Final: Rutgers 63, Norfolk State 13

Telling stat: 3 Leonte Carroo TD’s in one half

Wow. Apparently Carroo did not like missing the first half. After he was sidelined for the first half for breaking curfew, the Rutgers receiver scored touchdowns on his first three catches. That just shows you why he believes he’s the best receiver in the Big Ten and one of the best in the country. That’s how you make a statement.

Key play: Janarion Grant opens 2nd half with TD return

Rutgers needed a big play to kick off the second half in a one-possession game. Enter Janarion Grant, who returned the opening kickoff of the second half with a touchdown. The kicker? Had Grant done the exact same thing in the first half, he would’ve won students a $100,000 prize because of a university promotion. Still, that was a money play.

Noteworthy:

Rettig stars

It’s hard to find much wrong at all with Hayden Rettig’s performance. The LSU transfer made his first career start after earning the starting job by default because of Chris Laviano’s first-half suspension. He did everything and more to make the most of his opportunity. All he did was throw for 110 yards with a touchdown pass, and he run for one just for good measure. Surely he earned the starting job.

Laviano somehow relieves… And stars

But that would make too much sense at Rutgers. Instead, Kyle Flood put Chris Laviano in to start the second half. And go figure, he threw three touchdown passes to Carroo. It’s a good thing he stepped up because if he hadn’t Flood’s seat would’ve gotten even hotter. How that’s possible, I don’t know.

Running game rock solid

Paul James made his highly anticipated return and did more than enough to gain some confidence back He looked confident on that surgically repaired knee. Even better, Josh Hicks stepped up and had a rushing score. For all the talk about the quarterback debate, the Scarlet Knights showed that they have multiple capable backs.

What it means: Quarterback debate alive and well

The conversation before the game was all about the five Rutgers players that were kicked off the team. After? It will be all about the quarterback debate. Both Rettig and Laviano did everything that was asked of them. That’s exactly what Flood wanted to see. Who knows, maybe both will receive reps going forward.

What’s next: vs. Washington State

Rutgers’ soft non-conference schedule continues with Washington State. At least the Scarlet Knights will have to face some Pac-12 athletes. No offense to Norfolk State, but they did not have the talent to stay on the field with the Scarlet Knights. Washington State will, but Rutgers should still be in good shape to stay unbeaten.