The numbers are startling.

Rutgers has failed to throw for 100 yards in 14 of the 38 games Chris Ash has been the team’s head coach, the sixth-most of any team nationally dating back to 2016. The Scarlet Knights have not cracked the 50-yard mark in the air in eight games, tied for the fifth-most nationally in that span. And RU has had a sub-50% pass completion percentage in 20 games, second only to Army’s 26.

And here is what makes those jarring stats downright terrifying: The teams that have had it worse than Rutgers? They aren’t actually trying to throw the football.

Air Force, Army, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Navy – all programs that run or have run option-based schemes and aim to throw the ball as little as possible.

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Rutgers? It is America’s first triple-option team without the benefits of actually running the offense. And it happened again Saturday in a 30-0 loss at nationally-ranked Iowa when the Scarlet Knights mustered just 41 pass yards.

Oh, and that was Rutgers’ seventh shutout loss since 2016 – the most in the nation that time by far (UTEP is a distant second with three).

We keep mentioning the 2016 season as a starting point because that is Rutgers’ first year under Ash. When the defensive-minded coach was hired away from Ohio State a season after winning a national title, he vowed the Scarlet Knights would have an offense “that can score points.”

“It’s going to be exciting, and it’s going to be fun to watch,” Ash promised, “and it’s going to be one that players are going to want to be a part of and fans are going to want to watch and show up every Saturday on the field.”

Ash and Rutgers have not made good on any part of that statement. And it’s a big reason why his tenure is teetering on the brink heading into a critical matchup with regional rival Boston College on Sept. 21 at SHI Stadium in Piscataway. The Scarlet Knights’ offense was bad when he got here, has been bad ever since and signs of or hopes for progress are hard to come by right now – making the hard-to-define challenge of “significant improvement” from athletics director Pat Hobbs all the more difficult to achieve.

How did Ash and Rutgers get to this point? Why is this still a major issue after four seasons? Here are seven main reasons why:

QUARTERBACKS

Rutgers has signed five scholarship quarterbacks out of high school in Ash’s four recruiting classes: Tylin Oden (2016), Jonathan Lewis (2017), Art Sitkowski (2018), Jalen Chatman (2018) and Cole Snyder (2019).

In addition, Ash brought in three grad-transfers — Zach Allen from TCU in 2016, Kyle Bolin from Louisville in 2017 and McLane Carter from Texas Tech in 2019 — and landed Johnny Langan from Boston College as a transfer who became immediately eligible with an NCAA waiver this year.

The results have been subpar at best.

Oden was considered Ash’s first recruiting win after he flipped the Tennessee native from Louisville a few weeks into his tenure, but he completed just 1 of 8 passes for 2 yards as a true freshman and was dismissed for a violation of team rules the following spring. He’s apparently no longer playing after an unsuccessful stint at Garden City Community College in Kansas.

Lewis was billed as Ash’s first QB of the future, a star from St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City who showed flashes with a 5-TD performance (4 rushing, 1 throwing) as a true freshman against FCS-foe Morgan State. But after appearing in seven games as a QB off the bench in 2017, Lewis was moved to tight end last season and is now out for the year while rehabbing an Achilles injury.

Sitkowski, who is on the shortlist of the most highly touted QB recruits in Rutgers history based on scholarship offers, decommitted from Miami to sign with Rutgers. He started 11 games as a true freshman, but proved to be interception-prone while piloting the Scarlet Knights to its worst season since 2002 last fall. He was edged out in an open-QB competition this summer and the decision on whether he redshirts this season is apparently dependent on Carter’s health.

Chatman, a California native, didn’t see any game action while redshirting last fall and then transferred to Portland State last December.

The jury is still out on Snyder, who showed glimpses of potential in spring camp but is expected to redshirt as a true freshman this season.

Bolin had the most success among the grad transfers, earning the starting nod out of training camp in 2017 and starting the first five games before getting benched.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Those are just the recruiting issues at quarterback. Ash and his staff have struggled elsewhere, most prominently wide receiver - a position that is dependent on quarterback play and vice versa.

Last season, no team in the Big Ten produced less out of its wide-receiver unit than Rutgers, which tallied 72 receptions for 613 yards and a touchdown last season. That would’ve been good for one receiver — not a WR corps overall. Consider five Big Ten receivers totaled 70 or more receptions and two others exceeded Rutgers’ receiving yardage total last season.

It was expected to be different this season, thanks to an unprecedented amount of depth at wideout. Consider the team went into training camp with 18 wide receivers listed on the roster, including 14 scholarship players at the position.

Through two games, junior Bo Melton (7 receptions, 144 yards, 1 TD) looks poised for a breakout junior campaign. The rest of the wide receivers have combined for five receptions for 55 yards and no touchdowns.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT

Let’s focus on Ash’s two ballyhooed recruits — Lewis and Sitkowski.

After signing Lewis, Ash made the bold statement of comparing the 6-foot-3, 240-pounder to former Ohio State standout Cardale Jones (a 2016 NFL fourth-round pick who is currently on the Seattle Seahawks’ practice squad).

No one scoffed, considering Lewis compiled 1,557 passing yards, 992 rushing yards and combined for 31 touchdowns in leading St. Peter’s Prep to the NJSIAA Non-Public Group IV Championship game in 2016. Ultimately, he failed to earn the starting nod in 1 1/2 seasons after struggling with his accuracy — completing just 14 of 38 passes in 2017 — and opted for a position switch.

Sitkowski beat out veteran Gio Rescigno in training camp last summer, but completed 49.1 percent of his passes as a freshman after completing 52.1 percent over his final two scholarship campaigns at two different schools.

The bottom line? Ash’s three marquee QB recruits (including Oden) out of high school have combined to throw for 1,346 yards on 153-for-330 passing (.464 completion percentage) with six touchdowns and 23 interceptions for a Rutgers team that ranked 122nd nationally in pass offense in 2016 at 138.3 yards-per-game, 125th in 2017 at 115.6 yards-per-game and 124th in 2018 at 132.2 yards-per-game.

That amounts to a 72.69 pass-efficiency rating. For perspective on just how poor that number is, the nation’s 100th-ranked statistical passer last season compiled a 118.05 pass-efficiency rating.

OFFENSIVE LINE PLAY

Statistically speaking, Rutgers’ offensive line has gradually improved, ranking 103rd nationally in sacks allowed (34) in 2016, 23rd (18) in 2017 and 12th (16) in 2018. Through two games this season, the Scarlet Knights rank 27th with just two sacks allowed.

But that doesn’t mean Rutgers’ offensive line has met expectations.

John McNulty openly complained about the lack of protection Sitkowski received at various points of last season.

“Art got hit 10 times, which is ridiculous,’’ the Rutgers offensive coordinator after the Indiana loss. “The pass protection was horrible. I don't know how long that can continue. It better not. … I don't think it's a very complex scheme. In the end, you have to block the guy. There's no magic potion. I told them the other day, 'I'll keep trying to find the plays where we don't have to block anyone.’ But I don't know what (those plays) are."

A.J. Blazek, Rutgers’ offensive line coach in Ash’s first three seasons, left not long after the 2018 campaign. He is now the o-line coach at North Dakota State.

Pete Rossomando took charge of the blocking unit last spring, and oversaw a near-flawless performance by the offensive linemen in the season-opening win. The Iowa game was a different story as the Hawkeyes recorded a sack and eight QB hurries in addition to limiting Rutgers to a 3.5 yards-per-carry rushing average.

COORDINATOR CAROUSEL

Ash has not changed offensive coordinators as often as he’s changed quarterbacks, but it’s close.

When Ash took the Rutgers job, he inherited the Scarlet Knights’ already-churning coordinator carousel. His hire of Drew Mehringer made it seven Rutgers offensive coordinators in seven years. And then the thing kept turning.

Mehringer’s power spread scheme was a flop in Ash’s first season and the then-28-year-old coordinator appeared overwhelmed as a first-time play caller for a team with such limited talent. Mehringer left for a job at Texas after one year – where he has since become one of the nation’s top recruiters – and Ash made what appeared to be a strong replacement hire by landing former Minnesota coach Jerry Kill.

Kill’s scheme was perceived to be like “Wisconsin and TCU mixed on drugs” by some, but Rutgers still ended up being near the bottom nationally in key stats like total, scoring and passing offense. Kill was able to help the Scarlet Knights grind their way to three Big Ten wins, but his epilepsy forced him to leave after one season.

Ash’s third coordinator, McNulty, has since halted the inexplicable run of one-and-done offensive coordinators at nine. He is in the second year of his second stint as Rutgers’ offensive coordinator. But while he has finally brought stability to the position, that does not mean Rutgers’ offensive scheme has stayed the same.

McNulty brought a pro-style attack to Rutgers – the third unique system in as many years under Ash – and it was anemic during last season’s 1-11 nightmare. McNulty tweaked the scheme to include more spread and run-pass elements this offseason, but the results have been mixed so far after last weekend’s ugly shutout loss at Iowa.

Ash and his offensive coordinator, whoever it has been, have never enjoyed an embarrassment of riches when it comes to talent. That brutal fact has undoubtedly hindered Rutgers’ offense the last three-plus seasons. But the constant churn at the position has taken its toll on the program, both pre-Ash and during his tenure.

The constant scheme changeover and lack of continuity has been a challenge for coaches and players and Rutgers has often found itself recruiting players to fit one offensive scheme, only for those players to officially enter the fold on signing day to join a new coordinator running a new system that, in many cases, they may not fit. Case in point: Lewis was recruited to play quarterback in Mehringer’s system. He was not as good a fit in Kill’s, and he was out of his element in McNulty’s (at least version 1.0) before moving to tight end.

TRANSFERS

Tom Flacco is arguably the most dynamic quarterback at the FCS level. Could he have made Rutgers better last season? Would he have beaten out McLane Carter for the starting job this year? The world will never know because Flacco never seemed to get much of a serious shot at Rutgers before transferring to Towson after spring ball in 2018.

Flacco appeared to be a fit for Kill’s plans, but by the time his sit-out year was over, Kill was gone. Flacco had a strong spring game in McNulty’s initial scheme, but he appeared to be fourth on the depth chart at best and left to find playing time elsewhere. He has since become a dual-threat star at Towson. Yes, it’s a different level of competition. But it’s hard to see how Flacco would not have made an impact with this Rutgers offense as bad as it has been.

But Flacco is not the biggest offensive transfer departure Ash has had to deal with. Not even close. Losing right guard Jonah Jackson – who has stepped right in as a starter at Ohio State and is a potential NFL Draft pick – was a devastating blow this past offseason. Jackson was the best lineman on a group that struggled with him and is still struggling.

The losses of tight ends Nakia Griffin-Stewart and Travis Vokolek were also critical. Vokolek has NFL upside and was set to be one of the few players opposing teams were forced to account for in game plans. He was potentially on the verge of a breakout season. And while Stewart was not a difference-maker, his exit along with Vokolek had a trickle-down effect that goes back to the coordinator continuity issue.

McNulty altered his scheme this past offseason. Much of the impetus for change was to add modern wrinkles and make the attack more productive. But McNulty also had to change given the attrition at tight end. The position group is heavily featured in his scheme, but Rutgers cannot pack in formations like it did in 2018 due to its lack of experience and blocking presence at tight end. The personnel it has calls for more spread-out looks. He may have been able to stay the course more had he not lost two proven tight ends to the transfer portal.

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CONSERVATIVE APPROACH

It happened again last Saturday at Iowa.

Rutgers, down 7-0 in the second quarter, faced a fourth-and-2 from the Iowa 42. Most fans would have called for the Scarlet Knights to leave the offense out on the field and go for it. Or for Ash to take a gamble and call for a fake punt to try to get the first down.

What did the Scarlet Knights opt to do? They punted. Iowa got the ball on its own 3 (kudos to Adam Korsak) … and then went 97 yards for a touchdown to all but put Rutgers away given its offensive ineptitude.

Ash is a conservative, defense-first coach by nature and he has shown he is largely unwilling to ever take a chance with his offense. The approach maddens fans and, to be frank, often makes little sense given the clear limitations the Scarlet Knights are often dealing with against superior opponents.

You can play field position all you want, but eventually you need to turn it into points. As it turned out, that was as far as Rutgers would penetrate inside Iowa territory on the afternoon. And Ash let a chance to roll the dice and make something happen slip away in order to do the textbook move.

The issue: Rutgers has clearly proven it cannot follow the book most weeks and have a chance to win. You cannot gadget play your way to 30 points and a win. But aggressive play-calling and gutsy decisions often can spark an offense that needs an extra catalyst. Rutgers rarely exhibits either quality.

There is also the sore subject of “surrender punts,” or the many times Ash has seemed to be more worried with keeping a score respectable than trying to take a chance to get back into a ballgame. Example: Last season at Wisconsin. Rutgers is down 10-0 late in the second quarter and faces a fourth-and-7 at the Wisconsin 44 with 1:15 to go before the half.

The Scarlet Knights were also set to get the ball to start the second half. There was no reason not to take a chance and look for points. Instead, Ash punted it away and Wisconsin was up 21 points pretty quickly after halftime. A microcosm of his tenure on offense.

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James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.

Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.