Football Wins Big Ten Opener Over Washington

Friday, September 27

Piscataway, N.J.

8 p.m.

Rutgers University

4-0 , 1-0

Washington

3-2 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Washington

Rutgers

Sep 27 | Football

Box Score Game Book HEAD COACH GREG SCHIANO PRESS CONFERENCE Statistics Postgame Quotes Photo Gallery

RUTGERS 21 (4-0, 1-0), WASHINGTON 18 (3-2, 1-1)
SHI STADIUM • PISCATAWAY, N.J.
SEPTEMBER 27, 2024 • ATTENDANCE: 54,079

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers football (4-0, 1-0) opened Big Ten play with a 21-18 win over Washington (3-2, 1-1) on Friday night at SHI Stadium. The victory moved the Scarlet Knights to 4-0 for the first time since 2012.

RB Samuel Brown V and RB Kyle Monangai each registered a rushing touchdown, while QB Athan Kaliakmanis connected with WR Ian Strong for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Monangai finished with 25 carries for 132 yards – his 11th career game with 100 or more yards on the ground.

LB Dariel Djabome finished with a team-high 12 tackles, with DL Kyonte Hamilton and DB Eric Rogers each producing eight stops.

FIRST QUARTER

Defense was at a premium in the opening 15 minutes, with a 22-yard field goal from the Huskies serving as the only score in the first quarter. However, RU kickstarted its first scoring drive of the game towards the end of the opening period, with Kaliakmanis finding WR Chris Long for a 19-yard completion and then rushing up the middle for 13 more to set up Rutgers in Washington territory heading into the second quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

Monangai capped a 15-play, 75-yard scoring drive with a one-yard touchdown run to give Rutgers its first lead of the night at 7-3 with 11:26 left before half. It marked Monangai's sixth touchdown of the season and 20th of his career.

Monangai IS the guy 😤🏈

Touchdown Rutgers! pic.twitter.com/alA5C7pRTH
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 28, 2024

The Scarlet Knights' defense continued its strong effort, holding the Huskies to just 82 yards of offense and forcing a 42-yard field goal miss midway through the quarter. Both teams continued to trade possessions before RU ended the half with a touchdown. After a Washington penalty put Rutgers into the red zone, Kaliakmanis found Strong for a 15-yard touchdown pass. The scoring play gave the Scarlet Knights a 14-3 lead at halftime.

Touchdown Ian Strong! 💪@RFootball extend their lead pic.twitter.com/Dcaxh85qSO
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 28, 2024

THIRD QUARTER

The Huskies tallied the lone score of the third quarter thanks to QB Will Rogers, who found WR Denzel Boston for a 51-yard touchdown pass to get the visitors within 14-10 with 4:24 left in the quarter. RU took its final offensive series of the period into the fourth quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

Rutgers muscled a 10-play, 85-yard scoring run, highlighted by a career-long 37-yard touchdown run up the middle from Brown V. Brown V's fourth touchdown of the season and RU's first of the second half extended the Scarlet Knights' lead to 21-10 at the 10:57 mark in the fourth quarter.

Samuel Brown TOUCHDOWN!@RFootball extends their lead 👏 pic.twitter.com/HlUyKL1S0r
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 28, 2024

Washington answered with a touchdown and two-point conversion with 1:40 remaining to get with three points at 21-18. The Scarlet Knights punted to give the Huskies the ball with 35 seconds remaining, but the game ended on a missed 55-yard field goal as time expired to give Rutgers the victory.

NOTES

• Rutgers improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2012 and first time as a Big Ten member.
• Rutgers defeated Washington for the first time in three attempts.
• Rutgers is now 19-10 in home night games with fans under head coach Greg Schiano (excludes 2020).
• Rutgers won its Big Ten opener for the third time in five years under Schiano.
• Rutgers is now 13-3 in September games since 2021.
• The attendance of 54,079 marked the second-highest in stadium history.
• Rutgers scored touchdowns on both of its trips to the red zone and held Washington scoreless on three of its possessions inside the 20.
• Rutgers is 15-1 since 2020 when not committing a turnover in a game.
• Rutgers has 13 games since 2023 with one sack or less permitted.
• Rutgers held Washington to 2-for-12 on third down.
• Rutgers improved to 76-10 under Schiano when leading after the third quarter, 64-6 when allowing less than 20 points, 33-9 when not committing a turnover and 64-23 when scoring at least three offensive touchdowns.
• RB Kyle Monangai scored his sixth rushing touchdown of the season and 20th of his career. He has scored in all four games so far and is two scores away from moving into the program's top-10 list in the category.
• Monangai rushed for 132 yards on 25 attempts. It was his 11th career game with at least 100 rushing yards, fourth-most in program history, and fifth with at least 25 carries. Monangai (2,531 yards) passed Isiah Pacheco for seventh place on the program's career rushing leaderboard.
• WR Ian Strong scored his first touchdown of the season and third of his career.
• RB Samuel Brown V ripped off a career-long 37-yard touchdown run, his fourth score of the season (three rushing, one receiving).
• LB Dariel Djabome led the team with 12 tackles, his second career game in double figures.
• DB Eric Rogers matched his career high with eight tackles.
• LB Tyreem Powell posted his first career game with multiple pass breakups and now has nine overall.
• Consecutive games played: DL Kyonte Hamilton (42), OL Hollin Pierce (42), DL Malcolm Ray (38), WR Christian Dremel (33)

UP NEXT

Rutgers returns to the road to face Nebraska on Oct. 5. It will mark the Scarlet Knights' first trip to Memorial Stadium since 2017. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. on FS1.

Follow Rutgers football on X (@RFootball & @RUboardwalk), Facebook (/RFootballShow) and Instagram (@rfootball & @ruboardwalk) for the latest news and updates. Also subscribe to the YouTube channel.