Rutgers fell to 2-8 on the season after a 31-0 loss to Nebraska on Saturday. The Scarlet Knights’ offense was completely shut down from the game’s start to finish, while their defense allowed the Cornhuskers to slowly pull away throughout the course of the game. It was the Knights’ first shutout loss since playing Iowa in 2023.
After being forced to punt on their first drive, Rutgers defense allowed a 16-play, 94-yard touchdown drive that took over nine minutes off the clock and closed out the first quarter.
Both teams would exchange punts to start the second quarter, before Nebraska would go 90 yards in 10 plays to add a touchdown to their lead.
Rutgers would force Nebraska to turn the ball over on downs on their first drive of the second half, but could not do anything with it as they were forced to punt. The Cornhuskers would again find the end zone on the ensuing drive. Following a punt on offense, the Knights’ defense would again force a turnover on downs before Nebraska would do the same. The Cornhuskers would take advantage of the short field and add another touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter to extend their lead. Nebraska would add a field goal later in the fourth quarter, without allowing the Knights to score, securing the shutout win.
Nothing worked well for the Knights offensively in this game, aside from a few sporadic runs. Sean Ashenfelder started the game at quarterback for Rutgers, completing three out of four passes for 18 yards, before being knocked out of the game. AJ Surace would be thrust into action; however, he completed just four of 12 passes for 24 yards, while tossing two interceptions. Things were not much better on the ground either, as the Knights only averaged 3.1 yards per rush.
Nebraska, on the other hand, was largely able to dictate its will to Rutgers’ defense on the ground. As a team, Nebraska had 43 total rushes for 237 total yards, good for 5.5 yards per carry, and two touchdowns. In the passing game, the Knights struggled to contain the Cornhuskers’ tight ends, as Carter Nelson and Luke Lindenmeyer combined for five catches, 105 yards and two touchdowns. Nebraska quarterbacks Anthony Colandrea and TJ Lateef combined for 192 yards and two touchdowns on 16/25 passing.
This was another deflating performance from a depleted Rutgers offense. No Lonergan, no Duff, no Asamoah, and those three were sorely missed in this game. The defense continued to have its season-long issues, with not much progress either. Things will have to get better for the Knights to be competitive in next week’s game against Penn State. That game will kick off in Happy Valley at 3:30 on Saturday, Nov. 21. Live coverage for the game will be available on Fox Sports 1.
