The Rutgers Scarlet Knights fought on the field against the Wisconsin Badgers, but ultimately produced a bad result.
Following the loss, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano expressed frustration over the level and quality of football that the team had played. In particular, quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis has received the brunt of the blame for the poor play against Wisconsin. Kaliakmanis had his worst collegiate game by far against Wisconsin, recording a quarterback rating below 40.
The issues for Kaliakmanis began early and never seemed to fade as the quarterback struggled to find any sort of rhythm throwing the football. The quarterback began the first-half of play with nearly triple the amount of incompletions to his completions. Only seven throws made it to the intended target in the first-half, and just five made it to the target in the second-half of play.
Kaliakmanis finished the game with 103-yards passing and one interception, with the majority of his success during the game coming on the ground. Kaliakmanis only carried the football six times, but managed to record nearly 50-yards rushing. Wisconsin notably has a defense that struggles with running quarterbacks, and the decision to throw instead of run was a puzzling one.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis Greatly Struggles Against Wisconsin
Kaliakmanis finished the game with his tail between his legs, and with Ajani Sheppard on the bench behind him, the quarterback might have lost his role.
Rutgers began the season red-hot with a 4-0 record, but have since dropped two straight games. In both losses, the offense scored seven-points and Kaliakmanis managed to take Rutgers out of the game with his play. The quarterback had two turnovers and serious accuracy issues during the loss against the Cornhuskers.
Unfortunately for Kaliakmanis, the issues with accuracy only continued to get worse against the Wisconsin Badgers, which has led to serious abuse online.
The main thing holding Athan Kaliakmanis back from being a good quarterback is his complete and utter inability to throw the football. Other than that, he’s the total package.
— Dillon Graff (@DillonGraff) October 12, 2024
Athan Kaliakmanis was one of the worst in the Big 10 last year.
I can’t believe Rutgers actively took him in the portal. He is so bad.
— mullet Lee (@PhiLeePhilly) October 12, 2024
Athan Kaliakmanis simply is not a division I caliber quarterback. Rutgers failed yet again in this department.
— Mike Gurnis (@MikeGurnis) October 12, 2024
The Rutgers offense is so bad. Kaliakmanis just looks awful.
— Rob Neumann (@rcneuma2) October 12, 2024
Athan Kaliakmanis cannot be the best option at QB for SUNJ. I refuse to believe he is.
— Chris Fallica (@chrisfallica) October 12, 2024
If you ever think your not qualified for a job just remember Athan Kaliakmanis is a starting QB for a Big Ten school
— Brad (@Bigbird1182) October 12, 2024
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