Rutgers Rant: Can Scarlet Knights salvage their season after UCLA loss?

A campaign that started off with so much promise has fallen off the rails.

Rutgers (4-3, 1-3) suffered its third consecutive loss on Saturday, getting carved up by UCLA (2-5, 1-4) en route to a 35-32 defeat that leaves its season on the brink of disaster.

After entering the fall with hopes of building off a breakthrough 2023 campaign in which they ended a bowl drought and finished with a winning record for the first time in nearly a decade, the Scarlet Knights are now in danger of missing a bowl game altogether.

Can they still salvage their season?

The Rutgers Rant returns to recap the Scarlet Knights’ loss to the Bruins on Saturday and discuss what it means for Rutgers moving forward. We dive into a disastrous defensive performance, a much-improved offense and where the Scarlet Knights go from here. We also touch on men’s basketball’s exhibition loss to St. John’s, where five-star freshmen Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper shined but the center position struggled.

Fans can listen to the show using the player below, heading (and subscribing) to our YouTube channel, or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever else podcasts are available.

For those interested in sending questions for us to answer during our next episode, in which we review the results of the game, sign up for our Rutgers Insider text service. Along with getting to send questions for the show, you get regular updates on the Scarlet Knights sent straight to your phone as they happen, with any breaking news heading that way first.

New subscribers can sign up for a free two-week trial by heading to nj.com/rutgersinsider or by texting RUTGERS to 908-258-6536, then clicking the link that gets texted back.

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Brian Fonseca may be reached at [email protected].

Patrick Lanni may be reached at [email protected].

Steve Politi may be reached at [email protected].