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Rapid Reaction: Washington has too many weapons, downs Rutgers in Piscataway
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Final score: No. 8 Washington 30, Rutgers 14
Quick recap
Rutgers did everything an underdog needs to do early in the game.
The Scarlet Knights found the end zone first, going ahead 7-3 on a short pass from Kyle Bolin to Janarion Grant. The defense brought the heat and covered receivers well. Washington had just 97 yards, was 0-for-5 on third down conversions and had the ball for less than 10 minutes. It’s fair to say that Rutgers set the tone in the first two quarters.
It all withered away in the second half.
Washington QB Jake Browning got into a rhythm, the Huskies’ offense started to move and the better talent prevailed. Rutgers was outscored 20-7 in the second half.
Still, it was a heck of an effort from a team that won just two games a season ago.
Key play: Washington’s Dante Pettis returns punt 61 yards for touchdown
A beautiful punt for Rutgers turned into a disastrous play in the blink of an eye.
Scarlet Knights punter Ryan Anderson was backed up in his own end zone but managed to boot the ball 60 yards down the field and Pettis was unable to field it cleanly. But once the speedy punt returned eventually corralled the football, he was off to the races, blazing past defenders on his way to pay dirt.
It gave the Huskies their first lead at 10-7 with 3:50 left in the half. It was exactly the type of play Rutgers couldn’t afford to give up if it wanted any chance to pull off the upset.
Stat of the game: RB Gus Edwards rushes for 79 yards
Washington may have won the game, but there wasn’t anything overly impressive about the victory. But what did stand out was the play of Miami-transfer Gus Edwards.
In his first game at Rutgers, Edwards rushed for 79 yards on 24 carries. The numbers might not be eye-popping, but he proved to be a solid back for the Scarlet Knights. He’s going to be a huge benefit in Piscataway this fall.
What it means
Rutgers already looks a lot better than last year. Like, a lot better.
The Scarlet Knights still have a lot of work to do and there’s plenty of room for improvement, but in Year 2, it’s evident that Chris Ash has this program heading in a positive direction.
The secondary played well and forced Browning to work for his completions, at least in the first half. It allowed the defensive line to get pressure on the quarterback and forced Browning to make quick decisions at times.
Offensively, Rutgers has a solid two-back attack with Edwards and Robert Martin. Quarterback Kyle Bolin is much more poised than anyone under center for the Knights the past two seasons.
It’s only one game, and there’s still a lot to improve on. But Rutgers is already leaps-and-bounds ahead of where it was a year ago.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB