Arnav’s Analysis: Takeaways From Rutgers’ Narrow 42-35 Loss To USC

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Left for all but dead after dropping their first two games to UMass and Boston College, Rutgers football opened Big Ten play with a spirited performance against USC, ultimately falling short 42-35. Although the Trojans never trailed, the Scarlet Knights rallied from a 10-0 deficit to trail 20-14 at halftime before a costly pick-six thrown by Dylan Lonergan put Rutgers down two scores.

Even with the Knights unable to get the second score back, the Knights put together scoring drive after scoring drive and kept the faith alive in an improbable seven-point loss to the #12 team in the country. Yet it never truly felt like Rutgers would have a real chance to win the football game due to the defense struggling just as much as the Trojans’ did. Here are my takeaways from a wild afternoon in Piscataway, as this season continues to write an unthinkable script.

Offense Scores At Will, But Mistakes Do Them In

The Rutgers offense produced 460 yards, including 122 from Antwan Raymond, 86 from KJ Duff, and 252 passing yards from Dylan Lonergan. For most of the game, the Scarlet Knights went score for score with the Trojans, but a couple crucial interceptions and mistakes doomed their chances of pulling off the improbable (but not impossible) upset against USC.

After Lincoln Riley’s team was limited to a field goal on its first series, Dylan Lonergan threw an ill-advised pass on his first throw that set the Trojans up just outside the Rutgers red zone. Two double-digit rushes from King Miller later and USC went up 10-0, which could have set the tone for the game.

Instead, Rutgers strung together a 75-yard drive, aided by a facemask penalty which negated a sack from standout freshman Luke Wafle, alternating passes and rushes before KJ Duff hauled in a beautiful toe-tap grab in the end zone from Lonergan, which was overturned from an incomplete pass to a touchdown.

One of the most pivotal moments of the game came with Rutgers trailing USC 17-7 in the second quarter. Both offenses were stymied and exchanged punts, and it appeared that the Scarlet Knights were going to give the Trojans a short field, similar to the first game against UMass.

However, Greg Schiano and company elected to roll the dice on a well-designed fake punt pass from Jakob Anderson to Jessie Ofurie which went for 40 yards. Dylan Lonergan chunked his way down the remainder of the field, with passes of 15 and 13, and then a 16-yard touchdown pass to true freshman Elias Coke for his first Rutgers and collegiate touchdown. Although the defense allowed a quick Trojans field goal, the Knights went into the break down just 20-14.

Rutgers had the chance to take the lead on a promising opening series in the third quarter, with a 20-yard pass to Duff setting up the Knights with first-and-goal at the Trojans’ nine-yard line. However, in all too predictable fashion, Lonergan fired a pass into coverage and it was intercepted at the one-yard line and returned 99-yards by Prophet Brown for a pick-six that turned what could have been a 21-20 RU lead into a 27-14 deficit.

On the next drive, the Knights immediately answered, with a 49-yard run by Antwan Raymond setting up a 17-yard score from Clay Thevenin. The drive was just three plays and covered 75 yards while only taking 1:39 of game time. The remainder of the game largely played out in this fashion, and when Rutgers finally got the one stop they needed on a turnover on downs, they were unable to convert a fourth-and-one, poorly disguising a Raymond run up the middle with four different players in the backfield in a Navy-looking formation that got stuffed at the line.

USC took advantage of a short field and went back up 14, and although a successful drive ending with Lonergan finding Vernon Allen III for a 28-yard catch and run touchdown, the Trojans controlled the football and ran out the clock up 42-35. It felt like a fever simulation in the second half, where the offense kept doing enough to keep pace but not enough to take the lead or win, and that brings me to the next part of this article.

One of the notable things about this game were that eight different receivers caught passes. Duff led all receivers with 86 yards on seven catches and a touchdown on 70 snaps, but Rutgers got a mix of younger receivers, running backs, and tight ends involved. Aside from Ofurie’s 40-yard fake punt pass, Raymond had three catches for 39 yards, Ben Black III had two receptions for 43 yards, and Vernon Allen III had his long score.

Beyond that, Jourdin Houston continued to move the chains in the slot with two catches for 27 yards while Elias Coke’s touchdown shows that the youngest receivers on the team will be getting involved immediately. Allen saw 32 snaps, Coke had 29, and Dyzier Carter, who had three catches against UMass, had 22 snaps. Rutgers also appeared to get their tight ends more involved, with Logan Blake playing the third-most snaps on offense at 43 while backup tight end Kam Anthony saw three snaps.

Defense Allows 40+ to USC

Although the Rutgers defense showed improvement at times, they looked about as poor as the Trojans’ defense and were not able to get enough stops to offset mistakes made on the offensive side of the football. This game was similar to last season’s Penn State loss, where the Knights were unable to overcome a poor defensive showing due to offensive miscues undermining a stellar performance.

The run defense allowed 102 yards to King Miller on 16 carries, including two double-digit carries on the opening touchdown for Southern California. One of the biggest coverage blows was in the 52-yard touchdown pass to Corey Simms, but that wasn’t as egregious as in weeks past, as the corner mistimed what could have been an interception and it resulted in the long score.

The defensive front struggled against the Trojans’ high-powered offense, but Zaire Angoy got home for a sack, Rutgers’ second of the season. Other than that, USC kept a clean pocked, with Malachi Davis coming up with the Knights’ only other pressure.

At linebacker, Rutgers saw the return of Abram Wright, and he led the linebackers with 44 snaps, posting a PFF grade of 70.8 in his return. Meanwhile, at cornerback, the duo of Bradlee Jones and Kevyn Humes started, with Jones posting much better PFF grades all-around. At safety, Kaj Sanders made his return to the lineup, leading the Knights with eight total tackles, tied with STUD hybrid safety DK Gilley.

Rutgers Is… Competitive?

After the first two losses to bottom-tier FBS teams in UMass and Boston College, projections for the rest of the season did not look bright for the Scarlet Knights. Now after Rutgers lost by just seven to the (somehow still #12 USC Trojans). A win would have been their first one over a ranked opponent since 2009, when they shut out #23/24 South Florida 31-0.

The Scarlet Knights should be able to get their first win of the season over Howard on Friday night after that performance against USC, which would give Greg Schiano 100 victories at Rutgers for his career. After that, Rutgers will have one of their most anticipated games of the season when the fifth-ranked Indiana Hoosiers visit Piscataway in a game that serves as both the Scarlet Knights’ homecoming and blackout games.

Many, including Greg Schiano, believe that Rutgers would have a better record if they played like this in their first couple of games, but the Scarlet Knights have played better football each week so far. Rutgers will look to be a competent outfit in the remainder of Big Ten play, with two road games at Maryland and Northwestern to follow their early homestand, so don’t write them off for the season just yet.

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