Rutgers Scarlet Knights Seniors Can’t Secure Fairy Tale Ending

Saturday evening, the Scarlet Knights (6-5) suffered a heart-wrenching loss to No.24 Illinois (8-3) at home. Unfortunately, the seniors didn’t get to ride into their sunset as they played the final game in SHI Stadium. That said, this game was an absolute thriller and left many on the edges of their seats until the contest's final seconds. Despite the Scarlet Knights orchestrating a 10-play, 65-yard scoring run to regain the lead with 1:08 left on the clock, the Fighting Illini countered with a touchdown drive in the final seconds for the win. Ultimately, Rutgers fell to the Fighting Illini, 38-31, on senior night. 

“Obviously a really tough, tough loss,” Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano explained. “I feel awful for our seniors. Senior Day, we have a group of young men down there that gave so much to our program. Believed in us when there was no reason to believe in us.”

“…We have potential NFL players in those guys we signed in 11 days,” Schiano continued. “But more importantly, leaders that we built this program on their hard work and their example. And they are definitely leaving a legacy.”

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Pivotal Moments in the Game

Despite playing a fairly well-rounded game, in the fourth quarter, when it appeared the Scarlet Knights had momentum they shifted within the final minutes of the game. At one point, the Scarlet Knights led by nine, however simple mistakes and missed opportunities allowed the Illini to climb back. On the final drive of the game, Schianno regretfully called a timeout that resulted in the game-winning touchdown for Illinois. 

"Yeah, certainly, retrospectively, I wish hadn't, right? But been doing this a lot of years, Schiano explained his mindset on the last plays of the game. “Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't. We were going to make sure -- we were going to call time out, anyway. Maybe I should have done it before he kicked the ball, so it wouldn't have told them, 'Oh, geez, that wind is strong; we can't make that kick'.”

In this game, Rutgers RB Kyle Monangai produced his fifth 100-yard rushing outing of the season with 122 yards on 28 carries. QB Athan Kaliakmanis added a career-high 84 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Kaliakmanis also finished with 18 completions for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Monangai and WR Ian Strong. In fact, Rutgers picked up 30 first downs, its most in a Big Ten game since joining the league. Not to mention, Rutgers had four touchdown drives of 10 plays or more and now has 14 such drives on the season.

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‍What’s Next for Rutgers?

Rutgers concludes the regular season traveling to Michigan State for a Nov. 30 matchup at Spartan Stadium.