At 4-0, Rutgers football is building an identity that should look familiar
PISCATAWAY – As soon as Washington kicker Grady Gross’s 55-yard field goal attempt sailed left of the goalpost and the final seconds of the game ticked off the clock, the scoreboard read exactly what Rutgers football needed it to.
It wasn’t an easy win. It wasn’t emphatic. It wasn't always pretty.
But it didn’t need to be.
The Scarlet Knights, for the second consecutive week, won by withstanding a late comeback attempt by their opponent. They handled adversity, they made the plays they needed to make and they escaped with a victory.
They play with a level of toughness that's difficult to beat, an identity that should look familiar to anyone who followed the program's ascension during Greg Schiano's first stint.
This was the type of game that a couple years ago, Rutgers probably doesn’t win. Earlier in Schiano’s second stint, once momentum swung toward the sideline of the Scarlet Knights’ opponent, they typically couldn’t get it back.
That’s a characteristic of a younger team, one that not’s accustomed to handling adversity or finding a way to win.
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A lot has changed.
“We're a disciplined, tough football team, and it takes a little while to develop into that because it's over time,” Schiano said. “Unfortunately there's no (way to) speed it up, unless you've got just unbelievable talent, better than everybody else, which that's not us. All those little things add up.”
This game could’ve slipped from Rutgers’ grasp.
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'Shows the toughness of our team'
The Scarlet Knights held 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 less than two minutes left and executed the two-point conversion to make it a three-point game.
After a Rutgers three-and-out, Washington got the ball back with 35 seconds left. Washington picked up a first down, but Rutgers cornerback Robert Longerbeam broke up a pass. After two short passes, the Huskies attempted the field goal that ultimately handed the Scarlet Knights the win.
Rutgers didn’t wilt.
“It just shows the toughness of our team,” quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis said. “It shows that we’re going to stay in the moment but we’re going to execute. If something goes wrong, if something goes great, we’re in the present. We’re keeping it composed, we’re never up too high or too low. We’re always just composed. I think that shows.”
It wasn’t all that different from its previous win, a 26-23 win over Virginia Tech that saw the Hokies score consecutive fourth-quarter touchdowns to slice the Scarlet Knights’ lead.
Rutgers’ ability to hang on isn’t a coincidence.
Rutgers football prepares for adversity
“Definitely a lot of maturity and growth,” said running back Kyle Monangai, who ran for 133 yards and one touchdown. “Moments like those we practice week in and week out. When the pressure of the situation gets to that point, everyone’s calm because we know the escape, we know the out to it because we’ve practiced it over and over and we repped these moments. When these big-time moments come up when a lot of people get tense and things of that nature, we’ve practiced it so much that you should have confidence in your job and what you’ve got to do.”
Rutgers prepares for adversity.
That works pays off.
“Our guys, I told them, they work so hard at things that I don't even know if other programs think about, because we have to,” Schiano said. “But you know, it showed up tonight, so I was happy for them. Sometimes you do all that and it doesn't show up. I say, there's no guarantees, fellas, but I sure am glad when it does for them.”
In many ways, that sort 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 needs to capitalize on its opponents' mistakes while minimizing its own.
This isn’t to say this is always going to work.
Rutgers has tougher opponents ahead, including Nebraska and USC on the road.
But the Scarlet Knights are proving they’re not an easy team to beat. They’re proving that they’re a team that can handle adversity.
In the Big Ten, that goes a long way.
Not every team has to be gritty or win tough.
But right now, that’s Rutgers identity.
And that’s fine with the Scarlet Knights.
“We embrace being that if we have to be,” Monangai said. “It doesn’t always have to be that way but if that’s what it has to be, we’re down to fight that way.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers football is 4-0 and is showing its identity. Again.
