10. But with five of its first six drives ending in punts, Rutgers couldn’t muster enough offense to avoid opening conference play with four straight losses. Though quarterback Noah Vedral hit all four of his passes on Rutgers’ only scoring drive of the game, he put together an altogether inconsistent day, going 18for-30 for 152 yards.

“It’s very disappointing,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. “We certainly have to assess where we are and why we’re here, and see what we can do to fix it. Some of it is personnel, some of it is execution. We’re trying to find an answer.”