The rumble in Columbus from a year ago is something that Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano doesn’t really want to talk much about. But with a game against Ohio State coming this weekend, it is one of several interesting storylines for this Big Ten game
With Rutgers down 49-10 midway through the fourth quarter, a fake punt attempt was taken as an exception by Aron Cruickshank. The Rutgers wide receiver hit the Ohio State punter well after he had run out of bounds, a clear signal that Cruickshank didn’t like the idea of running up the score.
The Ohio State bench, in turn, took exception to the hit and began a melee with Cruickshank.
Schiano sprinted across the field to separate the players and then he got into an exchange with Day. It was a moment that was played out nationally as Day and Schiano had to be physically separated from each other.
“I think that’s in the distant past. It had nothing to do with the fake punt, nothing at all. It was to do with protecting our player that was on their sideline that was surrounded and getting pushed around,” Schiano told reporters on Monday.
“That fake punt wasn’t called. It was our fault. We didn’t put an edge to the punt block, and the kid is taught to roll, and if it’s there, you take it. So there’s no blame there. It was truly protecting our player, that was it. But that’s — feels like years ago.”
It is important to note that Day didn’t call a fake punt, it was a decision made by the player to take off and run when he saw the opening.
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Rutgers will host Ohio State on Saturday at SHI Stadium (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten). The Scarlet Knights are bowl-eligible after beating Indiana two weeks ago.