Artur Sitkowski did not turn in anything close to a remarkable performance in Rutgers' home loss to Indiana this past weekend.

Some would argue, though, it was impressive the true freshman quarterback was able to get through the game.

Sitkowski was hit early and often behind a struggling offensive line during the 24-17 loss to the Hoosiers. While the Old Bridge native hung tough throughout the contest and kept getting up, offensive coordinator John McNulty made it clear Monday he found the line's play unacceptable.

"Art got hit 10 times, which is ridiculous. The pass protection was horrible," McNulty said during his weekly press conference in a textbook case of a coach speaking to his team through the media.

"I don't know how long that can continue. It better not. But he's tough. For him to see all that with all that was going on in front of him, I thought that showed a lot of guts, how tough and resilient the guy is. ... I don't think it's a very complex scheme. In the end, you have to block the guy. I think we have to block better. That was the biggest disappointment in the game."

Sitkowski was sacked twice by Indiana and took several other shots in the pocket. It was the offensive line's worst outing since Sitkowski's injury scare at No. 4 Ohio State earlier in the season. But that game was against arguably the nation's best defensive line. This one was against a solid, but far from spectacular, Hoosiers front.

"I don't know many other guys I've been with that would've finished the game at quarterback. Those guys were big guys, they were coming hard, and some of them were unabated. So we have to do better," McNulty said. "We'll try to get a different scheme for it, but 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, or you don't have to win against man (coverage).' But I don't know what they are."

Rutgers is currently 14th (last) in the Big Ten in scoring and total offense, 13th in pass offense and 12th in rush offense. The Scarlet Knights hope Saturday's home game against Illinois, which is ranked 12th or worst in the related team defensive categories, will be a matchup conducive to snapping their four-game losing streak. But they'll need the offensive line to be much better to do so, McNulty said.

"I think they just have to block the people," he said when asked if any personnel changes may be coming on the line. "I think some guys resort to some different techniques at times in the middle of a game that's something you haven't seen ever. We can sit there and keep everybody in and chip ... I don't think we're sitting there asking to hold the ball particularly wrong. When you totally whiff on a guy and he comes flying through the A-gap, it's a little tough for the quarterback."

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