Jeff Zelevansky | Getty Images

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By Steve Politi | NJ Advance Media

Chris Ash's second season at Rutgers ended with a different offensive coordinator, a different starting quarterback, a different collection of wide receivers and a completely different offensive system. But the results?

Those were actually worse.

This is not an exaggeration, either. The Scarlet Knights came into its season finale against Michigan State needing 324 yards and 20 points just to match the total output against FBS teams last season by an offense that was ranked 127th nationally in points scored.

Spoiler alert: They didn't get there.

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Noah K. Murray | USA Today

Rutgers lost to the Spartans, 40-7, on Saturday night, and the offensive numbers for the game were what fans who follow this team should have come to expect. Which is to say, in three words, not very good.

The Scarlet Knights gained 112 yards on just 31 plays, a remarkably low number. They completed six of 19 passes for 98 yards and rushed 12 times for 14 yards. The time of possession differential was completely insane -- 47:50 for the Spartans, 12:10 for the Scarlet Knights.

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The breakdown between the two seasons, throwing out the team's games against MEAC opponents and defensive/special teams touchdowns in both years, is not pretty:

2016:

124.0 rushing yards per game

138.3 passing yards per game

10.2 ppg

2017:

130.6 rushing yards per game

112.2 passing yards per game

9.7 ppg

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Jeff Zelevansky | Getty Images

Rutgers has gotten better in several areas this season. The defense is better, and it showed that improvement by holding the Spartans to four field goals in difficult situations again and again on Saturday night. The special teams are better, with punter Ryan Anderson again showing why he deserves consideration as a Big Ten first-team player.

But the offense was nonexistent again, with the exception coming on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Johnathan Lewis. That it was just the seventh TD pass all season by Rutgers quarterbacks tell you all you need to know about this offense.

It stinks. And, until it gets better, the program is going nowhere under Chris Ash. We'll start the five observations there:

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1. ASH MUST FIX THE 'O' IN 2018

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Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media

Ash went from an inexperienced "wunderkind" in Drew Mehringer as offensive coordinator to a grizzled veteran in Jerry Kill. Mehringer ran a "power spread." Kill is running a ... well, your guess is as good as mine, but the goal all season was to take pressure of the team's defense and keep the scores closer. That, at times, has worked, and the defense and running game were the reason Rutgers won three Big Ten games.

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The passing game, however, never improved. Rutgers started with senior transfer Kyle Bolin, then switched to junior Gio Rescigno, and then gave freshman Johnathan Lewis his first long look against Michigan State. The quarterback play, while shaky at best, was only part of the the problem.

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Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media

The team sorely lacks speed and playmakers -- Rutgers didn't complete pass to a receiver until Dacoven Bailey caught one in the fourth quarter. I'm not sure if there's a quick fix to that over the next nine months, but Ash has to come up with something. His offense is broken. It's pretty simple: The program is going nowhere until he fixes it.

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2. THE D WORE OUT

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Julio Cortez | AP Photo

At least the Rutgers defense can say they have something in common with their counterparts on the Giants this season. They're on the field so much, it's almost impossible to get out of a game without giving up a few big plays.

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The numbers aren't good, but the defense -- put in awful positions again and again -- played okay in the first half. It stopped the Spartans on four different trips into the Rutgers territory and forced a field goal, including once after a disastrous Gus Edwards fumble on the Scarlet Knights' first play from scrimmage.

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Noah K. Murray | USA Today

It is abundantly clear: This defense wore down, both in this game and in this grind of a season overall. Late in the fourth quarter, the Spartans had 40 minutes of time of possession, compared to less than 10 for the Scarlet Knights. Few defenses can survive that.

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3. WHY NOT START LEWIS?

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Noah K. Murray | USA Today

A struggling East Coast team with a 4-7 record started a true freshman quarterback against a ranked team and pulled off a huge upset this weekend, and if you were at High Point Solutions Stadium, you already know it wasn't Rutgers. It was Pittsburgh, and the quarterback -- Kenny Pickett -- grew up in Ocean Township.

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You know where this is headed. Give the offense's inability to score a single touchdown against Penn State and Indiana in the past two weeks, and the fact the team had no shot of reaching a bowl game, starting junior Gio Rescigno again made no sense. But pulling him after two series was even weirder.

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Darron Cummings | AP Photo

Don't misunderstand this: Playing Lewis was the right thing to do (and no, those two late interceptions don't change this). But Rescigno was on the field for exactly four plays -- a Gus Edwards fumble and three incomplete passes, including one that tight end Jerome Washington appeared to drop on third and 10. Did Ash see something in that small sample size to make the change? And if Rescigno was on such a short leash, again, why not just start the kid?

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4. THAT LEWIS TD PASS

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Julio Cortez | AP Photo

If you're looking for reasons to hope about next season -- and, let's be honest, what other reason would anyone have for watching? -- then Lewis' 42-yard touchdown pass to freshman running back Raheem Blackshear in the first half gave you that.

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Start with the obvious, of course: This was a true freshman throwing to a true freshman, and quite possible a pair of starters next season at their respective positions showing why the Rutgers held them in such high regard. Blackshear smart slipped behind the defense when Michigan State linebacker Joe Bachie abandoned him when he thought Lewis was taking off to run.

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Julio Cortez | AP Photo

And that was the biggest reason to like this play. Not only did Lewis' ability to run the ball, which fans have only seen glimpses of this season, make that happen, but Lewis was willing to take a shot down the field. That a 42-yard pass is the longest pass play of the season tells you all you need to know about this team's ability, or lack there of, to make impact plays offensively this season. Maybe that's about to change.

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5. NOT READY FOR PRIMETIME

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Noah K. Murray | USA Today

Ash was scratching his head a week ago in Indiana, trying to understand how the Scarlet Knights -- maybe for the first time this season -- weren't ready for the start of the game against the Hoosiers. Well, now it's two straight games that the Scarlet Knights were a mess in the opening minutes, so Ash has a trend on his hands.

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First, the Spartans march 75 yards on nine plays on their opening drive. Then, for the second straight week, the Scarlet Knights were flagged for a penalty on their first kickoff return, and the poor field position was especially costly as Gus Edwards fumbled on the Rutgers play from scrimmage.

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Noah K. Murray | USA Today

Michigan State converted that prime field position at the Rutgers 8 into a field goal, then added another field goal on their next drive. Michigan State had a 13-0 while the Scarlet Knights had minus-2 yards in the game, not exactly a good impression to make for the national TV audience watching on Fox.

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BONUS OBSERVATIONS

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Julio Cortez | AP Photo

A) This is not a surprise, but the crowd in the stadium for the Senior Day celebration was sparse, and that's a shame given the rocky four or five years that most of these players went through. To appreciate what some of these athletes juggle off the field during their playing careers, be sure to read this excellent Ryan Dunleavy story on running back Gus Edwards.

B) The perfect weather did not help attendance. The student section was half full -- not a surprise given the long holiday weekend -- and the upper deck and the corners of both end zones were mostly empty. Not a good look on national TV, but again, not a surprise.

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C) Wait. Mike Teel can't get a call back for tickets? How does THAT happen?

D) Purdue's victory over Indiana improved the Boilermakers to 6-6, which means the Scarlet Knights will have a victory over one bowl team this season. The combined record of the teams Rutgers defeated -- including Maryland (4-8), Illinois (2-10) and Morgan State (1-10) -- and 13-36.

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Steve Politi | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

E) Well, here's a new one. There was a water-pressure issue at the stadium, leading Rutgers officials to put port-o-potties outside the gates so that fans could, uh, take care of business, and the lines for all of those were 50-75 people long at halftime. I guess, on the list of reasons not to go to this game, this one would be No. 2.

F) I'm sorry about E.

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PODCAST: Why ending on a high note matters

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Five redshirt juniors who won't return in 2018

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MORE COVERAGE

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Julio Cortez | AP Photo

GIO STARTS: Chris Ash sticks with his starting quarterback

BIG UPSET: Freshman from N.J. leads Pitt over Miami

RECRUITING: Huge list of visitors for Michigan State game

PLAYER Q&A: Sebastian Joseph reflects on his Rutgers career

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