It was ugly early, but the Rutgers football team rallied to defeat Indiana, 24-17, for its home Big Ten Conference win since 2017.
After the game, a few players spoke with the media.
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Pick-six Chris
Cornerback Christian Braswell earned the team’s highest defensive PFF grade, and he started and saw the most snaps at the position for Rutgers this past week. Braswell intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown which would go down as the game-winning points for the Scarlet Knights. He also had three pass breaksups and two tackles including one behind the line of scrimmage.
“I was just doing my job. Got to give thanks to (Wesley Bailey) for getting pressure on the QB,” Braswell said. “I was being patient. We had to keep our eyes in the right place and trust our training. I have to give thanks to my teammates. It all adds up. It’s worthwhile.”
After Rutgers got down in a 14-0 hole, it looked like another loss was coming, but that wasn’t the case.
“We encouraged each other,” Braswell said. “It’s a long game. We had to make some changes and get going. It was good to finally celebrate again.”
Linebacker Deion Jennings has been impressed with what he’s seen of Braswell in practice.
“I see it all the time. He just does his job. He was in the right place at the right time, and I’m happy for him.”
Push ‘em back, push ‘em back, way back
The game against Indiana started as bad as possible as the Hoosiers returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Then, when Indiana got on offense, it drove down the field and scored. Quarterback Connor Bazelak was 10-of-10 passing in the first quarter. But the defense settled in and allowed just three points the rest of the way late in the fourth quarter.
Rutgers is now sixth in the country in rushing defense, seventh in total defense, and eighth in third-down defense.
“Yeah, I think we’ve proven ourselves every week,” Jennings said. “We just have to keep pushing and keep doing our job. We knew that their tempo was going to be a threat. We relaxed and focused on our job. We tried all week to practice the tempo, but you never really know until you get to the game.”
60-minute chop
Noah Vedral got the start at quarterback for Rutgers in this one. He was 12-of-24 passing for 113 yards with a touchdown to WR Sean Ryan. He also ran three times for nine yards and didn’t take a sack. Interim offensive coordinator Nunzio Campanile called the plays and tweaked the offense as there were snaps directly under center for the first time all year, and the Scarlet Knights leaned on the running game for added time of possession.
Head coach Greg Schiano said Vedral used run checks pre-play.
“I think what Noah did is exactly what we asked him to do, be the point guard out there and distribute the ball to his playmakers. He was under center some, which was different, and he was doing some run checks. And to me when you make the right run check, that's as good as throwing an eight-yard pass. Some of those runs are coming out because we're checking it, and Noah knows exactly what to do.”
Vedral talked about that experience and the differences with the offense.
“That was definitely something that was new. It took some practice, and it helped us today. Our offensive line did a great job with it.
“I started football way back under center. It’s like riding a bike. You take a day and then you’re comfortable again. Today we got some positive feedback and we have to get back to work and grow.”
For the first time this year, one QB took all the snaps for RU, and it was Vedral.
“You do get into that flow,” Vedral said. “We had some long, sustained drives. You do develop a rhythm and a sense of the game. That was nice.”
This win for Rutgers was certainly earned, and it came on the heels of a bye week and a three-game losing streak
“It was a lot of fun. Indiana is a great team. It was a 60-minute chop. It’s been a lot of work. There’s been a lot of frustration to get back and to get healthy, so to have a day where we came together, it wasn’t also pretty and perfect, but we chopped enough to get it done. We have to live in the moment. As a senior, you feel like there’s a little more to each game. You see more, you hear more, you enjoy it more, and it hurts more.”
What can Brown do for you
Freshman running back Sam Brown saw plenty of work in his first career start. Brown carried the ball 28 times for a net of 104 yards with a touchdown. Per PFF, he was on the field for 51 snaps and earned a grade of 75.6.
“It was a great opportunity,” Brown said. “I wouldn’t be where I’m at if it wasn’t for guys like Kyle (Monangai), Shorty (Al-Shadee Salaam), and Aaron Young. They push me every day to get better. They have taught me so much.”
Vedral spoke highly of Brown after the game, too.
“Sam’s a really talented young back. I’m grateful he’s on our team,” Vedral said. “He’s going to have a bright future. I’m excited to play with him and excited to see him grow. The OL played their hearts out today. I trust those guys.”
Brown got dinged up a little in the game, but said his foot will be OK.
“I just have to do some recovery stuff, and I’ll be good,” Brown said.
TKR's Craig Epstein contributed to this article.
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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