Finish strong? Rutgers did more than that in rout of Michigan State | Observations

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Rutgers saved its best for last.
After getting gutted last week in a last-second loss to Illinois that rattled the foundation of the program, no one would have blamed the Scarlet Knights for mailing in their regular-season finale. Instead, Rutgers responded with a performance that will send it into the postseason feeling like, yet again, the team that should have been counted out a long time ago will be left fighting for something special.
Extra motivation? Rutgers needed none of it Saturday. The Scarlet Knights spent one day rehashing what went wrong against Illinois. They said they moved on and proved it early, dismantling Michigan State for a 41-14 win that was never in jeopardy.
The bounce-back performance should be something to give coach Greg Schiano’s team something to be proud of with whatever comes next in the postseason. After all: It was Michigan State fighting for a postseason berth Saturday, but Rutgers looked like the team playing with its season on the line. Rutgers can sit back and wait for its bowl game destination knowing it salvaged its season after a four-game losing streak and quickly erased what was one of its worst losses ever.
On Saturday, the Scarlet Knights were better in every facet. Offensively, defensively, special teams — this was the type of complementary football that has escaped Rutgers until its final game of the regular season.
If this was the final time fans see senior running back Kyle Monangai in a Rutgers uniform, the senior gave one last memorable performance. Monangai moved past Terrell Willis for second place on the school’s all-time rushing list. He racked up 101 of his 129 yards in the first half to help Rutgers rattle off 34 unanswered points.
In a potentially fitting finale, Monangai recorded a 100-yard game for the third straight season against Michigan State. After all, it was here in East Lansing where Monangai first exploded onto the scene in 2022 and stood on the sidelines for his first college football game in 2020.
Just three years ago, Monangai rattled off a then-Big Ten record for Rutgers after carrying 24 times for 162 yards and a touchdown. It was a game Rutgers still found a way to lose. There might not be a better embodiment of Rutgers’ resurgence than Monangai who went from an unheralded recruit to the Big Ten rushing champ to a player who went back to work time and time again.
When Rutgers needed one last week of work, it turned to wise words from the face of its senior class, who put it simply … to move past the heartbreak, Rutgers needed to “just get back to work,” Monangai said.
Instead of checking out, Rutgers got back to work.
Move to the spread?
Experimenting with different packages, formations and tempo, it was somewhat startling that Rutgers not only spread things out — but thrived doing so.
Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis hit sophomore Ian Strong for a 9-yard touchdown pass. At that point, with Rutgers leading 31-7, it was becoming clear that the offense was going to operate at a high level with whatever it was hoping to accomplish.
That may be the best news for Rutgers. With Monangai and the run game, the Scarlet Knights were able to bring balance to its offense.
Will that be the case next season? Either way, Rutgers will have a quarterback in Kaliakmanis and a loaded core of young receivers who could give the Scarlet Knights a foundation to build around. After throwing for 150 yards Saturday, Kaliakmanis will need 248 yards in the bowl game to reach the 2,700-yard mark, which has only been reached by three other Rutgers passers — Ryan Hart, Mike Teel and Gary Nova — who also have substantial players in program lore.
Dariel Djabome delivers all season long
From the first game of the regular season to the last, the junior linebacker from Quebec was one of Rutgers’ biggest revelation.
The team’s leading tackler, who was thrust into the starting lineup to replace injured captain Mohamed Toure, delivered the game’s biggest play when he stuffed running back Kay’ron Lynch-Adams in the backfield for a turnover on downs.
At the time, Michigan State had the chance to tie the game with a field goal but gambled facing 4th-and-1 at Rutgers’ 6-yard line. With Michigan State facing a 10-7 deficit with 10:01 to play in the second quarter, the momentum fully swung in Rutgers’ favor from there as the Scarlet Knights scored on five of its six first-half possessions.
Special teams deja vu
Michigan State avoided complete destruction from a special teams blunder, but it just goes to show how steady that unit has been under Schiano.
Halfway through the first quarter, long snapper Jack Carson Wentz sent a high snap through the hands of punter Ryan Eckley, who was able to scoop it up and stay out of the end zone when he was hit by freshman Ben Black. Rutgers took over at the 1-yard line but went backwards on a illegal motion by Monangai, leading to an eventual 25-yard field goal by Jai Patel that put Rutgers up 10-7 with 7:29 left in the first quarter.
Last season, Michigan State punter Michael O’Shaughnessy dropped a snap, opening the door for Rutgers to rally for an 18-point comeback in the fourth quarter of an eventual 27-24 win for the Scarlet Knights.
Go big or go home
What was more unlikely? Senior Tyler Needham returning from what was previously diagnosed as a season-ending injury or him playing as a tight end?
Needham, switching from No. 56 to 86, returned to the field three weeks removed from a knee injury and was used as a sixth offensive lineman, giving the Scarlet Knights a jumbo package look in a game decided in the trenches. Needham started the first nine games at right tackle before injuring his knee against Minnesota three weeks ago. Rutgers diagnosed his injury as season-ending, but the Philadelphia native was back in the starting lineup Saturday, giving the Scarlet Knights another option for its injury-decimated group of tight ends.
While redshirt sophomore Mike Higgins saw the field, Rutgers used its jumbo package for a majority of its offensive snaps.
Blustery Big Ten weather
The official reading at kickoff was 24 degrees. Snow covered the field and fell like confetti from start to finish in a game between two teams trying to take advantage of the weather.
Hits felt bigger, catches felt grittier and this Nov. 30, regular-season finale felt like the embodiment of Big Ten football.
On a day, where Michigan State was playing for a bowl berth, Rutgers came into Spartan Stadium and was simply better across the board.
– With the win, Rutgers finished the regular season with a 7-5 record and 4-5 mark in Big Ten play. The 7-5 record will stand as Rutgers’ best regular-season record since 2014 when the Scarlet Knights recorded the same overall finish in its inaugural season in the Big Ten. Its four Big Ten wins also set a new program best.
– The snow was a no-go, apparently. Michigan State running back Nate Carter was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after celebrating by doing snow angels following his first touchdown run of the game. It was a significant penalty, too. On the ensuing kickoff, Jonathan Kim booted the ball out of bounds. With the penalty yardage stacked together, Rutgers started with possession at the 50-yard line for its first drive, which ended with a 7-yard touchdown run by Monangai.
The Scarlet Knights listed 13 players as pre-game scratches on their availability report. The list included three new seniors — defensive end Aaron Lewis, cornerback Eric Rogers and safety Desmond Igbinosun — who all played last week against Illinois. In addition to those three regulars, Rutgers listed four other major contributors — wide receiver Christian Dremel, offensive lineman Tyler Needham, tight end Mike Higgins and cornerback Al-Shadee Salaam — as questionable two hours before kickoff. All four ended up playing, opening the door for Needham’s intriguing return as a jump-package option.
Rutgers opened as a one-point favorite Sunday, but the lined eventually moved to favor Michigan State. At the time of kickoff, Michigan State was a favorite by 1 1/2 points, according to multiple sports books. The total points was set at 47 1/2.
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Patrick Lanni may be reached at [email protected].