Rutgers took down its second straight MAC opponent in the Miami (OH) RedHawks, this time by a more comfortable margin of 45-17. The offense was firing on all cylinders, passing an early test against a stingy RedHawks defense that allowed just 17 points to Wisconsin. Meanwhile, the defense showed some improvement, holding Miami (OH) to 17 points after allowing 31 against the Ohio Bobcats. Here are my biggest takeaways from the game.
Kaliakmanis Spreads The Wealth, Throws Career-High Four Touchdowns
Athan Kaliakmanis delivered another solid performance in the victory,
going 26-36 for 259 yards and four touchdowns. His favorite target was Ian Strong, who posted an NFL-esque receiving stat line with nine catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns. KJ Duff had six catches for 71 yards and a touchdown, while DT Sheffield caught five passes for 37 yards and a score.
After Kaliakmanis opened the scoring by finding Strong in the back of the end zone, Jai Patel tacked on a field goal, and Antwan Raymond scored his first touchdown of the game, Kaliakmanis found KJ Duff in the end zone to push the Scarlet Knights’ lead to 24-7. Duff made the catch over the RedHawk defender and drew defensive pass interference, but did not need it as he caught the strong-handed touchdown.
Miami (OH) trailed 24-10 at halftime, before rallying to cut the deficit to 24-17 early in the third quarter. However, the Scarlet Knights quickly put an end to the RedHawks’ comeback attempt, with Kaliakmanis finding Ian Strong on a slant route over the middle to put Rutgers up 31-17.
In the fourth quarter, Kaliakmanis threw his fourth touchdown pass of the night, this time delivering the football to DT Sheffield, who reached out and made the grab in the end zone to pad the Rutgers lead.
The receiving trio showcased their versatility, with Duff hauling in tightly-contested catches, Sheffield and Strong making athletic touchdown catches, and Strong also showing off his route-running on his slant-and-go, where he made a sharp turn to the end zone en route to the score.
Offensive Line and Run Game Continue To Feast
The passing game was not the only part of the offense that succeeded. For the second straight week, the run game had its way, led by a strong offensive line. Antwan Raymond led the Scarlet Knights on the ground with 82 yards on 13 carries, along with two touchdowns that punctuated methodical drives down the field.
CJ Campbell had 10 carries for 45 yards, including a rush in the fourth quarter where Campbell made a nice cut and nearly got to the end zone. Ja’Shon Benjamin got in the action as well, with 17 yards on six carries, while Athan Kaliakmanis rushed twelve times for 18 yards.
Although Kaliakmanis is not the quickest or most athletic quarterback, he picked up important yards with his legs if plays broke down and his receivers were covered. He could work on avoiding contact and sliding in those situations, as he would often dive forward or take unnecessary contact from the RedHawks defenders instead.
However, there is cause for concern due to injuries. After left tackle Dantae Chin took a hit to the lower body while blocking on a run play, he stayed down on the turf before being helped off the field and entering the medical tent. Greg Schiano said that he was “worried” about Chinn in his press conference, and “That will hurt if it’s long term.”
Chinn emerged as the starter at left tackle after performing well at the position during training camp. He played 44 snaps against Miami (OH) and gave up no pressures, while rotating in and out with Tyler Needham. Needham played 55 snaps while rotating between left and right tackle.
If the injury is long-term, Needham will be expected to take over at left tackle, while Taj White will play right tackle after starting and playing 65 snaps there against the RedHawks. With highly-touted transfer Ryder Langsdale out for the season, a significant injury to Chinn means that Rutgers will be without some depth at the tackle position and will need their starters to step up.
Defense Shows Improvement, But Gives Up Multiple Big Plays
The big concern after last week was the Rutgers defense, which allowed 24 points to Ohio (7 came on a punt block), and struggled to do just about anything right against the Bobcats. This week, the Scarlet Knights’ defense took a step forward, allowing just 17 points and shutting down the RedHawks’ attack in the second half.
The defensive line made its presence felt, largely shutting down the Miami (OH) run game. D’Shawntae Jones, who scored the RedHawks’ first touchdown, had just 19 yards on five carries, while Kenny Tracy had 13 yards on six carries. However, Dequan Finn showcased his mobility, rushing 11 times for 85 yards, including a long of 39 yards. On multiple occasions, the Scarlet Knights looked like they had Finn wrapped up, only for the mobile quarterback to scamper away and make a big play with his legs.
Rutgers got their first couple of sacks on the season, with the RedHawks in desperation mode as they tried to create long passing plays downfield. Djibril Abdou Rahman got home on Finn for the first sack, while Dariel Djabome sacked Finn just two plays later. After Rutgers struggled even to pressure Navarro, it was a welcome sight for the defense and hopefully a sign of things to come later in the season.
However, the defense struggled with containing big plays. Early in the game, Dequan Finn linked up with Kamryn Perry on a 62-yard pass, with Jett Elad blowing his coverage and trailing Perry. Although Cam Miller made a touchdown-saving tackle, D’Shawntae Jones was set up with an easy 1-yard touchdown to tie the game at seven. This was not the only time a blown coverage like that happened.
Early in the third quarter, Finn found Keith Reynolds over the middle for a 69-yard completion. This time, it was Kaj Sanders with the missed coverage, as Sanders was much farther to the right of the field, allowing the long completion and extended yards after the catch. This play eventually led to Dequan Finn going around the edge and diving for the pylon to push the RedHawks within a touchdown of the Scarlet Knights. Fortunately for Rutgers, that was as close as the contest would get, as RU then scored 21 unanswered points to end the game.
A key sequence in the second quarter may have changed the course of the game. With Miami (OH) trailing 10-7, Dequan Finn set the RedHawks up with a first-and-goal at the Rutgers’ 10-yard line, but a couple of penalties pushed Miami (OH) back outside the Rutgers red zone. Finn then lofted a pass in the direction of Kam Perry, but Bo Mascoe jumped the route perfectly and ran it back 68 yards, setting up Antwan Raymond’s first rushing touchdown of the game.
Special Teams Continues Strong Start To Season
After a game with a punt block touchdown and a record-setting outing from Jai Patel, the Rutgers special teams had a quieter but still productive game against the RedHawks. Patel extended his consecutive field goal makes streak to 16 with a 39-yard attempt going through the uprights early in the second quarter, while converting on all six of his extra points to finish with nine points for the Scarlet Knights.
The punt block unit got very close to blocking another punt on two occasions, but Miami (OH) punter Pierse Stanton was able to get the ball away both times. After a dormant year in 2024, the Rutgers return game also looks promising.
Speedster Ben Black returned two kicks for an average of 23.5 yards and a long of 29, while DT Sheffield returned a punt seven yards. Meanwhile, kickoff specialist Jack Scullion recorded eight touchbacks on eight kickoffs, something that Greg Schiano noted in his press conference as he discussed Kaliakmanis’ scrambling ability.
Other Takeaways From Schiano’s Postgame Press Conference
A week after going 5-5 on fourth down after going just 1-10 on third downs, Rutgers went 7-10 on third downs against the RedHawks, showing significant improvement on the game’s most crucial down.
Schiano noted, “That was something we talked about, right, we converted a lot of fourth downs last week but it’s not like we warranted to be in fourth downs. It happened because we were not great in third downs. You’re exactly right. It was a little bit of a challenge thrown out, and I thought they stepped up. When you’re 70 percent on third down, it doesn’t get a lot better than that. I guess it could get 30 percent better, but it’s pretty good.”
Greg Schiano also noted that his team had a plan for handling the hour-long weather delay, how it would be handled differently on the road, and that he “thought our kids did a great job of relaxing when it was time to relax and then locking back in when it was time to lock back in.”
Schiano also took responsibility for one of the long pass completions from the RedHawks, complimented Robb Smith for changing the coverage on Bo Mascoe’s interception, while giving Mascoe his flowers for making the big play. He also shouted out Eric LeGrand for making his 15th Walk To Believe following his paralysis and the Rutgers community for their ongoing support of him, with over a thousand people following him on the walk.
Next Up
Rutgers (2-0) will take on Norfolk State (1-1) at 3:30 PM next Saturday at SHI Stadium before a highly anticipated Big Ten opener against the Iowa Hawkeyes the following Friday night. The Spartans earned their first win under Michael Vick, rallying from a 23-7 deficit against rival Virginia State to secure a 34-31 victory in overtime.
Miami (OH) (0-2) will return to Oxford for its home opener after two losses on the road against Big Ten opponents. The UNLV Rebels (2-0) will make the long trip from Las Vegas after defeating UCLA, sending the Bruins to a disappointing 0-2 start to the season.
