The fields of Nebraska proved to be too much for the once-undefeated Scarlet Knights as the Cornhuskers beat Rutgers 14-7 in Lincoln. The game was mired by offensive ineptitude on both sides but the struggles of the Knight’s offensive push were on full display as the Nebraska defense kept the Knights scoreless until late in the fourth quarter. It was a battle in which defense could survive the longest. The Nebraska defense made the incredible stops necessary to win this battle.
The Struggles of the Rutgers Offense
The Knights’ offense showed severe signs of struggle today. Their red zone offense and passing game in general looked out of sorts as the Knights only completed 15 passes on 37 dropbacks. That’s a completion percentage of around 40 percent. The Knights quarterback, Athan Kaliakmanis, also threw two interceptions and only one touchdown. One of these interceptions undid a Nebraska turnover and killed the momentum that the Rutgers defense had just given their offense.
Another issue for the Rutgers offense was the several drives that stalled in what is known among college football fans as “No Man’s Land.” No man’s land is the spot on the field where it is too close to the opposing endzone to punt yet it is too far away from the goalposts for most college kickers. It is in this spot where many coaches might opt to go for it. It was this spot that was a wall for the Knights offense.
During the first quarter, Rutgers lined up for a field goal that was at the extreme range of their kicker who was kicking into the wind at the time. The Nebraska special teams realized this and pounced when they figured out it was a fake. A few other drives would stall in this area including one on a missed field goal.
Despite all of these offensive failures being pretty bad, there was one to top them all. After the Rutgers special teams blocked a punt, the Knights took over on the Nebraska two-yard line. Rutgers got the chance to run six plays down due to a Nebraska holding penalty on second and goal yet on none of these plays did the Knights score. There was some belief the Knights scored on the first play they ran, however, the handoff to Kyle Monangai was marked short and was nonreviewable.
The Knight’s Few Bright Spots
Despite the offense’s struggles, there were some bright spots for the Knights on the day. The first one is the defense. Time and time again when the Knights drives stalled the defense bailed them out and kept the Nebraska attack in check. They even generated a takeaway to give the ball back to their offense. Despite the offense going 2-14 on third down and 2-6 on fourth down, the Defense held the Cornhuskers to only 14 points on the day.
The second positive that has to be mentioned is the success of the punt block unit for the Knights. The Knights blocked one punt on the day and had a partial block on another. This unit was so successful for the Knights that they were able to use a fake punt block scheme to trick Nebraska on a return later in the game. Rutgers continues to find ways to dominate in the third phase of the game even if their return game hasn’t been impressive so far this season.