EVANSTON, IL - After struggling through three consecutive games against ranked opponents, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights finally got to face an opponent in a similar position as them.
Although the Northwestern Wildcats have made bowl appearances in five of the last six seasons, they stood at an uninspiring 2-3 record entering Saturday's game at Ryan Field. The previous week, they were blown out 56-7 on the road against Nebraska, who aren't particularly strong either. At least when the Scarlet Knights gave up 52 points in a game this year, they had the excuse of saying that game was against one of the best teams in the country.
Naturally, this looked like a winnable game for Rutgers. Unfortunately, the Scarlet Knights would be their own worst enemy in a lifeless 21-7 loss to the Wildcats, a game filled with costly penalties, nonexistent offense, and all-around poor play by the entire team. After starting the season 3-0, Rutgers has now lost four straight and head into their bye week below .500 and thoroughly exhausted.
The biggest offender was the offense, which looked sluggish and flat even with the return of Bo Melton from injury. Noah Vedral had a highly inconsistent performance, going 18-for-30 with 152 yards and one touchdown pass. The offensive line did the senior quarterback no favors, as he was sacked three times and was consistently under pressure from Northwestern's front four. Melton was the sole offensive spark of the day, catching eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. Rutgers finished the day with only 222 total offensive yards, including just 63 rushing yards. Overall, it was a busy day for punter Adam Korsak, who punted eight times.
The defense struggled for the third week in a row. They were clearly weary and tired from the three previous games against now-top 10 opponents, and once again, they were constantly brought out onto the field due to the offense's ineffectiveness. With clearly nothing left in the tank, they allowed 402 yards to the Northwestern offense and failed to force any turnovers. Worst of all, they were victimized by the big play yet again; after allowing four touchdowns of 60+ yards against Michigan State last week, they allowed a 64-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Hilinski to Malik Washington, a play that set the tone for the rest of the game because of a multitude of missed tackles by the defense. Hilinski went 18-for-33 with 267 yards and two touchdowns.
On the game's first drive, Hilinski connected with Stephon Robinson Jr. for 47 yards to move the ball to the Rutgers 26-yard line on just the second play of the game. Fortunately, the Scarlet Knights held strong and would not allow another yard, and the drive ended in no points when Charlie Kuhbander missed a 44-yard field goal attempt.
The next three drives would end in punts, and a strong boot by Korsak pinned the Wildcats at their own 2-yard line. However, Northwestern needed only five plays to drive the length of the field, the big blows being a 22-yard completion from Hilinski to Robinson on third down, and a 64-yard touchdown to Malik Washington that featured an embarrassing total of missed tackles on Rutgers' part.
Rutgers was forced to punt on their next drive, but an offensive pass interference penalty on Northwestern's ensuing drive forced them to punt as well. But in what would be emblematic of the Scarlet Knights' struggles on Saturday, Aaron Young- filling in for the injured Aron Cruickshank for punt returns- muffed the kick and gave Northwestern the ball at the Rutgers 35. Fortunately, the muffed punt wouldn't result in any damage, as the Wildcats gained -2 yards on the drive and turned the ball over on downs.
After an exchange of punts, Rutgers' offense came onto the field at their own 3-yard line. After a 13-yard run by Kyle Monangai provided much-needed breathing room, Vedral completed a 46-yard pass to Melton, the longest play of the day for the Scarlet Knights. After a 16-yard completion to Monangai on 3rd-and-12, Vedral threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Melton, finishing a 7-play, 97-yard drive to tie the game.
Northwestern, however, responded with a 12-play, 86-yard touchdown drive that took five and a half minutes. A 19-yard completion to Robinson converted a 3rd-and-17, and a 32-yard pass to J.J. Jefferson moved the ball deep into Rutgers territory. The Scarlet Knights appeared to force a field goal attempt after forcing an incompletion on 3rd-and-6, but a highly questionable pass interference call on Tre Avery gave the Wildcats a fresh set of downs at the 2-yard line. On the next play, Hilinski threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Marshall Lang to give Northwestern the lead back, and it would prove permanent.
After both teams punted, Rutgers had one last possession before halftime, but turned the ball over on downs on the last play of the second quarter. The Scarlet Knights did get the ball to start the second half, but they would immediately go three-and-out.
Northwestern then drove 31 yards before facing 4th-and-4 at the Rutgers 36. The Wildcats attempted a fake punt play, but Rutgers saw it through and snuffed it out to get the ball with favorable field position.
Rutgers then got their best scoring chance of the second half, with a drive boosted on an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Northwestern; miscommunication from Greg Schiano and the rest of the coaching staff resulted in a delay of game, but after the play was over, a Wildcat defender punched Isaih Pacheco, which drew the flag and moved the ball deep into Wildcats territory.
But as they faced 2nd-and-1 on the Northwestern 8-yard line, the Scarlet Knights offense suddenly self-destructed. After more miscommunication between Schiano and his coaches, Rutgers needed to burn a timeout to prevent another delay of game penalty. On the next play, Pacheco was tackled for a loss of seven yards, and after a 5-yard run by Vedral, it was 4th-and-3. The Scarlet Knights prepared to go for it on 4th down, but more miscommunication among the coaching staff resulted in the second delay of game penalty on the drive. Now facing 4th-and-8, Rutgers was forced to settle for a field goal attempt, but Valentino Ambrosio missed from 33 yards, effectively destroying any momentum the Scarlet Knights could have had.
After each team punted twice, Northwestern put the dagger in with a 9-play, 71-yard touchdown drive. This drive featured four penalties on Rutgers, which included an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that moved the ball into Rutgers territory, and another questionable pass interference call on Avery to move the ball inside the 10-yard line. Andrew Clair then capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run.
Rutgers would do next to nothing on offense on their final two drives, the last of which was a turnover on downs, and Northwestern ran out the rest of the clock.
What Does this Mean for Rutgers?
Rutgers still has the opportunity to become bowl eligible by winning three more games. However, Northwestern is, for all intents and purposes, a mediocre football team this year, and Rutgers, even in a rebuild, played down to them. Even in the three losses against ranked opponents, there were signs that the Scarlet Knights were trying their hardest, and the reason they lost those games to Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State is because those three teams are outright better teams. Northwestern was a team that many thought Rutgers could rebound against, but they played like they were entitled to a win, which is a cardinal sin in any sport. Rutgers clearly didn't play at the level that they're capable of playing at, and considering that Greg Schiano is a coach who preaches the value of hard work and relentless play, there is nobody who should be disappointed more by this game than him.
Fortunately, Rutgers has two entire weeks to regroup, with next Saturday being their bye week. Schiano has ample time to assess what worked so far during the season and fix what didn't work. Rutgers' schedule still has a handful of potentially winnable games as well, such as Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Maryland. A bowl berth is still possible, but this loss certainly made it harder, which is why the bye week will be so important to the team.
Next Up For Rutgers
Next Saturday is Rutgers' bye week, and it couldn't have come at a better time; the team is tired and reeling, and Greg Schiano has all the time in the world to make the necessary adjustments to the team.
After that, it's off to Champaign to take on the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Chop on.
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