From early in the first quarter on Saturday afternoon, it was evident it was not going to be Rutgers day on the field against the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Scarlet Knights fell to 2-5 on the season in a 23-7 loss to Penn State at SHI Stadium.
The day started off well for the Scarlet Knights as they were able to stop Penn State’s first drive after allowing the Nittany Lions to move the ball 66-yards over 17 plays and nearly seven minutes of game time. That’s about where the good news would stop for Greg Schiano’s team in the first half.
SIGN UP FOR PREMIUM NOW AND GET 30 DAYS FREE — CLICK HERE FOR MORE!!
On their first possession of the game, the Scarlet Knights would decide to go for it on 4th and 1 on their own 45-yard line. The play would be blown up in the backfield by Penn State, giving the Nittany Lions short field which they would take advantage of, picking up a touchdown to go up 7-0 just five plays later.
The Scarlet Knights offense would continue to struggle from there, picking up just 22 yards after their first drive resulted in 21 yards. They entered halftime with 43 total yards including just 12 rushing yards on 13 carries.
The offensive struggles were highlighted most by a drive that started at Penn State’s 36 following a fumble by Penn State running back Devyn Ford. The drive would, however, only go backward for Rutgers, thanks to a run of no gain, a holding penalty, and then a run by Bo Melton resulted in an eight yard loss. They would pick up five yards on a play of 3rd and 28 but ultimately lost 13 yards on the drive, failing to take advantage of the turnover.
The Rutgers defense would struggle to keep Penn State from moving the ball on mostly short field situations in the first half and with the offense not doing them any favors either, the Scarlet Knights entered half-time at a 17-0 deficit.
The second half didn’t get off to a much better start for Rutgers as a Noah Vedral fumble just two plays into the second half would give Penn State another short field situation that ultimately resulted in the Nittany Lions taking a 20-0 lead early in the third quarter.
Rutgers would finally get on the board late in the third quarter when Noah Vedral found Bo Melton on a prayer of a pass on fourth and goal to cut Penn State’s lead to 20-7. Unfortunately for the Scarlet Knights offense, that’s all they would be able to get on the board in the game.
Overall, the second half performance was better than the first half, the offense had a bit more success in moving the ball while the defense allowed just a pair of field goals. Noah Vedral finished the day 17-for-30, for 113 passing yards and one touchdown. He also led the offense in rushing yards with 54 on 13 carries. Bo Melton had the best day of any skill position player with seven receptions for 38-yards and a score.
The Scarlet Knights are currently scheduled to go on the road and take on the Maryland Terrapins into their final game of the 2020 regular season before the Big Ten's "East vs West" showdown in week nine.
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
