Rutgers coach Kyle Flood talks, but it makes no sense

It’s impossible to make these leaps of faith Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood’s been asking fans to make for months now.

The latest came on Sunday, when he indicated he has the support of the Rutgers administration as the season spirals out of control, even though he offered no evidence to support that claim.

There’s a GoFundMe page set up by a fan seeking to raise money to buy Flood out of his contract. The fact that it has already generated more than $3,500 in donations is more symbolic than anything else, highlighting the frustration of those unable to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Even if Flood keeps telling them it’s not a train.

"I hope they have a good charity to give it to,’’ Flood said about the fundraising effort. "If they need any advice on a charity to give it to I would be more than happy to point out a few that I am affiliated with because I plan on being here.’’

That’s the most difficult leap of faith of all to make.

This all started back in August, when Flood brushed off accusations he improperly contracted a faculty member about the grade of a player.

He ended up getting suspended for three games.

When there were legitimate questions about whether the Scarlet Knights’ program was out of control after seven players were arrested in September, he said that those who were close to the program knew that was not the case.

It sure looked bad from the outside, with six of those players dismissed from the team.

On Sunday he reiterated that there were positives in Saturday’s 49-16 loss at Michigan — their third straight defeat by 33 points or more — like the 6.4 yards-per-carry their running backs averaged, or the fact that they held the Wolverines to less than four yards-per-carry.

The numbers simply don’t add up, with the offense failing to produce a single touchdown drive, and the defense having now surrendered an incredible 2,068 yards in the past four games.

Even though quarterback Chris Laviano has thrown for just 245 yards combined in the past three games, Flood’s still adamant that backup Hayden Rettig will not play when the game’s still in doubt.

Fans are more than ready to make the switch, even if for no other reason than the fact that a different voice in the huddle, or a better body language under center might help spark a unit.

So now, as Flood indicates he has the support of the administration at the school, it’s almost impossible to believe that’s true, with an investigation the university hired an outside firm to conduct still ongoing.

Flood again pointed to the Michigan program, and how they’ve turned it around so quickly, just a year after the Wolverines lost to Rutgers at High Point Solutions Stadium.

The beauty of that argument is that Michigan did it by firing coach Brady Hoke and hiring Jim Harbaugh.

Regardless of what Flood is saying, it’s impossible to believe there won’t be a regime change in Piscataway.

With Nebraska coming to town on Saturday after their upset win over previously unbeaten Michigan State, the Scarlet Knights’ skid is unlikely to end.

And when the dream of a Bowl bid, that final glimmer of hope, disappears, all the rhetoric will be little more than white noise.

Staff writer Stephen Edelson is an Asbury Park Press columnist: sedelson@gannettnj.com.