Why Rutgers football must be well-positioned to bounce back from heartbreaking loss at Illinois

PISCATAWAY – Sixty-four seconds.

That was all the playing time it took for Rutgers football to go from a memorable, historic victory for the program to a disappointing and painful loss.

Sixty-four seconds.

With 1:08 left in the fourth quarter, quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Monangai to put Rutgers up by one.

With four seconds left, Illinois quarterback Luke Altmeyer threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Pat Bryant, who eluded several Scarlet Knights defenders and fired into the end zone for a touchdown that ultimately sent the Illini within 38-31. Victory on Saturday at SHI Stadium.

And in these 64 seconds?

One decision that backfired.

In the end, Rutgers was left with a heartbreaking loss. This loss, of course, won’t ruin the season—the Scarlet Knights still can’t win the bowl, and they still have a chance to beat a very mediocre Michigan State team in the regular-season finale for a program-defining seventh win.

But in a season that has had a little bit of everything, Rutgers has suffered another setback that it needs to quickly shake off and move on to give itself the best chance to end this season on a high note.

“This is big football,” said running back Kyle Monangai, who rushed for 122 yards on 28 carries. “They showed a great performance at the end of the game. I think we played with our hearts until the very end, even in that last game. Illinois did the same, they are a great team. Today the chips are down.”

Throughout the game the dynamics changed. At halftime, Rutgers looked poised for a victory that could have marked its first victory over a ranked opponent in 15 years, ending a streak of 40 straight losses against such teams.

Illinois then fought back in the second half.

It led 30-24 when Rutgers drove late in the fourth quarter. The Scarlet Knights faced fourth-and-10 from the Illini 40 when Kaliakmanis scrambled for a 15-yard gain to extend the drive, and three plays later he hit Monangai for a 13-yard touchdown pass that put Rutgers up 31-30. .

The Scarlet Knights’ defenders simply needed to stop Illinois.

I couldn’t, although I almost did.

The Illini had fourth-and-13 from the Rutgers 40. Illinois coach Bret Bielema sent his kicker to attempt a 58-yard field goal — into the wind. He didn’t come close, except when Greg Schiano called timeout when the ball was hit. This negated the miss.

Bielema then sent the attack back onto the field. Then came the winning touchdown.

Schiano said he regretted the timeout, not the timeout itself.

“Maybe I should have done it before he hit the ball so he wouldn’t tell them, ‘Oh my God, the wind is strong, we can’t hit that shot,’” Schiano said. “But we had to make sure we went through what we did. I said, “We’re in a timeout, there are no more timeouts for the media, so we have to go.” So it’s okay, we’ll call time out in a second. But again, if you do it and win the game, it’s the right call.”

In this case, the call backfired.

After all, for a football team that had endured a lot of adversity this season, this was even more adversity.

Four wins in a row followed by four losses in a row. Trauma after trauma. A defense that fell apart only for coordinator Joe Harasymiak to rebuild it so it could thrive during a two-game winning streak that clinched bowl eligibility.

Now Rutgers must bounce back. Again.

Because against Michigan State on Saturday in East Lansing, they’ll have another chance to claim their seventh regular-season win for the first time in program history.

He will have a chance to make it four Big Ten wins for the first time this season.

The Scarlet Knights have bounced back significantly this season.

They need to do it again.

“I think the younger guys will learn from this,” Monangai said. “Many of them are experiencing something like this for the first time. For them, we just help them how to deal with the challenges, the ups and downs of the season and how to keep coming back to work after a win or a loss.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers Football Club Well Prepared to Recover from Illinois Loss