Rutgers survives a second half [ush from Ohio
Rutgers Football was seconds away from starting the 2025 season 0-1. On fourth-and-8 late in the fourth quarter, Scarlet Knight Head Coach Greg Schiano decided to roll the dice to try and ice the game. With Ohio showing blitz, quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis rifled a pass to DT Sheffield to secure the 34-31 win for Rutgers.
The game itself was a tale of two halves. Rutgers’ offense was rolling in the first half. The scoring was broken open for the Knights by running back Antwan Raymond, who had a 14 yard rush into the endzone with five minutes left in the first quarter. Ohio would respond with a touchdown drive of its own to tie it. Rutgers would tack on a field goal to break the tie before Kaliakmanis tossed a long ball down the sideline to Sheffield to put the Knights up by 10 points. Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro would respond by tossing a touchdown to wide receiver Jake Bruno.
The next score for Rutgers came on special teams as Cam Miller would pick up a blocked Ohio punt in the endzone for a Rutgers touchdown. Ohio would add another field goal before the end of the half. Rutgers would go into the locker room up 31-17.
The Knights’ offense would go quiet in the second half as they only managed to put up three points in the final 30 minutes of play. On the other hand, Ohio’s offense would find its rhythm as Navarro would run one in himself before tossing another touchdown pass to Bruno. Rutgers’ defense would tighten up and get a much needed stop late in the fourth quarter before Rutgers’ offense slowly moved down the field to ice the game for the Knights.
Despite Rutgers pulling off the victory, this game leaves more questions than answers. Ohio had 440 yards of offense, outgaining the Knights, who had 399 yards of offense. The defense looked shaky for most of the afternoon as they struggled in all three facets: the pass rush, the run stop, and pass coverage. Rutgers’ offense went quiet in the second half, allowing Ohio’s touchdowns to go unanswered, and surrendering several sacks in the process.
It should be noted that Ohio is a very good MAC team that won its conference championship last year. With that being said, Rutgers will have to take a long look at this game and make some adjustments, especially on the defensive side of the ball, or else it is going to be a long season ahead.
The Knights will be back in action at 3:30 p.m. next Saturday, September 6, at home against Miami (Ohio).
Category: General Sports
