PISCATAWAY, N.J. –For a second straight game, Kyle Monangai got stronger as the same went on, the Rutgers football running back putting the team on his back in a 35-16 win over Virginia Tech. It was another strong second effort for Monangai, who is becoming ‘Mr. Fourth Quarter’ for Rutgers.
Monangai had three rushing touchdowns and 143 yards on the ground as Rutgers improved to 3-0.
He scored the game’s first touchdown, setting the tone in what was a physical contest. On the opening drive, Rutgers forced a fumble that Wesley Bailey recovered. The next play saw Monangai run 19 yards to his left for a touchdown that gave Rutgers a 7-0 lead.
Then in the fourth quarter with Virginia Tech scoring two second-half touchdowns to make it a 21-16 lead for Rutgers, Monangai rattled off a 55-yard touchdown run to extend the Rutgers lead.
As the game wore on, Monangai seemed to run stronger. This, as the Virginia Tech defense understandably began to grow fatigued. It is something Monangai says he notices late in the game about an opposing team’s defense.
“I mean, you could tell by a guy’s demeanor, how they get lined up, how they you know react maybe when offense get”s a positive play,” Monangai said.
“So it’s all about a feel thing. And you know, we’re big on body blows as the game goes on. We keep pressing, and keep pressing and go harder. And you know, that’s what we’re able to do – came alive in that fourth quarter when we needed to.”
For the Rutgers running back, it was the first multi-touchdown game of his career. To that end, Monangai entered the game with four rushing touchdowns.
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Monangai has a rushing touchdown in all three Rutgers games this season. He has 357 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on the season.
Very often, a team will utilize a bellcow running back like Monangai through the first three quarters to soften up a team. Monangai, physically built, would be used heavily early in the game and then see his carries taper off.
Conventional wisdom would hold that a smaller, shiftier back in the fourth quarter could then capitalize on those heavy legs on the defense.
Conventional wisdom, it appears, doesn’t know Monangai.
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It was in the fourth quarter when the Rutgers running back did his most damage. He has a 55-yard touchdown run to extend the Scarlet Knights lead to 28-16. And then late in the fourth quarter, he had a 12-yard touchdown run to ice the game for Rutgers.
“It’s like if we were a boxer those are body blows, body blows, body blows. Eventually a guy drops his hands because the body blows hurt too much. That’s when you can take a knock-out shot,” head coach Greg Schiano said.
“If you’re winning the game then you have a chance to continue to do that. If you get behind it’s hard to get all those body blows in. That was important, getting the lead today, and being able to do that. They’re a very aggressive defense, well-coached, but I thought if we could play with a lead today that we would be able to wear them down.”