Despite a slow start, it was a successful homecoming for Rutgers Football as it defeated Indiana 24-17 at SHI Stadium.
It was about as bad of a first quarter as Rutgers could have imagined as Indiana took the opening kickoff of the game 93 yards for a touchdown before marching 91 yards on 11 plays to take a 14-0 advantage. However, the Scarlet Knights started the second quarter answering back with an 11-play, 86-yard drive capped off by Noah Vedral hitting Sean Ryan for a 15-yard touchdown to cut Indiana’s lead down to seven.
The Scarlet Knights took control in the third quarter when they allowed Indiana to possess the ball for just 1 minute and 15 seconds and gave up -2 yards of offense. Samuel Brown V gave the Scarlet Knights their first lead of the day 17-14 in the third quarter when he punched one in from two yards out, capping off a 12-play, 56-yard drive.
It was a career day for Brown as he had 28 carries for 101 yards and one score and became the first Scarlet Knights running back to have 25+ carries since Paul James in 2014 against Washington State. The freshman also tallied his first 100+ yard game and scored his first touchdown against an FBS opponent.
The Scarlet Knights' defense also stepped up its game after the first quarter as they gave up just three more points and allowed 85 more yards. Christian Braswell also had a big day with three pass breakups, one tackle for a loss, and recorded a deciding pick-six with 5:12 remaining to give Rutgers a 24-14 edge.
After starting the game 15-for-20 with 117 yards with a rushing touchdown, Indiana quarterback Connor Bazelak was stymied the rest of the way completing just eight more passes and finishing with 210 yards through the air with most of it coming on the Hoosiers' final drive of the game.
Rutgers opened up the second half with a 15-play, 46-yard drive closed with a career-high 49-yard field goal from Jude McAtamney to bring the Scarlet Knights within four points.
RFootball Play of the Day: Noah Vedral connects with Sean Ryan on a 15-yard pass for a score to put the Scarlet Knights on the board.
Rutgers will return to action next Saturday when it travels to Huntington Bank Stadium to take on Minnesota at 2:30 p.m (ET).
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