Rutgers football falls to Michigan in triple overtime
The Rutgers football team fell to Michigan 48-42 in a triple-overtime game on Saturday.
The Scarlet Knights (1-4, 1-4) started by scoring 17 unanswered points, with junior quarterback Johnny Langan rushing for two touchdowns and junior kicker Valentino Ambrosio adding a 38-yard field goal.
The Wolverines (2-3, 2-3) scored late into the second quarter, with Cade McNamara throwing a 46-yard touchdown pass to Cornelius Johnson.
Michigan opened up the second half by returning the kickoff for a touchdown, with Giles Jackson running 95 yards for the score.
Senior quarterback Noah Vedral then threw his first touchdown of the day, a 61-yard pass to senior wide receiver Bo Melton.
McNamara responded with another touchdown, and Ambrosio added another field goal to make the score 27-21 with Rutgers ahead going into the fourth quarter.
Then, McNamara added two more touchdown passes, giving the Wolverines an 8-point advantage late in the game.
With 27 seconds left, Vedral converted on fourth down, throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Aron Cruickshank, bringing the Knights to within 2 points.
Vedral converted the two-point conversion\, tying the game and sending it into the first overtime.
Michigan began overtime on offense and missed a 35-yard field goal.
Rutgers responded by missing a field goal, sending the game into another overtime.
In the second overtime, senior tight end Jovani Haskins caught a 25-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the period. The Wolverines responded with a 2-yard touchdown run from McNamara, sending the game into another overtime.
In the third overtime, Michigan almost had to settle for a field goal, but a pass interference call on third and 18 let their drive continue. Hassan Haskins ran for a one-yard touchdown., After a failed two-point conversion, the Wolverines were up by 6.
The Knights were not able to score again, with Vedral throwing an interception on fourth down, ending the game.
Vedral finished 29-of-43 with 381 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He set season highs in completions, touchdowns and passing yards.
Junior running back Isaih Pacheco led Rutgers in rushing, totaling 43 yards on 15 carries.
Senior wide receiver Shameen Jones led the Knights in receiving, with 7 catches and 127 yards.
On defense, Rutgers caused one turnover, a fumble that was recovered by junior defensive back Christian Izien.
Senior linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi tallied two sacks.
McNamara tallied 260 passing yards and four total touchdowns.
“We’re just not quite there yet,” said head football coach Greg Schiano, according to 247Sports.com. “We'll keep chopping and keep working at what we do, and we will get there. That's why we're all here together working as hard as we are. We just haven't quite figured it out yet."
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