PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers football opened its 2017 season against No. 8/7 Washington on Friday night at High Point Solutions Stadium. Despite the close margin in the first half of the contest thanks to the Scarlet Knights' hot start, the Huskies took the lead in the second quarter en route to a 30-14 win in both teams' season premiere.
Rutgers' first strike came from fifth-year senior wide receiver
Janarion Grant registering a three-yard touchdown grab from classmate and quarterback
Kyle Bolin to give RU a 7-0 lead with 7:08 remaining in the first quarter. However, Washington responded with 27 unanswered points spanning into the fourth quarter to claim the advantage.
An RU touchdown from Bolin to sophomore wide receiver
Dacoven Bailey in the fourth frame would break up the surge, but it was not enough to erase the deficit.
Bolin finished his first game "On the Banks" with a pair of touchdown passes on 178 yards (24-of-34 passing), along with two interceptions. Fifth-year senior running back
Gus Edwards also made his Rutgers debut with 79 yards on 24 rushes, with his highlight coming on a 13-yard scamper in the second quarter.
Bailey totaled three catches for 42 yards receiving to go with his score, while fifth-year senior
Damon Mitchell paced the wideouts with 46 yards on four receptions.
Rutgers held margins of victory in first downs (19-17), rushing yards (131-84), time of possession (38:09) and third-down conversions (47%-27%).
The Scarlet Knights defense started strong, forcing Washington to punt on its first drive of the game following a three-and-out, amplified by a thundering response from the 46,000-plus in the stadium.
Capitalizing on the momentum, the Rutgers offense quickly moved the chains down the field, pushing the Scarlet Knights within scoring range. Bolin would connect with Grant for the three-yard touchdown pass to give RU a 7-0 lead.
Washington began to turn the tide on a 51-yard pass from quarterback Jake Browning to wide receiver Chico McClatcher to set the Huskies eight yards out from the goal approaching the final minute of the first quarter. After a two-yard gain, redshirt junior defensive back
Kiy Hester deflected a UW pass to hold the Huskies at the six-yard line. On third-and-goal, Hester once again broke up a pass, holding Washington to a 24-yard field goal by Tristan Vizcaino with under a minute to go in the frame.
In the second quarter, UW created a 10-7 edge with a Dante Pettis 61-yard punt return for a score with 3:50 on the clock.
On the following drive, the Scarlet Knights attempted to tie things up with a 47-yard field goal, which missed wide left. The Huskies would hold on to a slim 10-7 lead heading into the locker room for halftime.
Washington found a surge in the third quarter, carrying the momentum into the start of the fourth to grow its lead to 27-7 on two Browning touchdown passes to Lavon Coleman and Myles Gaskin.
Although Bolin would find Bailey for a 35-yard touchdown pass to end the run, the deficit was too large for the Scarlet Knights to overcome.
Next up, Rutgers will host the second of three-straight home games with a matchup against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 9. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
