The Scarlet Knights got off to about as good of a start as you can hope for. After the Hokies received the opening kick, Rutgers showed heavy pressure up the middle on the second play of the game. This caused Virginia Tech's center to panic and snap the ball before QB Logan Thomas was ready for it, and the ball bounced into the endzone. Thomas initially recovered it, but Khaseem Greene stripped the ball out of his hands and picked it up for a touchdown to give Rutgers a 7-0 lead just 17 seconds into the game. Following the ensuing kick off, Virginia Tech was able to advance the ball to middle field on a Thomas pass and a reverse, but that's as far as they would advance in the first three quarters of the game. Marvin Booker eventually over powered Tech's tight end to record a tackle for loss and Logan Ryan broke up a deep pass on third down to force a punt.
Rutgers' offense did not look awful on their first possession of the game. Jawan Jamison ran for 6 yards on his first carry and Nova completed a quick out to Quoron Pratt for a first down. Miles Shuler then took a screen pass 9 yards on first down, but they were unable to pick up the extra yard to move the chains and had to punt for the first of many times. The defense continued their torrid start, as Marcus Cooper delivered a big hit in the backfield to blow up an option play, leading to a three and out to get Rutgers the ball right back. Savon Huggins took a pitch on the second play of the series to the outside for 17 yards behind RJ Dill and Andre Civil, and since the play worked so well, it was never called again. The drive ended shortly after that with a punt. On the next defensive series Jamil Merrell power bombed Thomas for a sack, and Virginia Tech returned serve with a punt of their own.
Rutgers next offensive drive was their only one that resulted in any points. Miles Shuler took a double reverse 25 yards, setting up an eventual 36 yard field goal from Nick Borgese to give the Knights a 10-0 lead. And of course, since he was playing well, Shuler didn't touch the ball again. The two teams then traded three and outs, highlighted by Marcus Thompson and Jamal Merrell combining for a sack and Nova missing Huggins on a screen that probably would have been a touchdown with Antwan Lowery out in front, to end the opening quarter.
The defense started the second quarter with another bang, making some plays in the backfield. Greene sniffed out a screen to record a tackle for loss and Duron Harmon delivered a big hit to force another punt. The following Rutgers drive got off to a promising start after the Knights were handed bad field position. Brandon Coleman made another big reception, taking a slant 43 yards, and a 9 yard run by Jamison set up Nova to sneak his way for another first down in Hokie territory. Nova followed up one of his few positive moments by forcing a pass down field that should have been intercepted, and the Knights eventually turned it over on downs when Nova forced another throw down field, when it appeared he may have been able to pick up the first down with his legs (I don't think he would have got it). The Hokies then went three and out yet again, thanks to another big hit from Harmon and a pressure from Greene.
Mason Robinson then set the offense up with good field position with a nice punt return, and 15 yards were added on to that when VT's punter hit him out of bounds. They were not able to take advantage of it though, thanks to poor play calling. Huggins picked up 4 yards on first down run, and they then inexplicably went to an empty set on 2nd and 6, before calling a QB draw on 3rd and 6. Obviously Nova did not pick up the first down and they decided to punt from the Tech 35. Why they didn't go for it? I don't have a clue. This whole possession confused me. It's like they didn't even have a plan. Fortunately, Justin Doerner's punt was downed at the two. Virginia Tech was able to move the ball out of the shadows of their own endzone with a couple first downs, but Thomas arm punted a pass to Brandon Jones down field and Jones intercepted it. And with 1:40 left in the half, the offense sat on the ball and ran the clock out to go into locker room up 10-0.
Rutgers was able to pick up a first down to open the half, but the drive stalled when they misidentified two blitzes that led to Nova getting sacked and having to force a throw that ended up incomplete. The defense was then able to continue their domination by forcing a three and out, as Thomas could not complete a pass past good coverage. Nova was able to hit a couple more out routes to Tim Wright and Mark Harrison to pick up a couple first downs when the offense took the field again, but he slipped and took a sack that led to another punt. The defense was able to force another 3 and out after that, with Steve Beauharnais nearly intercepting a pass.Virginia Tech extended Rutgers' next offensive possession by committing penalties, including a pass interference on a ball Nova under threw because of bad mechanics that could have been a TD if he got more juice on it, and it ended with Borgese missing a 47 yard attempt, after Huggins converted a 4th and 1, running behind the pulling Lowery.
Following the missed kick, the defense had their only minor lapse of the game. Thomas was able to hit his receivers on a couple deep crossing routes to advance deep into Rutgers territory. Greene and co. then got tough against the run, and they held the Hokies to a field goal that made it 10-3. The one score lead felt too close for comfort, and at that point, I just thought with the way the passing game was going, Rutgers is best off running the ball every play, punting and playing defense. Virginia Tech had dropped a number of interceptions and it was only a matter of time before they held on to one. But the Knights kept going to the air, and it bit them in the ass when a Nova pass sailed way over the head of an open Coleman and into the waiting arms of Antone Exum, who then returned it to the RU 21. The defense needed a HUGE stop, but ultimately, it was asking them to do too much. The did get to a third and 10 following a Ka'lial Galud pressure that led to Jones breaking up a pass, but Logan Thomas delivered an absolutely perfect ball to Corey Fuller on a fade route in the endzone to tie the game up at 10 with just under 11 minutes left.
When Rutgers got the ball back, it started to rain heavily and it had an immediate negative effect on the offense, as they dropped two passes on their way to a three and out. Virginia Tech followed that up with a three and out of their own, as Logan Ryan broke up a pass and Kevin Snyder made a play in the backfield. Coleman was able to pick up a first down on Rutgers' next possession, but Nova mishandled a snap on the next play, and the Hokies started a drive in Rutgers territory yet again. This time though, the defense forced Tech backwards. Booker made a tackle for loss on first down, and Greene pressured Thomas to force an errant throw. Jamil Merrell then was credited with a sack on an intentionally grounding penalty, and Virginia Tech was forced to punt it back to Rutgers. The Knights were still unable to solve the Hokies' defense, and they were forced to punt it back again. A pass interference penalty got Tech into field goal range, but the defense held tough and Cody Journell missed the 51 yard try (they went all out for a block here, even bringing DC Jefferson and Brandon Coleman on to try to block it). Rutgers couldn't move the ball when they got it back, and Brandon Jones was able to intercept another deep pass from Thomas to give Rutgers a chance to win the game with 1:31 left. But of course, the offense couldn't even get a first down and had to punt it right back. Greene and Scott Vallone teamed up to record a sack to send the game to overtime.
Rutgers won the toss and elected to play defense first in overtime. Marcus Davis caught a pass from Thomas for a first down and Journell made a chip shot to make it 13-10. Nova was sacked on Rutgers' first play and that basically knocked them out of field goal range. They got back to the original line of scrimmage, but Nick Borgese missed the 42 yard attempt, and Rutgers lost.
You can't say enough about how great the defense played in this game. Robb Smith was dialing up heavy pressure, and they were getting to Thomas, sacking him and forcing him to rush his throws. All 11 defenders were flying around to stuff the run, and Virginia Tech only had 3 yards on the ground. The defensive line was penetrating the backfield all game, with Jamil Merrell leading the way with two sacks, and the linebackers were hitting hard, with Khaseem Greene making a ton of plays, as usual. All three corners, Ryan, Cooper and Jones had big games in the defensive backfield, and Duron Harmon flashed with some big plays of his own. This was probably the best game they played this season, and they defiantly deserved a better fate to end than season than this.
The offense, on the other hand, was putrid, and it starts with the coaching staff. Virginia Tech was blitzing more guys than Rutgers can block, and they did not make the necessary adjustments by keeping backs and tight ends in to pass protect. Dave Brock also called an awful game, continually putting the ball in the hands of his struggling QB, going to empty sets on 2nd and medium after 4 or 5 yard runs on first down, and the inexplicable QB draw. Nova certainly played as bad of a game as a QB can, with poor pocket presence leading to rushed throws into coverage, but you can just see how poorly coached he is. Other than the coaching and QB play, the offense wasn't awful. The line did a solid job in pass protection considering all the pressure, and they a solid job run blocking considering VT was loading up the box. Brandon Coleman had a pretty good game and I though both backs did a good job running when they had room to.
It was a pretty bad way for Rutgers to end the season. The defense dominated, but the offense was unable to do a thing. This was a successful season overall for Rutgers, but there is a bad taste left in everyone's mouth after they dropped three straight to end the year.
Additional Thoughts
-I am going to miss watching this defense play so much. Greene, Vallone, Beauharnais, Ryan, Harmon and others were a very special group, and the 2011 and 2012 defenses might have been the best in the program's history.
-I re-watched the game, and I noticed that the fill in fullbacks missed a lot of blocks. The team really missed Michael Burton in the last third of the season.
-Alonzo Tweedy had a hell of a game for the Hokies. I think he made every tackle.
-Whoever is in charge of setting the pass protections needs to do a better job next year. They slid the protection the wrong way numerous times.
-Hindsight is 20/20, but if Kyle Federico was healthy, why didn't he attempt the two long field goals that Borgese missed? Borgese is more accurate, but Federico has a much better leg.
-I can't believe Rutgers lost to a team that had a stupid turkey on their helmets.
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