There has been yet another Rutgers loss after Nebraska defeated the Scarlet Knights 14-13. It was a Rutgers home game and they have not beaten a Big Ten opponent at home since 2017 against Maryland. The losing streak continues as the Scarlet Knights move to a 3-3 record, and a 0-3 conference record. After being up at halftime by 13 points, what went wrong for the Scarlet Knights?
Costly Penalties lead to Rutgers Loss
Whether the calls were questionable or not, there were many penalties that caused a Rutgers loss. The most questionable call was from a passing play by Rutgers quarterback Noah Vedral. The Scarlet Knights were called for offensive pass interference, but it looked as though Nebraska’s player just ran too far and got tripped up. Even though it was questionable, the ruling on the field stayed as pass interference and the team had to move on from there. This decision was not the reason for the Rutgers loss.
The worst penalty was late in the fourth quarter. Nebraska had the ball and Rutgers’ defense had to make the stop to give their offense time to get a win. With what could have been a scenario where Nebraska would have to punt with four minutes left, there was a personal foul against Rutgers.
The personal foul came from the defensive back, Kessawn Abraham who tackled a player hard to the ground after he was already out of bounds. Throwing the player while already out was purely due to frustration, but it gave Nebraska a costly first down. The Huskers were able to take advantage of the flag and run out the clock. This was instead of the Huskers being forced to punt, with time for Rutgers to attempt to get into field goal range. While this is only a could-have scenario, the penalty did not even give the Scarlet Knights a true chance to win.
Ugly Turnovers lead to Rutgers Loss
The Scarlet Knights once again rotated between two quarterbacks. Noah Vedral got the start, but Evan Simon went in near the end of the first half. Both quarterbacks, according to ESPN, completed six out of 15 passes. Simon went into the game despite Rutgers being up by 13 points. In the second half, Simon threw three interceptions. Two of the interceptions truly impacted the game. With nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, Simon threw a pick, which lead to Nebraska taking the lead on their next drive. The last interception thrown was what sealed the game for the Huskers, allowing them to go into victory formation.
Questionable Play Calls lead to Rutgers Loss
One of the largest questions about the coaching decisions was about rotating quarterbacks. Evan Simon has thrown three interceptions before Friday’s game, yet the coaches believed it was a good idea to pull Vedral out and put Simon in. Vedral had no interceptions in the game and was a part of the offense that scored 13 points. Vedral only went back in when there was a panic that they would lose the game, and the coaching staff made another sudden switch. The constant quarterback change can be hurting the momentum of the offense, causing a Rutgers loss.
Aside from who was in the quarterback position, there were other questionable decisions. When Vedral was still in, there was a call for him to rush the ball on a third and long. This was Vedral’s second play in a row rushing the ball, and Nebraska’s defense caught on. This caused the Scarlet Knights to punt the ball rather than attempt a field goal, or keep the drive going.
This was a game that Rutgers had a fair shot in, but instead, they blew it. There was no excuse for the decisions they made and the late penalties that were avoidable. The Rutgers loss does not show the strength of the defense, who caught two interceptions, and how they got the run game going. Rutgers rushed for 115 yards, 63 coming from running back Samuel Brown V. It was the turnovers and poor choices that cost the team the win.
Rutgers has a bye week to work out their mistakes. The team will next face Indiana on October 22nd. It will be yet another home game where the team will try to break their multi-year losing streak at home against Big Ten opponents.
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