Rutgers football fought off some early sluggishness to record its first Big Ten win of the season and finally break its streak of home losses in the conference.
It was a bit ugly, but Rutgers emerged from its annual homecoming game with a 24-17 win over Indiana. Rutgers came into the game with 21 straight home losses in the Big Ten, a staggering stat given that the Scarlet Knights have won five Big Ten road games in the last two years.
Rutgers came into the game losers of three straight – all in Big Ten games. It was also the first game as interim offensive coordinator Nunzio Campanile, who replaced Sean Gleeson in the role two weeks ago.
A fourth-quarter Pick-6 from Christian Braswell, a senior defensive back, put Rutgers up 24-14 and gave the exclamation point on a hard-fought Rutgers win. It seemed fitting that it would be a veteran like Braswell, who has been with the program since 2018, getting the seminal moment of the game with his interception returned for a touchdown.
PICK-6️⃣ 💥@cb6____ intercepts it to cushion the @RFootball lead ‼️ pic.twitter.com/TL4cFbvgUl
— Rutgers On BTN (@RutgersOnBTN) October 22, 2022
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It didn’t come easy for the Scarlet Knights, who shot themselves in the foot early in the game, giving up a 93-yard touchdown return on the game’s opening kickoff. They followed that up with a punt on their first possession of the game and then allowing Indiana to go 91 yards on 11 plays for a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
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Charles Campbell made a 39-yard field goal with 1:18 left in the game to pull Indiana within a touchdown. Rutgers football’s Kyle Monangai recovered the onside kick to ensure the win for the Scarlet Knights.
With the win, Rutgers is now 4-3 (1-3 Big Ten). They face Minnesota next weekend at 2:30 PM ET.
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