Rutgers takes down Norfolk State, finishes fifth straight unbeaten nonconference slate
Rutgers football swept its nonconference slate for the fifth consecutive year.
The Scarlet Knights defeated Norfolk State 60-10 in a tune-up game for the Big Ten slate.
In a strangely-paced game at times, Rutgers got its lead and eventually got more comfortable to pull away towards the end of the first half.
Athan Kaliakmanis finished 18-for-26 with 309 yards and one touchdown. He tested the deep ball several times throughout the game with some mixed results, though the positive largely outweighed the negative. Without Ian Strong due to an undisclosed injury, KJ Duff led the receiving corps with six catches for 119 yards. Antwan Raymond led the way in the run game, carrying the ball 16 times for 79 yards and two touchdowns. Ja’shon Benjamin added 12 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown as well.
The Scarlet Knights’ defense continued with its inconsistency, playing an almost inverse performance from last week’s win over Miami (OH). They had a bit of trouble at times containing the Spartans between the red zones, but made splash plays to shut down drives.
Game Recap
The first splash play came just 45 seconds into the game. After a quick three-and-out forced by the defense, a bad snap forced a delayed punt attempt. Kaj Sanders laid a hit on the punter – and got credited for the block – which landed in the hands of Dylan Braithwaite, who ran in for a touchdown to open the scoring.
Norfolk State put on a more sustained drive its second time out, but still punted after eight plays.
Rutgers’ first offensive possession got into Spartans territory, but it ended in zero points after Kaliakmanis led DT Sheffield a bit too far on third down, and took a sack on fourth down.
The punt unit made its second big play of the game on the ensuing drive, as Jett Elad burst through the middle and blocked the second punt of the game. The ball bounced right to Sanders, and he returned it for the second touchdown of the game.
From there, the Scarlet Knights’ offense got going. The first-team unit scored on its next six possessions (four touchdowns, two field goals) as the physicality in the trenches proved to be too much.
A 34-yard field goal from Norfolk State was answered by 19 unanswered Rutgers points, including a touchdown from Antwan Raymond and two Jai Patel field goals to end the second quarter.
The Scarlet Knights got the ball to start the third quarter and got right back to work offensively. Kaliakmanis missed multiple would-be touchdowns on deep attempts to Duff and Sheffield, but on the third attempt, he found Ben Black for a 37-yard score.
On the ensuing drive, the Spartans finally got in the end zone on Rutgers’ starting defense, as running back Kevin King escaped the defensive line and stiff-armed Elad for an impressive 25-yard touchdown run.
Raymond scored his second touchdown on the following drive to cap off an efficient five-play drive from a yard out, including a 51-yard pass from Kaliakmanis to Sheffield.
From there, the Scarlet Knights’ second-teamers entered the game, including quarterback AJ Surace in his collegiate debut. He led the team down the field and fired a touchdown to Dino Kaliakmanis, notching Surace’s first career touchdown and Kaliakmanis’ first career catch. On the ensuing drive after a Norfolk State fumble, Surace fired a 4th-down jump ball that true freshman Michael Thomas III came down with for his first career catch and score.
Surace finished his first game action completing four of his seven pass attempts for 58 yards and two scores. Running backs Edd Guerrier and Terrell Mitchell also saw action on the ground late.
Injury Updates
The following Scarlet Knights suffered injuries during the game:
- RB CJ Campbell Jr.
- OT Tyler Needham
- S Kaj Sanders (returned to game)
- DL Jordan Thompson
RFootball Play of the Day
Rutgers wide receiver KJ Duff fights off the contact and hauls in the one-handed grab in the red zone.
Up Next?
The Scarlet Knights finish off their season-opening four-game homestand hosting Iowa on Friday, September 19th. The game will kick off at 8 pm EST, and will be broadcast nationally on FOX.
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