The Rutgers Scarlet Knights snapped their four-game losing streak and secured their first Big Ten win of the season by beating Purdue 27-24 on the road!
It was a rough start for the Knights, as Purdue raced out to a 10-point lead by the end of the first quarter. It appeared that Rutgers’ defense was once again getting pushed around while the offense was stalling. Rutgers would go three-and-out on their first possession, which led to a punt. The Purdue offense would move down the field with ease, resulting
in a score. Rutgers’ next drive was no better, as they would turn it over on downs, leading to a Purdue field goal.
Rutgers would score at the end of the second quarter, off a one yard Antwan Raymond run to draw it within three.
Coming out of the half, Purdue would score almost immediately, finding the end zone in just four plays. Both teams would trade punts on their ensuing possessions until the Knights would hit a home run ball of their own. With pressure in his face, quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis found KJ Duff wide open downfield for the 72-yard score.
Purdue would start the fourth quarter on offense, where they turned it over on downs before Rutgers did the same. Rutgers then forced Purdue to punt and would score on a touchdown on their ensuing drive, before Purdue answered with a touchdown of their own. On the next drive, Rutgers would drive down to the Boilermakers’ 2-yard line before being forced to kick a field goal to tie it. Jai Patel would nail the kick, tying the game at 24.
The next drive would turn out to be a disaster for Purdue. On the first play after the kickoff, Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne would see his pass batted up at the line of scrimmage. He ran up and caught the ball before having it knocked out of his arms by Rutgers defensive lineman Farell Gnago. Rutgers’ safety Jett Elad would fall on it to give the Knights the ball in plus territory. Rutgers would push down the field a bit before setting up Patel’s game-winning field goal.
Patel had a good day, hitting both of his kicks and all of his extra points. However, it was Rutgers wide receiver KJ Duff who stole the show. Duff had 241 receiving yards and a touchdown on just six catches. Backup running back Ja’Shon Benjamin showed a lot of promise as well, rushing for 78 yards on just 8 carries.
On top of that, Rutgers’ defense, despite giving up way too many big plays, looked a little bit better than in games past. They were able to hold Purdue to just one of nine on third down. Running plays to the outside still look like a major problem, but improvement was there.
Rutgers will be back in action next week, as it will travel out to Illinois to take on the Fighting Illini. That game is set for a noon kickoff on November 1st.
