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No. 17/20 Wake Forest topped Rutgers, 38-10, in the 2021 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Saturday at TIAA Bank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.
Shorthanded Rutgers put up a valiant effort, especially in the first half.
It was one of those games where the score doesn't reflect what actually went on.
Wake Forest, which had the fourth-highest scoring offense in the country and the No. 9 offense for yards-per-game coming in, scored touchdowns on its initial two drives, and notched a field goal on its third. Sam Hartman tossed scoring strikes to Brandon Chapman and A.T. Perry.
Rutgers kept pace, though, as Aaron Young ran for a 12-yard touchdown and Valentino Ambrosio nailed a 28-yard field goal. Nick Sciba converted a 37-yard field goal to put Wake up 17-10.
The Demon Deacons tacked on three more points to end the first half on a field goal again by Sciba to make it 20-10 at halftime. Noah Vedral was intercepted down near the goal line, and Wake went from its own 2-yard line to the Rutgers 25-yard line.
After a Gavin Wimsatt interception to begin the third, Wake Forest and Rutgers traded punts. With the ball back, the Demon Deacons added three more points on a field goal by Sciba, this time from 23 yards out. The kick attempt came on the heels of a third-and-26 conversion by Wake. Rutgers missed a number of tackles on the short screen.
Hartman connected with Chapman again on a short touchdown pass early in the fourth, and the two-point conversion pass to Perry made it 31-10.
Justice Ellison closed things out with a rushing touchdown with 4:15 to go.
KEY NUMBERS
2: Turnovers by Rutgers. Vedral threw a costly pick in the red zone late in the second quarter. Rutgers went 5-0 when it won the turnover battle this season, 0-8 when it didn't. Wimsatt threw one as well on a deep ball in the third.
3: Number of quarterbacks who came in on consecutive plays during a drive in the second quarter for Rutgers. Simon and Wimsatt each threw an incomplete pass, and then Vedral passed for a first down.
4: Amount of signal callers who ultimately played. Vedral started, and Wimsatt, Johnny Langan, and Simon all took turns. Wide receiver Isaiah Washington also threw the ball on a trick play.
5: Numbers who threw a pass for the Scarlet Knights.
7: Number of penalties called on Rutgers in the game. Rutgers was flagged for three offsides on Wake's first possession. Maybe the ACC or Big 12 (the officials for the game) have a different line of scrimmage than in the Big Ten.
TURNING POINTS/IMPORTANT MOMENTS: Sequence of possessions near end of first half
Punting for the first time in the game in the second quarter, Adam Korsak, Rutgers' team MVP and Ray Guy Award finalist, punted the ball 44 yards down to the 5-yard line. It was caught by Robert Longerbeam. Desmond Iginosun came down and stopped Christian Beal-Smith for a 4-yard loss, and two incompletions forced a Demon Deacons punt.
With good field position at its own 46-yard line, Rutgers drove all the way down the field near the goal line, but Vedral was intercepted in the end zone on third down.
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Wake Forest, with a timeout still in its pocket after calling two to save time on Rutgers' possession beforehand, was able to get out of its own end zone this time around and get another field making it 20-10 at the break.
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Wimsatt's interception on Rutgers drive to the start the third quarter. Rutgers was toying around again with its quarterbacks, and Wimsatt just chucked the ball deep that was picked off. Center Gus Zilinskas was also called for holding on the play. Rutgers had the opportunity to get back in the game.
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Wake Forest got 28 yards on a short screen pass from Hartman to receiver Ke'Shawn Williams. Rutgers missed a bevvy of tackles on the play and should have had him down short of the line to gain by a mile.
RFOOTBALL PLAYER(S) OF THE GAME: Entire team, coaches, and staff
The Scarlet Knights basically found out they were playing in this game yesterday, and yet with ample practice and prep time, they were able to make it down to Florida and hung tough. Score and stats aside, it was a truly remarkable that Rutgers played in as good of a bowl game as the Gator Bowl and as well given the circumstances.
Originally, it looked like the Scarlet Knights weren't going to get into a bowl after finishing the season with only five wins, but with a little bit of luck (bad or good depending on if you're Texas A&M) and the highest APR score among 5-7 teams, Rutgers got the call to take on the Demon Deacons. It was the first bowl game for the Scarlet Knights since it won against North Carolina in the 2014 Quick Lane Bowl.
Rutgers is the sixth 5-7 team to ever make a bowl game in FBS history.
This bowl season, seven teams withdrew, five games were cancelled, and two games saw hte matchups change.
RFOOTBALL PLAY OF THE GAME:
Vedral threw a long backwards pass to Washington, who then threw it back across the field to Langan, who ran it for a 27-yard pass completion.
"Johnny offense" was a man amongst boys in this one. He did everything from block, run, catch, and throw.
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UP NEXT: Rutgers will have a few months off before spring ball starts up some time in March or April. After the Scarlet-White game, training camp gets started in August. The Scarlet Knights open the 2022 season on the road at Boston College on Sept. 3.
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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