Rutgers falters in the second half, loses third straight game at Washington
Rutgers football has dropped three straight.
The Scarlet Knights (3-3, 0-3) came out of the bye week playing inspired football over the first 30 minutes of play, but Washington‘s high-powered offense was too much to handle in the second half as the Huskies (5-1, 2-1) pulled away to win 38-19.
It was a battle of the two quarterbacks, as both threw for over 300 passing yards. Athan Kaliakmanis reached the milestone for the third time this season with a career-high 386 yards passing and two touchdowns with an interception on 31-for-50 pass attempts, while Demond Williams Jr. had a historic night for Washington. He became the 16th player in FBS history to record at least 400 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in a game, with 402 yards passing and 136 yards rushing, along with two touchdowns with his arms and legs.
Antwan Raymond had another strong game of his own after a career-high 161 yards against Minnesota, running for 89 yards on 14 carries, and catching six passes for 83 yards. Ian Strong caught seven passes for 124 yards, while KJ Duff caught a 20-yard touchdown to open the scoring.
Eerily reminiscent of last year’s Friday night road trip to USC, the Scarlet Knights recorded 492 yards of total offense, but scored just 19 points.
Missed Opportunities
In Rutgers’ first two conference games, the Scarlet Knights were undone offensively by solid starts, but missed opportunities they could not overcome.
The first half in Seattle was no different.
Rutgers’ offense once again came to play to start the game, but could not finish drives consistently. The Scarlet Knights got four drives within the Washington 30-yard line, but only managed 13 points off those drives. Even after a field goal with under a minute to play, the Scarlet Knights had a chance to go into the half up six points, but Washington’s passing game came alive in the final seconds, and the Huskies hit a short field goal to pull within three points going into the locker room.
That trend continued in the second half, especially after Washington’s offense woke up. The Scarlet Knights played even following two quick touchdowns, but it was not enough. Rutgers’ offense worked a 19-play, 73-yard drive that took up over six minutes between the third and fourth quarters, but that one also resulted in no points as a checkdown to Raymond resulted short of the first-down marker.
Kirk Ciarrocca’s unit put together two drives with a combined 33 plays, and 159 yards, that yielded zero points.
Second-half wagon
After only seven points in the first half, Washington turned on the jets in the third quarter, led by its star trio at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver.
The Huskies came out of the gate firing to start, putting together two instant scoring drives that lasted a combined three minutes and seven seconds, spurred by big plays in the passing game.
The defense clamped up as well, as new coordinator Ryan Walters’ unit allowed just six points in the second half, with Rutgers’ lone touchdown drive after halftime coming on a two-play drive, a pass interference drawn by KJ Duff, and a 48-yard touchdown reception by Raymond.
Star Washington tailback Jonah Coleman was held mostly in check with only 44 yards rushing on 14 carries, but he extended his nationwide lead with another rushing touchdown. Fellow standout wide receiver Denzel Boston
Continuing the theme of the missed opportunities, the Scarlet Knights’ 19-play third-quarter drive essentially ended things, as the Huskies quickly drove down the field to take a 19-point lead.
Where to go from here?
Rutgers’ season stands at the brink of collapse.
The Scarlet Knights have lost three straight Big Ten games to open the conference slate, and the margin of error to make a bowl game stands at near-zero. The defense – while playing hard out of the bye – does not appear to have the horses necessary to come up with consistent stops in the Big Ten, especially considering the offense’s situational and red-zone struggles.
And what’s next? Only one of the nation’s most dynamic offenses in the Oregon Ducks for homecoming.
Head coach Greg Schiano has to be careful and not let this season spiral out of control, and keep the team bought in – one aspect of the program he has always excelled at. Following the Ducks, Rutgers has three (relatively) winnable games in Purdue, Illinois, and Maryland, but all three teams have shown plenty offensively and could cause a lot of problems – adding on to the litany of defensive problems already displayed.
Buckle up.
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