Rutgers football had another home game against a Big Ten opponent Friday night, and just like the previous 20 games inside SHI Stadium against conference opponents – it did not go the Scarlet Knights way.
It was a tale of two halves for both teams. The game started with a strong first half for Rutgers. Quarterback Noah Vedral got the start after missing the majority of the season with an injury and promptly marched down the field and ran in what would end up being the only touchdown of the evening for the Scarlet Knights. There were some concerns with Vedral by the time the first half ended as he only completed three of ten pass attempts, but they were all big plays as he had 110 yards through the air. Including the touchdown, he paced the backfield in the first half with 34 yards on six carries. Evan Simon also got some snaps, going 5-for-8 for 81 yards through the air.
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Not to mention in the first half, the Scarlet Knight defense shut down Nebraska. They held the Cornhuskers scoreless and kept the offense to just 134 total yards, keeping their biggest weapons in check. Christian Braswell and Max Melton both tallied interceptions and it looked like Nebraska had no chance of ending their road losing streak.
Then the second half started. Whatever was said to the offense in the halftime meeting clearly made a large impact, as Nebraska quarterback Casey Thompson came out like a completely different player. He went 14-for-19 for 133 yards in the second half with two passing touchdowns. Wide receiver Trey Palmer caught three passes after the break (one catch in the first half) for 44 yards and a touchdown, and running back Anthony Grant felt like he was involved in every other play of the second half.
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Rutgers quarterback Evan Simon was picked off three times in the second half, and a rushing attack that totaled 72 yards in the first half, only added an additional 43 yards in the second. To add injury to insult, punter Adam Korsak’s streak of punts not resulting in a touchback came to an end in the second half at 147. What a run for the Australian-born punter.
There were some positives, the defense – despite some injuries and a questionable second half – made plays throughout the game. They held the Cornhusker rushing attack to just 72 yards (2.5 YPC). But, a few of the issues continued to rear their ugly heads. Rutgers finished the game with 9 penalties costing them 97 yards. A key penalty came on what would have been a stop on third-down with 4:12 left in the game. A clock-stopping play where Rutgers defensive back Kessawn Abraham forced Nebraska wide receiver Oliver Martin out of bounds short of the first-down marker, but after stepping out of bounds Abraham threw Martin to the ground and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct.
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What would have been Rutgers getting the ball back, instead kept the clock rolling and led to Nebraska running another 2+ minutes off the clock before giving the ball back to Rutgers, but it was too little too late for the Scarlet Knights. We know they are early in their rebuild, but it is apparent that it is earlier than many fans thought coming into the season. Greg Schiano will need to get his squad to clean up their issues before they start thinking about getting to another bowl game. If they are going to get these this season, next week is a much win and is easily the easiest matchup remaining on their schedule. Things are not looking bright for the rest of the season for the Scarlet Knights.
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