Offensively, it was a pretty ugly afternoon for the Scarlet Knights. Their game plan seemed to be spreading the Irish out and throwing, while sprinkling in some read option, and it simply did not work. They had little success through the air, and the running game was also a non factor, as Paul James was banged up for much of the game. Rutgers went three and out on their opening series on offense, but they were given a golden opportunity when Notre Dame return man TJ Jones muffed the punt that was recovered by Quentin Gause. But of course, they could not cash in, as Chas Dodd missed a throw to an open Tyler Kroft that would have resulted in a first and goal situation or possibly a touchdown, so they had to settle for a 36 yard field goal from Kyle Federico.
The only signs of life the Scarlet Knight offense had came late in the first quarter and through out the second quarter. Brandon Coleman finally looked somewhat healthy, and he hauled in a deep ball from Dodd for 51 yards, running past an Irish corner, to set up a 14 yard strike from Dodd to Coleman in the corner of the endzone, tying the game up at 10. Following a Dodd interception, James broke off his longest run of the afternoon, for 13 yards before getting hurt, and Kroft caught a pass for 17 yards to get into Notre Dame territory. Dodd then scrambled for 19 yards to get down to the goal line, but they could of course not punch it in. With James out, Justin Goodwin had to carry the rock in a short yardage situation, and that's not a role he's cut out for as a true freshman. I have no idea why they did not go to Savon Huggins in this situation, or even Michael Burton, but after not punching it in from the one, Dodd rushed a throw to a wide open Burton in the endone, and the ball landed at his feet. Rather than going for it, Rutgers kicked an 18 yard field goal. Why, in an opportunity to take the lead and control of the game they passed on this opportunity as an underdog, I have no idea. But we have come to expect this passiveness after Kyle Flood.
Rutgers again moved the ball on their next possession, thanks to a rare successful read option run, another reception from Kroft, and an unsportsmanlike penalty called on Stephon Tuitt (shout out to 6'1'' 185 Ruhan Peele for trying to fight the 6'6'' 312 defensive lineman), and had a first down at the Irish 20. Ron Prince then dialed up a trick play, and it went horribly wrong as Goodwin's pass sailed short and into the waiting arms of KeiVarae Russell. Coleman was open in the back of the endzone, but with a defender in the area, Goodwin probably would have been better served eating it. This play drew a lot criticism, since they were moving the ball, but I have no problem with it. They have been very bad in the redzone, and part of "moving the ball" included a 15 yard penalty. A lot of offenses, South Carolina jumps to mind, tried trick plays in the red zone this bowl season and it worked for them. It was a good idea that ended up having a bad result. Rutgers got the ball back with 21 seconds left in the half near midfield with three time outs left and a chance to take a lead into the locker room, with the wind at their back......and they took a knee. I thought they should take a deep shot with Coleman or at least get two completions to get into field goal range, but Kyle Flood's passiveness struck again.
In the third quarter, the offense did absolutely nothing. Seven plays, one yard, that was it. Abysmal. Janarion Grant injected some life into the team early in the fourth quarter with a 54 yard kick return into plus territory, but they again had to settle for a field goal to make it 19-16. James seemed to get going a bit here, but a penalty and a sack stalled the drive out. Federico kicked it through the wind for 47 yards, that was actually pretty impressive. Dodd then threw another interception, and then another one into the endzone as time expired with the Knights down 13.
On defense, the Knights, bent and bent and bent, but did not fully break.They gave up a ton of yards --through the air in the first half and on the ground in the second half, but they tightened up in the redzone and held Notre Dame to mostly field goals on the afternoon. Even with Dave Brock out of the picture, the Knights still sat back in soft zone coverages and let the opposing QB take what ever he wanted. Three weeks wasn't enough time for Joe Rossi to completely over haul the system, but he didn't seem to add too many wrinkles either.
Tommy Rees took advantage of the ten yard cushion Rutgers was giving his receivers, and he led the Irish down to the eight on Notre Dame's opening drive. But when the Knights were forced to play more aggressively in the red zone, he miss fired on a few passes into the endzone, and they were held to only a field goal. Following his fumble, TJ Jones took over the second time the Irish had the ball, bringing down two passes for 33 yards before scoring from eight yards out on a jet sweep. Rutgers run defense stepped up on Notre Dame's first possession of the second quarter, as Darius Hamilton and Ike Holmes both made stops on runs up the middle, forcing a punt for the first time that afternoon.
Following a Dodd interception, the Knights defense was put in a tough spot, but they stepped up. the Irish started at the 22, but they were only able to advance one yard, and were held to a field goal to re-take the lead 13-10. Quentin Gause and Darius Hamilton both made tackles for loss on the next series, but Rees again took advantage of the cushion he was given, and advanced the ball into field goal range yet again, before being shut down in the redzone. But this time, the 44 yard attempt missed. Notre Dame started their final possession of the half at their own one, and they eventually punted.
After having trouble defending the pass in the first half, Rutgers had a big problem defending the run in the second half. The Irish came out of the locker room pounding the rock, taking a lot of time off the clock and putting the game away for good. They ran behind future first round pick tackle Zack Martin, and the under sized Scarlet Knight front could not find an answer. On Notre Dame's first possession of the half, it appeared that they would come away with no points after missing a field goal, but a very questionable roughing the kicker penalty gave Kyle Brindza another shot, and he connected. On the penalty, Nadir Barnwell came in off the edge and laid out like he was supposed to and avoided contact, but Brindza kicked him in his head on the follow through, and put on a pretty good show flopping around after the fact. That gave the Irish the lead, and they would never relinquish it.
Notre Dame continued to run right up the gut behind Martin in the fourth quarter, and they came away with yet another field goal, before plunging in for a three yard touchdown run to put the game away. Rutgers defense had been pretty strong against the run all season, but they really struggled in that department in the second half of this game. Their own offenses inability to pick up first downs and give them a rest was a big factor in this, as was the lack of depth on the defensive line late in the season after beginning the season with a lot of depth up front.
It was an ugly, forgettable day for both the offense and the defense, but Rutgers did not get run out of the building like most people expected. They missed out on plenty of opportunities, but they missed out on most of them. A win over Notre Dame going into the offseason would have given this program some much needed momentum, but they couldn't come through and the program heads to greener pastures in the Big 10 at the lowest point it has been in about a decade.
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