Rutgers’ season is already in trouble, and the biggest reason is staring right at the center of it.
The Scarlet Knights are 0-2, and the quarterback play has been too erratic to ignore. Greg Schiano opened the year with the two “similar quarterbacks” who battled through camp, and both Dylan Lonergan and AJ Surace have given Rutgers exactly the kind of uneven performance that turns tight games into bad losses.
Through two games, Lonergan and Surace have combined for seven interceptions on 65 passing attempts. That works out to a staggering 10.8% interception rate, and most of those mistakes have come at the worst possible moments.
The damage has been so severe that Rutgers has already matched the interception total Athan Kaliakmanis posted in each of his two seasons with the program. In all of 2025, there were 22 teams that threw fewer than seven interceptions.
Still, Schiano isn’t ready to bury the position.
“I believe we can win with these quarterbacks,” he said after Friday’s 28-21 loss to Boston College. “Again, we have to improve.
I’ve seen them do it at a high level. We haven’t.
But it’s not just the quarterbacks. We got hit a couple times tonight as we were letting go of the ball.
We have to make better decisions. I’m not making excuses for them.
We have to coach them better.”
Surace got the start against Boston College in what was his first career start, and the numbers only tell part of the story. He completed 18 of 27 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns, but the four interceptions were the real headline.
The first came on Rutgers’ second drive, when Surace missed his target badly and Charlie Comella made a diving interception.
The second arrived early in the second half, with Rutgers in the red zone and a chance to get within one score. On third-and-10, two free rushers closed in as soon as Surace took the snap, and he threw directly to BC’s Carter Davis while trying to find Jourdin Houston.
Pressure was a constant problem all night. Surace was sacked three times and pressured on 11 of his 31 dropbacks, a 35.5% rate, according to ProFootballFocus.
Later, on fourth-and-two just outside the red zone in the fourth quarter, Surace tried to hit KJ Duff, who had been a major factor in the second half. Instead, linebacker Anthony Polano stepped in for the interception.
Then came the last chance. After the two-minute warning and right after Rutgers converted a key fourth down, Surace threw another pick straight to Polano, who read the throw to Houston over the middle.
“Each one was a little bit different,” Surace said. “Obviously, I just gotta be better and avoid those type of plays.”
Lonergan’s situation is still unsettled. He was in Boston College, where he transferred from, but he did not dress because of injury. His availability for next Saturday’s game against USC is unclear.
Even if he is healthy, he may have work to do before reclaiming the job. Lonergan opened the season in a 37-21 loss to UMass and went 16-of-29 for 242 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Schiano said the quarterback call won’t be rushed.
“It’s just too soon after the game to be able to tell you the answer on (the quarterback situation going forward),” Schiano said. “First off, we got to figure out where we are health-wise.
Then we have to see this tape and really watch and see the reasons why. Sometimes, you watch it on the iPad and you think you know, and then you get some information that gives you a little more better picture.
We’ll figure it out. The guy that we think gives us the best chance to win, that’s the guy that will be the quarterback.”
Whoever gets the next start, Rutgers needs a lot more than a clean decision at quarterback. It needs the position to stop sinking the rest of the team.
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