Rutgers Football rallies, beats Purdue 27-24
Rutgers Football’s losing streak ends at four today, as the Scarlet Knights cam back to beat the Purdue Boilermakers 27-24 inside of Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Check out our summary from today’s Big Ten matchup below.
First Quarter Recap
Rutgers lost the coin toss, as Purdue opted to give the Scarlet Knights the ball first and would elect to receive in the second half. The bad news here for Rutgers is that couldn’t do much of anything on their first drive, going three and out.
They had one more offensive drive in the first and took it all the way down to the goal line, but the Scarlet Knights red-zone struggles continued to show, as they went for it on 4th and 4 inside the Purdue 10-yard line, but it resulted in a turnover on downs.
On the flip side, the Scarlet Knights defense gave up big play after big play, allowing Purdue to make two trips to red-zone and resulting in a quick 10 points for the Boilermakers.
Second Quarter Recap
The Scarlet Knights once again started out with the ball on offense and after a couple of nice chunk plays courtesy of running back Ja’shon Benjamin, Rutgers ended up taking back to back sacks and it forced them to attempt a 46-yard field goal, but it was no good.
After that, both teams traded three and outs. However after the Rutgers three and out, the Purdue return man ended up muffing the return and Rutgers recovered it, but there was a questionable catch interference call that resulted in the Boilermakers retaining possession.
Purdue once again goes three and out and punts it back to Rutgers, who went on a 17 play, 85-yard touchdown drive capped off by a 1-yard score from Antwan Raymond to close out the half.
Third Quarter Recap
Purdue got the ball to open the second half and scored quickly. A pair of long runs from the Boilermakers would set up the second passing touchdown of the day for Malachi Singleton.
The ensuing drive for the Scarlet Knights went three-and-out following a deep drop from DT Sheffield and third-down sack. Following a Purdue punt, Rutgers would strike back thanks to a deep connection from Athan Kaliakmanis to KJ Duff for a 72-yard score.
The Rutgers defense managed to force another punt just as Purdue crossed midfield. The Scarlet Knights next offensive drive would open with a sack, but four straight touches for Antwan Raymond got Rutgers moving heading into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter Recap
The Purdue defense forced and recovered a fumble on a third-down run from Antwan Raymond just a few plays into the final quarter. The Rutgers defense held strong on the sudden change, forcing another Boilermakers punt.
Starting back at their own 10-yard line, Athan Kaliakmanis hooked up with KJ Duff twice downfield for gains of 42 and 37 yards. A tough run from Ja’Shon Benjamin set up a quarterback sneak from Kaliakmanis to give Rutgers their first lead of the game.
Purdue would set themselves up nicely on the ensuing kickoff, taking the ball out to the Rutgers 41-yard line. A third-down penalty and busted coverage from defensive back Bo Mascoe allowed Purdue to recapture the lead.
The Scarlet Knights got the ball back with 4:43 remaining in the game and opened the drive with another chunk play to KJ Duff. A fourth and short conversion to Ben Black set up Rutgers in the redzone. The offense stalled goal-to-goal and would settle for a field goal to tie the game.
On the first play of the Purdue drive, captain Jordan Walker batted a ball in the air that was caught by quarterback Ryan Browne. Defensive lineman Farell Gnago stripped the ball from Browne and safety Jett Elad recovered the fumble deep in Purdue territory. Strong runs from Ja’Shon Benjamin set up a 31-yard Jai Patel field goal for the win.
Up Next for Rutgers Football
Rutgers Football will be on the road once again next week, as the Scarlet Knights head back out to the Midwest to take on the Illinois Fighting Illini. Kickoff is set for 12:00pm and the game will be nationally televised on NBC.
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