DRIVEN HOME
Win heals some wounds for Rutgers
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — For one day, Rutgers got to enjoy a Homecoming win. For one afternoon, the Scarlet Knights got to put aside their offfield woes and bask in the afterglow of a 2714 victory over woebegone Kansas — a win they had to have.
“To a point, yes,” interim coach Norries Wilson said. “Mustwin because I didn’t want to go into a bye week on a threegame losing streak, everybody hanging their head. We wanted to win the football game to make us feel good.
“The only fun in this whole deal is winning on Saturday. The rest of it, we’re just grinding them into a pile of salt. They get to have fun for the night.’’
Yet, for Rutgers, the problem wasn’t about Saturday. It was about the future, when this victory might seem like a band aid on a gaping wound. And it’s a selfinflicted wound, to be sure.
Rutgers (22) was without suspended coach Kyle Flood, senior captain Darius Hamilton, its defensive player, who is out with a lowerbody injury.
They also were without their best offense player, Leonte Carroo, suspended following his arrest on simple assault charges, and six other players who were dismissed from the squad after being arrested and charged with violent crimes.
But Hamilton, who was ruled out for the season before Saturday’s game, gave an impassioned defense of his program, one he plans to re turn to after taking a redshirt.
“It’s really hard to sit back and read everything that’s been coming through the media about our team, the character of the group of guys we have,’’ Hamilton said. “It’s really starting to bother me. I know the kind of players we have here, the kind of people I’m surrounded by on a daytoday basis, the kind of people I’d lay down my life for. They’re great people. People are taking the decisions of a select few and try to make it out like this is a team full of monsters. That’s not the case.’’
At least Saturday provided a little solace. After getting battered 283 at Penn State, the Knights bounced back to ground out a win over Kansas (03), which has lost 34 straight away from home.
“In front of our fans, we’ve got to win. We’ve got to win when we’re back at home,’’ said middle linebacker Kaiwan Lewis, who an interception and knocked out Kansas quarterback Deondre Ford in the second quarter. “We were more hungry up front. We let a team disrespect us last week, do what they wanted to do to us. We got out-physicalled, and that’s sad to say for a defense. So we wanted to come out and set a tone early.”
Rutgers set the tone on the ground, rushing for 312 yards, behind Josh Hicks (113 yards, two TDs) and Robert Martin (102). Quarterback Chris Laviano managed the game, going 18of25 for 201 yards, two TDs and two picks.
Wide receiver Carlton Agudosi stood in for Carroo and snared a 14yade fade for a touchdown to put Rutgers on the board first.