Rutgers football earned their first-ever win against former Big East rival Virginia Tech in Blacksburg 26-23. The Scarlet Knights started the day looking dominant, moving the ball very well down the field and giving the Virginia Tech offense multiple headaches in the first half. Despite an early sack on the Knight’s first drive, the passing offense was humming. The rushing game, while not breaking the game open completely, was getting around 3-4 yards a handoff.
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Even after the second-half kickoff, it looked to be more of the same as the Knights went right down the field and scored on their first possession of the second half. The drive was capped off by a five-yard touchdown run by Samuel Brown V.
Rutgers’ questionable decisions lead to a late VT surge.
Then came a series of questionable decisions made by the Rutgers offense late in the third quarter. The first one was the decision to go for it on a fourth and one down on Virginia Tech’s goal line. The issue with this play perhaps wasn’t the decision to go for it. The Knights only had to gain one yard to score after all and they were moving the ball very well up to this point. The issue with this call is the play they dialed up.
They didn’t dial up a play typically used in a fourth down and goal situation. In this play, Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis faked a handoff to the left and rolled out to the short side of the field on the right. It was here that he noticed that his intended target was under blanket coverage leading to Kaliakmanis holding onto the ball for too long before throwing it leading to an incompletion and a hit on the Knights quarterback.
Fortunately for Rutgers, the defense was able to hold firm on the next drive.
The next questionable decision by the Knights was their decision to go for a field goal on a fourth and six at the Virginia Tech 35. Rutgers kicker Jai Patel only made two out of four field goals from 50 yards or greater last season. If Rutgers had gone for it and made it, they would have been in a much better position to kick if they needed to again, but if they went for it and didn’t convert they would have been in the exact same situation defensively.
Rutgers would stop the Hokies on their next possession but they had momentum on defense.
A heart-pounding fourth quarter.
After forcing Rutgers to punt twice, the Virginia Tech offense would start thundering back scoring two touchdowns and two two-point conversions to tie the game at 23. It looked like Virginia Tech had taken the momentum for good.
Enter Ian Strong. On the first play of their next possession, the Rutgers wide receiver caught a pass from Kaliakmanis and carried it 63 yards before getting tackled at the Virginia Tech 13. Four plays later, Jai Patel would hit a 24-yard field goal to give the Knights the lead by three.
Virginia Tech’s drive to answer would be cut short by Rutgers defensive back Robert Longerbeam who would intercept a pass from Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones, icing the game for the Scarlet Knights.
