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Rutgers Football is 4-0 and showing its identity. Again.

Posted on by Vanessa
Rutgers Football is 4-0 and showing its identity. Again.

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PISCATAWAY — As soon as Washington kicker Grady Gross's 55-yard field goal attempt sailed left of the goal post as the final seconds of the game expired, the scoreboard read exactly what Rutgers football needed.

Rutgers 21, Washington 18.

It wasn't an easy victory. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't forceful.

But that didn't have to be the case.

The Scarlet Knights won for the second straight year by withstanding a late comeback attempt from their opponent. They overcame adversity, made the necessary plays and came away with a win.

It was the type of game Rutgers probably wouldn't win a few years ago. Early in Greg Schiano's second period, when the momentum shifted toward the Scarlet Knights' opponent's sideline, they typically couldn't get it back.

That's a characteristic of a younger team that isn't used to dealing with adversity or finding a way to win.

A lot has changed.

“We're a disciplined, tough football team, and it's going to take us a while to get there because it's over time,” coach Greg Schiano said. “Unfortunately, there's no way to speed it up unless you just have incredible talent, better than everyone else, and that's not us. “All those little things add up.”

This game could have gotten away from Rutgers.

“Shows the strength of our team”

The Scarlet Knights had an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter after Sam Brown's 37-yard touchdown run.

They held it until Washington scored a touchdown with under two minutes left and the two-point conversion to make it a three-point game.

After a three-pointer from Rutgers, Washington got the ball back with 35 seconds left. Washington picked up a first down, but Rutgers cornerback Robert Longerbeam intercepted a pass. After two short passes, the Huskies attempted the field goal that ultimately gave the Scarlet Knights the victory.

Rutgers didn’t let up.

“It just shows the strength of our team,” quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis said. “It shows that we stay in the moment, but we will make it happen. When something goes wrong, when something goes right, we are in the present. We stay calm, we are never too high or too low. We are always just relaxed. I think it shows.”

It wasn't all that different from his previous win, a 26-23 win over Virginia Tech in which the Hokies scored consecutive touchdowns in the fourth quarter to cut into the Scarlet Knights' lead.

Rutgers' ability to persevere is no accident.

Rutgers football prepares for adversity

“Definitely a lot of maturity and growth,” said running back Kyle Monangai, who ran for 133 yards and a touchdown. “We practice moments like this week after week. When the pressure of the situation reaches this point, everyone is calm because we know the way out, we know what happens next because we have practiced it again and again and repeated these moments. When these big moments come when a lot of people are tense and things like that, we've practiced it so much that you should have confidence in your job and what you have to do.”

Rutgers prepares for adversity.

It's worth it.

“Our guys, I told them, work so hard on things that I don't even know if other programs are thinking about because we have to do it,” Schiano said. “But you know, it showed up tonight, so I was happy for her. Sometimes you do all that and it doesn't show up. I say there are no guarantees, guys, but I’ll definitely be happy if it is for them.”

In many ways, that kind of identity reflects the way Rutgers won during Schiano's first stint.

Tough, opportunistic defense. Solid special teams. Strong running game.

Rutgers is a team that must capitalize on its opponents' mistakes while minimizing its own.

That doesn't mean it will always work.

Rutgers has tougher opponents ahead of it, including Nebraska and USC on the road.

But the Scarlet Knights are proving that they are not an easy team to beat. They prove that they are a team that can handle adversity.

That goes a long way in the Big Ten.

Not every team has to be brave or win hard.

But right now, that’s Rutgers’ identity.

And that's fine with the Scarlet Knights.

“We welcome it if we have to,” Monangai said. “It doesn’t always have to be this way, but when it has to be this way, we have to fight like this.”

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