Heartbreak in Piscataway: Four main takeaways from a devastating Rutgers football loss to Illinois
The Rutgers football team lost in crushing fashion in a 38-31 defeat at SHI Stadium on Busch campus. It took a miracle for the ranked Fighting Illini (8-3, 5-3) to beat the Scarlet Knights (6-5, 3-5).
Here are four takeaways from the loss.
First half triumphs
Rutgers’ first half performance set them up perfectly for the second half.
The offense was a little quiet from both teams in the first quarter. At the start of the second quarter, the game was tied at 3.
The Knights found paydirt first after senior quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis juked a defender on his way to a 12-yard rushing touchdown at the 9:58 mark of the second quarter.
No. 24 Illinois answered with a touchdown of its own after Luke Altmeyer avoided a sack and found an open receiver in the endzone. A missed extra point, though, put the score at 10-9 in favor of Rutgers.
The final Knights drive featured a combination of both runs and passes, resulting in a score. Sophomore wide receiver Ian Strong was able to elevate to haul in a beautiful fade from Kaliakmanis for the touchdown, as Rutgers led the Fighting Illini 17-9.
In the first half, the Knights out-paced Illinois in yards 215-135 and first downs 16-9.
The hope was that Rutgers could use that momentum for the final 30 minutes of the game. What the Knights would experience, though, was probably not what they anticipated in the pregame prep.
The wheels start to fall off
On the third possession of the half, Rutgers was at the opposing 41-yard line with a 1st and 10 play coming up. Kaliakmanis took the snap and, after he could not find any options down the field, decided to tuck the ball and run.
He was met by Matthew Bailey who forced the ball out of Kaliakmanis’ grasp, resulting in a turnover. That play might just have been the one to turn the tide towards Illinois. The fumble recovery set up a touchdown run for Illinois, as it would then trail 17-15 after the failed 2-point try.
To the Knights' credit, they answered back with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a Kaliakmanis QB sneak.
With a whole quarter left to play, Rutgers was in the driver seat. It was up by 9 points. What could possibly go wrong?
Frustration to absolute joy to sheer heartbreak
Illinois quickly flushed the Knights drive and punched back in just a matter of minutes.
A 64-yard completion from Altmeyer to wide receiver Pat Bryant would set up an 8-yard touchdown run for the Fighting Illini. They now trailed 24-22, staying visible in Rutgers’ rearview mirror.
As if a sign of a shift, the Knights punted the following drive. Illinois would quickly shine with a 90-yard drive of dominance. Altmeyer capped it off with an untouched 30-yard gallop into the endzone to give his team a 30-24 lead.
It seemed like Rutgers was dead in the water from there. It seemed like there was no way the Knights would come back. For the past decade, they never seemed to perfectly orchestrate a game-winning drive.
Enter Kaliakmanis and senior running back Kyle Monangai.
On 4th and 10 at the Illinois 40-yard line, Kaliakmanis somehow escaped a sack and charged up the field for a 15-yard first down to keep his team alive with under two minutes to go.
Moments later, a 12-yard run from the quarterback put the Knights at the 13-yard line. On the next play, Kaliakmanis found an open Monangai on the right side. The shifty back was able to dart his way into the endzone as the crowd erupted.
Finally, Rutgers showed its competitiveness until the very end. Finally, it didn’t shrink under pressure. The Knights would lead 31-30, but the Fighting Illini still had more than a minute to kick a game-winning field goal.
A couple of passes had Illinois near midfield and a holding penalty on senior defensive back Robert Longerbeam put it at the Rutgers 37-yard line. A few plays and a false start later, the Fighting Illini were facing a 4th and 13 at the opposing 40-yard line.
Initially, head coach Bret Bielema trotted his placekicker out to attempt a 58-yard field goal. The snap was down, the kick was up and it was short by a good chunk of yards.
But the play was blown dead as head coach Greg Schiano called a timeout in order to ice the kicker.
Bielema thought again, taking in the failed free trial he just witnessed with his kicker as well as the windy conditions. So, he sent out his offense to try and get a first down to make the kick easier.
What happened next shocked the whole stadium.
Altmeyer found Bryant over the middle, left uncovered by a late defensive blitz. Before Rutgers knew it, Bryant was silencing the crowd, a finger to his mouth, after a miraculous 40-yard touchdown in the dying seconds of the game. The stunned crowd watched miserably as Illinois secured 2 more points on a failed Knights lateral attempt to move down the field.
Just when it seemed like Rutgers would finally get its first ever Big Ten ranked victory and first ranked win since 2009, the Fighting Illini were the ones celebrating when the clock hit all zeros.
“We came after them and they got the ball off and then a really good player ran through our guys,” Schiano said of the last-second score. “Now, could we have had more guys? Yeah, I mean, that's another debate you could have.”
For those players who were honored on Senior Day, this heartbreak will sting.
“I feel pain for those guys,” Schiano said. “It was their last game in that stadium, and they couldn't leave with a W. They accomplished a lot, but I really wanted that for them. But we don't always get what we want in life.”
The Knights will have to look ahead towards its regular season finale against Michigan State next Saturday. They’ve made a bowl game, but a seventh win would be even sweeter.
Today, though, Rutgers will be thinking about what could have been.
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