Rutgers football will be heading into its bye week sitting at 1-4 after the Scarlet Knights were drubbed by No.6 Indiana 47-15 during their annual homecoming game, which doubled as their annual blackout game. The increased fan noise could not help Rutgers, as their defense struggled to contain the potent Hoosier ground attack while the offense could not solve the Indiana defense until it was too late.
After Indiana forced Rutgers to punt on the first drive, the Hoosiers went right down the field and
scored. The Knights would again punt on their next drive; however, the defense got a sack deep in their own territory to force a field goal. Rutgers’ ensuing drive led to another punt before Indiana was forced to punt. These two drives were Rutgers’ high-water mark defensively. The next two drives from Rutgers resulted in turnovers on downs, which gave Indiana good field position, which they took advantage of to go into the half up 23-0. At this point, the route was on, with the Hoosiers piling on more points in the third quarter before the Knights would secure back-to-back touchdowns late in the game. After Rutgers scored their two touchdowns, Indiana would add 10 more points before the clock hit zero.
One of the biggest contributors to this loss was that the Rutgers offense could not get going against the Indiana defense, on the ground or through the air. AJ Surace, Dylan Lonergan and even Sean Ashenfelder made appearances at quarterback for the Scarlet Knights, with only Lonergan and Surace throwing passes. Surace went 6/10 for 128 yards and a touchdown, while Lonergan went 5/10 for 67 yards. In total, Rutgers completed just 11 out of 20 total passes. The running game was equally ineffective, with the team averaging a total of 1.7 yards per carry. Clay Thevenin led the way in rushing yards, gaining 47 yards on 12 carries while also scoring a touchdown.
The second biggest contributor was the defense’s inability to stop the run. Turbo Richard and Lee Beebe Jr. ran right through the heart of Rutgers defense all game, with Richard earning 206 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries while Beebe Jr. earned 122 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. As a team, Indiana earned 8.2 yards per carry and 329 yards rushing in total.
One of the few things that saw improvement for Rutgers in this game was that neither quarterback who threw the ball recorded an interception, the first time this has happened against a power opponent this season. Another bright spot was, once again, KJ Duff, who recorded four catches for 78 yards.
Now Rutgers heads into their bye week with the team having more questions than answers. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out as they prepare for what is likely their most winnable game left on the schedule, Maryland. That game will be on Saturday, October 17, at SECU Stadium in College Park, Maryland. Time and broadcast have yet to be announced.
