No. 11 MICHIGAN STATE 31 (6-0, 3-0), RUTGERS 13 (3-3, 0-3)
SHI STADIUM • PISCATAWAY, N.J.
OCTOBER 9, 2021 • ATTENDANCE: 41,117
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers football (3-3, 0-3) battled No. 11 Michigan State (6-0, 3-0) in a 31-13 setback on Saturday afternoon at SHI Stadium. The game was presented by RWJBarnabas Health.
Matching up with their third consecutive ranked opponent, quarterback
Noah Vedral recorded 208 passing yards to lead the Scarlet Knights. Fellow quarterback
Johnny Langan connected with wide receiver
Aron Cruickshank for a touchdown grab, while place kicker
Valentino Ambrosio posted two field goals for Rutgers.
Defensively, defensive back
Christian Izien paced the squad with three tackles-for-loss on 10 stops. Linebacker
Olakunle Fatukasi followed with nine tackles with two for a loss, a forced fumble and a pass breakup. Defensive back
Alijah Clark recorded an interception for the Scarlet Knights.
The Scarlet Knights came out of the gates strong to open the game. Rutgers' defense came up with a stop on Michigan State's first drive, halting the Spartans on fourth down at RU's 28.
From there, Vedral led Rutgers quickly down the field, highlighted by a career-long 33-yard rush to set RU eight yards out of the endzone. Langan capped the drive with a four-yard pass to Cruickshank for an early 7-0 lead at the 6:51 mark of the first quarter.
The MSU offense responded with a score on its return to the field, tying the score at 7-7 with 6:05 to go in the frame.
Moving into the second quarter, RU would add the next points for either side with a 26-yard field goal from Ambrosio with 12:10 on the clock. The back-and-forth continued as MSU tacked on another touchdown to inch in front, 14-10, at 10:18.
Ambrosio connected on a 29-yard field goal to bring Rutgers within one at a margin of 14-13 at the 6:21 mark. Michigan State countered yet again with a touchdown to extend its lead to 21-13. With seconds remaining in the first half, RU kept the pressure on and MSU would miss a field goal to keep the margin at 21-13 entering halftime.
The Scarlet Knights and Spartans battled through a defensive third quarter. Michigan State managed to break through the stalemate with a touchdown at the midway point to extend its edge to 21-13.
The Rutgers offense started the fourth quarter with a strong drive. Although the Spartan defense came up with a stop on downs, Clark recorded an interception to return some momentum to RU and bring the offense back on.
MSU, however, held off the comeback and added a final field goal.
Rutgers will travel to Northwestern for the first time since 1989 to meet the Wildcats on Oct. 16 at noon on Big Ten Network. Ryan Field is the only conference venue the Scarlet Knights have yet to visit as a member of the Big Ten.
- First Rutgers start (1): WR Brandon Sanders
- Collegiate Debut (2): LB Austin Dean, WR Jessie Parson III
- QB Noah Vedral recorded a career-long 33-yard rush on the opening score drive.
- RB Isaih Pacheco moved past Bill Austin (1956-58) for 12th in program history with 2,109 career rushing yards.
- WR Shameen Jones notched his second career game in triple figures with 109 receiving yards.
- The Scarlet Knights faced three-straight ranked opponents for the second time in school history, also doing so in 2007.
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