Blacksburg, VA—After pulling out to an early lead in the football game, Rutgers managed to hold off a surging Hokies team on Saturday night. With a tie game entering their final drive, the Scarlet Knights hit the field goal to win the game, and help the team remain undefeated on the year.
Rutgers Run Game
Rutgers established a consistent good run game early, which they carried out throughout all four quarters.
The Scarlet Knights finished the game with a total of 160 rushing yards of off 51 carries. Yet more importantly, Rutgers scored all three of their touchdowns on the ground. The two biggest factors of the run game were running backs Kyle Monangai, and Samuel Brown V.
Monangai led the charge for Rutgers, finishing the game with 84 yards and a touchdown off of 26 carries. Meanwhile, Brown rushed for a total of 60 yards of off 14 carries and scored two touchdowns.
Head coach Greg Schiano expressed the gratitude and trust that he has in his run game coordinator Damiere Shaw, stating in his press conference that, “Coach Shaw does a great job of rotating those guys (running backs). You know I trust him with that. He knows them better then I do, as far as their play style. He coaches them every single day”.
A Surprising Passing Attack
Rutgers showed that they can move the football in more than one way on Saturday. They not only dominated the run game, but also had big passing plays throughout the game.
Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis had a good showing, throwing for 269 yards and completed 16 out of 25 passes.
Kaliakmanis was able to connect with wide receiver Ian Strong four times throughout the night for a total of 110 yards. Kaliakmanis connected with Strong late in the fourth quarter in what would end up being the biggest play of the second half. Strong was able to take a 63-yard screen pass into the redzone to set up the team for the go ahead field goal.
A Near Collapse
Despite the win, Rutgers almost threw the game away, allowing Virginia Tech to score 16 points in the fourth quarter. Success for Virginia Tech came in the form of their rushing attack; which saw Bhayshul Tuten hit 122 rushing yards and three scores on only 15 attempts.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the Hokies, and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights hung on to win the football game.
On to Washington
Rutgers will have a short week, this week as they host the 3-1 Washington Huskies on Friday. The Huskies are coming off of a big win themselves, winning 24-5 over the Northwestern Wildcats.
The Scarlett Knights will have their work cut out for them on defense going against Huskies QB Will Rogers. Rogers has thrown eight touchdowns without an interception while having a 75.7 completion percentage.
Rutgers defense will have to come out aggressive on defense and and make plays like they did against Virginia Tech. The Rutgers defense made multiple plays throughout the game that were key to their victory over the Hokeis – including a safety and a Robert Longerbeam interception.
#Rutgers DB Robert Longerbeam (@RobLongerbeam7) reads it like a book and picks it off!
👉 https://t.co/YBx604Z5hq pic.twitter.com/WnaQTdn5au
— Rutgers Scarlet Knights | The Knight Report (@RutgersRivals) September 21, 2024
The defense made it hard for the Hokies and QB Kyron Drones to move the ball. Drones didn’t have his best showing, going 13 of 27 without a touchdown to one interception.
One area the Scarlet Knights will have to clean up, however, is their run defense. Rutgers allowed the Hokies to rush for a total of 183 yards and three touchdowns. They will need to be prepared to stop the rushing attack of Washington this upcoming week.
Although Rutgers will face off against a tough Huskies team, they will have the backing of their fans. Coach Schiano let the media know that this Friday will be a “Blackout” game for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
