On Friday night, the Scarlet Knights (4-4) suffered a loss to the USC Trojans (4-4) on the road, 42-20. In their first meeting, the atmosphere was electric, and the matchup has the potential to be exciting for years to come. During the game, QB Athan Kaliakmanis completed a career-high 27 passes for 313 yards and a touchdown to WR Christian Dremel. WR Dymere Miller hauled in 11 passes for 131 yards, marking the first time a Scarlet Knight had at least 10 receptions since Mohamed Sanu’s game against Army in 2011. RB Kyle Monangai rushed for 86 yards, while RB Antwan Raymond posted his third touchdown of the year.
“When you build something, the beginning is easy, but the middle is really hard,” Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano stated. “You lose people in the middle, guys get discouraged in the middle, and that’s where we find ourselves right now. My job is always to see who we can become, and I see this program is elevating. We play in the best league [Big Ten] in college football, so it’s not easy jumps.”
Rutgers's defense has slowly faltered over the past four games, giving up 119 points to Wisconsin, UCLA, and USC. The Trojans' offense found success, averaging nearly nine yards per play as they drove down the field. The Scarlet Knights have struggled to rush the quarterback during this stretch, which continued against USC. Throughout the game, they recorded no sacks and only one tackle for a loss. Rutgers DB Shaquan Loyal and LB Tyreem Powell led the Scarlet Knights' defense with six tackles each.
“I think it’s obvious, but we’re struggling on defense, and there’s a lot of reasons for that,” Schiano continued. “The bye week won’t fix our problems, but we’ll get a little healthier. The issues we have need to get fixed, regardless of our health situation.”
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Following a bye week, Rutgers is back in action on Nov. 9 to host Minnesota at SHI Stadium for Military Appreciation Day, presented by Provident Bank.
“Disappointed in the result, but there’s a lot of good things I saw out there from our team,” Schiano emphasized. “Those will be the building blocks moving forward to get us back on track. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that’s a good football team, but our guys battled; it just wasn’t enough.”
