Rutgers gets its second win of the season, beating Miami (OH) 45-17 in a game that started an hour late due to a rain delay. The RedHawks’ defense was no match for the Scarlet Knights’ offense, which had 421 yards of total offense by game’s end.
Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis and wide receiver Ian Strong both had career days as the RedHawks had no answer for the Knights’ potent passing attack. Kaliakmanis hit his receivers 26 times on 36 passes for 259 and a career high four touchdowns. Of those 26 completions,
nine of them were to Strong, who had 116 yards and two touchdowns on the day. KJ Duff and DT Sheffield caught Kaliakmanis’s other two touchdowns.
The running game showed its strength as well, gaining 162 yards on 41 attempts. Antwan Raymond was the bell cow running back this game, totalling 82 yards on 13 carries and scoring two touchdowns. CJ Campbell also recorded 10 carries for 45 yards.
Despite the blowout win for the Knights, there were still some issues, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. For the second week in a row, Rutgers struggled to contain a mobile quarterback in Dequan Finn, surrendering 85 rushing yards to the RedHawks’ signal caller. This is an issue they will have to resolve before Big Ten play, as the conference features many mobile quarterbacks that the Knights will have to contend with. Another issue that happened twice during the game was blown coverage on the deep ball. One of the main tenets of any defense is not to give up big plays. This is another issue that cannot continue in Big Ten play.
Rutgers football will be back in action at home on September 13 at 3:30 against Norfolk State.
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