Gavin Wimsatt scored with his arm and his legs, his teammates on defense stood tall and Rutgers opened its season with a Big Ten victory, beating Northwestern 24-7 on Sunday afternoon in Piscataway, N.J.
Entering the season as Rutgers’ No. 1 quarterback, Wimsatt completed 17 of 29 passes for 163 yards and one touchdown. He added a rushing touchdown in the second quarter and combined with Kyle Monangai and freshman Ja’shon Benjamin for 122 rushing yards.
The Scarlet Knights possessed the ball for 37:59 of game time and held Northwestern to 201 total yards.
Northwestern (0-1) struggled in the program’s first game since a hazing scandal led to the firing of longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald in July. The Wildcats lost their 12th straight game after finishing last season on an 11-game skid.
David Braun, in his debut as interim head coach, went with Cincinnati transfer Ben Bryant at starting quarterback. Bryant went 20-for-35 passing for just 169 yards; he was intercepted twice and sacked five times.
The Scarlet Knights converted two fourth downs on their opening drive, the latter when Wimsatt completed a pass on the run to Christian Dremel for 17 yards.
Wimsatt hit freshman Ian Strong on a fade to the back left corner of the end zone. It was initially ruled no catch, but a review showed Strong got his left toes down in bounds, and Rutgers was awarded the touchdown.
Wimsatt scored early in the second quarter on a 6-yard keeper up the middle. Rutgers’ first two drives each took 16 plays, gaining 75 and 80 yards, respectively.
The Wildcats tried a fake punt and Hunter Renner completed the pass to Rod Heard II, but Heard was brought down short of the line to gain. Rutgers responded with Jai Patel’s 32-yard field goal, making it 17-0 with 7:42 left in the first half.
Northwestern was stopped on fourth down a second time before Bryant bobbled a snap and Max Melton intercepted Bryant’s rushed throw. But Patel’s second field-goal try hit the right upright before the half ended.
Monangai cruised 15 yards to the end zone with 4:05 left in the third quarter after the defense bit on Wimsatt’s fake.
Robert Longerbeam made a leaping interception of Bryant’s deep pass early in the fourth quarter.
Rutgers’ Rashad Rochelle muffed a punt during the final three minutes of the game, allowing Northwestern a second chance to avoid a shutout. Backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan took over, guided the Wildcats to the Rutgers 1-yard line and rolled out to toss a touchdown to running back Caleb Komolafe with 19 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
