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By Steve Politi | NJ Advance Media

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Nobody seemed to have any clue what was happening as the final seconds were ticking off the clock, and really, that was the perfect way for this game to end. Rutgers, somehow, had a second chance to steal a victory from the jaws of defeat at High Point Solutions Stadium and, somehow, managed to make a bad loss look even worse in the process.

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Rutgers blocked a field goal after a killer interception seemed to seal this victory for Eastern Michigan, and then used a gift 15-yard roughing the passing penalty to get within field goal range. The Scarlet Knights had a chance with the ball at the 24-yard line, and then it looked like nobody on the home sideline had even seen a football game much less coached or played in one.

The better team won on Saturday. Eastern Michigan 16, Rutgers 13. The fans base had no faith in Chris Ash's program before this loss to a program that had loss all 58 games against Power 5 conference opponents until this one. Can you imagine what will happen now?

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No sugarcoating this: This is a brutal loss for the Scarlet Knights, as bad as losses to New Hampshire and Tulane and Villanova over the years. Ash needed to show that this program was headed in the right direction in his second season, and now the Scarlet Knights are 0-2 with the buzzsaw of Big Ten play looming.

They'll beat Morgan State next week. But after that? The reality is scary because ...

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1. RUTGERS MIGHT NOT HAVE HIT BOTTOM

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Noah K. Murray

That's the reality here. If this team can lose to Eastern Michigan -- a team that was 0-58 against Power 5 teams and 0-38 against the Big Ten -- it can lose to anyone/everyone not named Morgan State. Rutgers will win next week to break its 11-game losing streak -- even after this loss, that's a certainty.

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Ranking the 50 greatest Rutgers athletes ever

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But after this, they'll be underdogs to everyone. Rutgers went 2-10 a season ago and now faces the real possibility that 1-11 or 2-10 is possible again. This loss to Eastern Michigan looked and felt like rock bottom, but this could get worse.

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What has to concern fans the most is the utter chaos in those final plays. Rutgers had a first and 10 at the EMU 27, and after a 2-yard pass, quarterback Kyle Bolin panicked and spiked the ball on second down -- a big football no-no. That meant, with no time outs, that Rutgers had limited options for the third-down play.

They needed a pass to the sidelines to stop the clock. What they got was a 15-yard illegal hands to the face penalty that pushed them out of field-goal range. Bolin was dragged to the ground on third down, ending the game in about as ugly fashion as possible.

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2. FORGET BENCHING BOLIN

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NJAM

Kyle Bolin completed eight of his first 22 passes for 99 yards, and two of those receptions -- a deep pass (finally!) to Janarion Grant and a nice sideline throw to Jerome Washington -- accounted for 67 of those yards. The rest?

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Eight things I wanted to see vs. Eastern Michigan

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The rest was not pretty. Bolin, who was mostly accurate in the short-passing game in the opener against Washington, was badly off target in this one. Unlike the opener, Rutgers tried to stretch the field, and a couple of the attempts -- including what could have been a game-changing touchdown to transfer Damon Mitchell -- just missed. The mid- and short-range passes, however, were almost completely nonexistent.

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NJAM

But if you're waiting for calls to change quarterbacks, forget it. Bolin is still the best option for this team right now. To abandon him already, after his teammates named him a captain just months after his arrival on campus, would be a mistake, especially when the Scarlet Knights only have shaky options behind him.

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3. NO DEFENSIVE STAND

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NJAM

The Rutgers defense played well enough to beat Eastern Michigan, and the turnover it forced in the third quarter thanks to a nice strip by nose tackle Sebastian Joseph was converted into a touchdown that (briefly) gave the Scarlet Knights the lead in the third quarter. But when Rutgers desperately needed a stop ...

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Report card: How Rutgers graded out vs. Washington

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That was the situation in the fourth quarter. Eastern Michigan had a third and seven on the Rutgers 24-yard line with the score tied at 13. Eagles quarterback Brogan Roback dropped back and had more than four seconds to make a throw, connecting to an open Jaron Johnson for a 15-yard game. Blessuan Austin, who was hailed as maybe the best player on this defense in the preseason, couldn't keep Johnson covered.

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AP Photo

Rutgers needed to force a longer field goal attempt there (and the Eastern Michigan special teams were no sure thing to do anything). The Rutgers defense is still much improved from a season ago, but it still has a ways to go.

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4. A FORGETTABLE DEBUT

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NJAM

Well, I did say that I wanted to see some Johnathan Lewis this week. Rutgers introduced the much-heralded freshman quarterback midway through the second quarter. He handed off to Robert Martin and promptly trotted back to the bench. This is not exactly what I had in mind when I wrote they should burn his redshirt.

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Recruiting roundup: The Top 50 players in N.J.

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His next appearance was even harder to explain. Rutgers was moving the ball efficiently on the ground on its first second-half drive, with Martin doing most of the work. It was second and eight at the EMU 18. When Lewis trotted into the game, the Rutgers coaches might as well have held up a "HERE COMES THE QB DRAW" sign. That's exactly what it was, and after the play lost two yards, the drive fizzled.

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I still think Rutgers needs to find a role for Lewis, a dynamic athlete with a high upside, in the offense this season. But the coaching staff should avoid handling him like they did with Tylin Oden a year ago, when it was clear to anyone who had watched even a few minutes of film that he was no threat to throw the ball. Give Lewis a full series against Morgan State and see what he can do.

While we're talking about curious personnel decisions, why put third-string running back Josh Hicks into the game for his first carries of the season late in the third quarter. Martin and Edwards were running well -- the latter, after all, broke free for a 23-yard touchdown run on the previous drive. It makes no sense.

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5. HARD TO BLAME THE NO SHOWS

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NJAM

So will Rutgers loyalists say the poor turnout on Saturday afternoon was because the weather was too good? It was a lovely day in New Jersey, maybe the last good weekend day of the summer, so maybe fans decided to skip this one and head to the beach. Last week, more than 40,000 people showed up for what Rutgers dubbed "The War before the Shore." Well, this was more like the "Bore before the Shore," and the stadium looked about half full.

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How Kemoko Touray made such an impact

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But it's hard to blame anyone for staying home right now given the product on the field. Season tickets are down almost 24 perfect from two years ago, a steep decline, and not even offering every season-ticket holder two freebies could pad attendance.

The reason is simple: This team is just hard to watch right now, and while the diehards will show up no matter what, casual fans clearly are taking a wait and see approach. The first half of this game was like battery acid on the eyes, and remember, at least the score was close. How many curious fans did the last season's 78-0 loss to Michigan scare away?

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Ever leave a game @StevePoliti due to boredom and too many commercial breaks? We just did @RFootball https://t.co/9uAe9oYAOL — Michael McNamara (@ScarletAdMan) September 9, 2017

NJAM

Rutgers is home again next week for Morgan State, which is even less of a draw than Eastern Michigan was. Maybe the prospect of seeing a victory will draw a bigger crowd. More likely: Ash is going to have to build a winning team, or at least a more entertaining one, before the paying customers return.

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PODCAST: Episode 2 of Rebuilding Rutgers

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NJ.com staff writers Ryan Dunleavy, Keith Sargeant and Steve Politi break down the Scarlet Knights after the first week of the season. Will any of them change their season predictions? And why are Penn State fans angry at them?

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Where the 17 top uncommitted N.J. players might go

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MORE COVERAGE: Eastern Michigan links

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Coming soon.

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Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevePoliti. Find NJ.com on Facebook.