Gavin Wimsatt ran for two touchdowns and passed for another as Rutgers handled FCS Wagner 52-3 on Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.
The Scarlet Knights (4-1) scored on every possession besides their drive at the end of the first half, returning to the win column after a loss at No. 2 Michigan last week.
Samuel Brown V, Kyle Monangai, Ja’shon Benjamin and Aaron Young all scored on the ground for Rutgers, with Monangai leading the Scarlet Knights with 19 carries for 87 yards. Wimsatt completed 12 of 19 passes for 146 yards and ran seven times for 15.
Wagner (2-3) mustered just 106 yards of offense. Rickey Spruill paced the Seahawks with 36 yards on seven carries.
Rutgers was held to a 44-yard field goal by Jai Patel on its first drive. But in the final minute of the first quarter, Wimsatt hit Christian Dremel on fourth-and-goal from the 4 for a 10-0 lead.
Rutgers then botched an onside kick and handed Wagner ideal field position, but the Seahawks’ Ryan Liszner missed a 38-yard field goal try early in the second.
Wide receiver JaQuae Jackson laid out to make a 41-yard catch down the right sideline on Rutgers’ next drive. Dremel later appeared to score his second touchdown, but on review he was ruled down at the 1-yard line. Brown punched it in on the next play for a 17-0 lead with 9:02 to go.
The Seahawks failed to convert a fourth-and-1 from their own 27, and, six plays later, Wimsatt scrambled into the end zone from 5 yards out with 2:50 to go.
Wagner’s Kobi Ray-Reed followed with a 67-yard kickoff return, setting his team up to get on the board. Liszner was successful from 29 yards with 1:23 left to cut the deficit to 24-3 at halftime.
Rutgers’ Rashad Rochelle returned the opening kick of the second half 88 yards to the Wagner 7. Wimsatt ran it in from there two plays later for a 31-3 lead one minute into the third quarter.
Monangai added a 4-yard rushing score with 3:41 left in the third, and Benjamin scored his 6-yard touchdown with 11:38 to play in the fourth.
Backup quarterback Ajani Sheppard guided a scoring drive for Rutgers in the final minutes. Young scored a 3-yard rushing touchdown with 13 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
