Blocked punt helps Rutgers to Pinstripe ‘W’

Of course it was a blocked punt. Something with special teams. Rutgers almost swatted Miami’s first punt of the Pinstripe Bowl, and it had scored off a play like that 13 other times under Greg Schiano. They’d blocked 69 other kicks across his two tenures with the university, too.

So it was only fitting — in the most Scarlet Knightsesque, Schiano-led, beat-youwith-special-teams kind of script — that late in the third quarter, with Hurricanes punter Dylan Joyce standing just outside his own end zone, Trevor Yeboah-Kodie sprinted into the punt, Timmy Ward fell on it, and there was Schiano, arms outstretched on the sideline, waiting to embrace his unit after their touchdown flipped the game in an eventual 31-24 victory on Thursday at Yankee Stadium.

Those players, Schiano said, reflect the type of program he has constructed. Yeboah-Kodie played lacrosse at Brown and got on Schiano’s radar when his father, who Schiano coached years ago at Penn State, reached out. Ward beat cancer in high school, started as a Rutgers equipment manager and eventually earned a walk-on spot. And Thursday, they combined to help the Scarlet Knights (7-6) recover after blowing an early 14-0 lead as the offense — and potent running attack behind Kyle Monangai — stalled, surviving a late Miami rally for their first bowl victory since 2014 as the developing program took another stride.

“I said when we became bowl eligible, it’s literally a mile marker on the road to where we’re going,” Schiano said. “It’s not the exit. This is exciting. This is the start.”

But there wasn’t anything simple about this Pinstripe Bowl, just as there wasn’t anything simple — anything linear, predictable or consistent — about Rutgers’ regular season, which ended with four consecutive losses after a 6-2 start. A 14-0 lead nearly evaporated before halftime Thursday. Jacurri Brown, Miami’s third-string quarterback, threw for a touchdown and rushed for two others, with his second making it a one-score game with 27 seconds remaining.

The Hurricanes recovered the onside kick, but their final chance ended with a turnover on downs as Rutgers’ lead, stabilized by Monangai’s seventh 100-yard game this season, remained intact.

When Monangai revealed his decision to return for 2024, Rutgers’ offense for next year, and this bowl game, immediately took shape. It didn’t need to change, and why would it with the Big Ten’s rushing leader delaying an NFL chance for one more collegiate campaign? He accounted for 48 rushing yards as the Scarlet Knights scored a touchdown on the game’s opening drive.

And on the Scarlet Knights’ first offensive possession following the blocked punt, Monangai’s 40-yard run preceded quarterback Gavin Wimsatt’s sneak into the end zone. Their offense, as it had all season, operated through the junior from Don Bosco Prep, who finished with 163 yards on 25 carries behind what Schiano labeled “insane” runs.

“I think I played a great game,” Monangai said, “but I think the guys in front played an even better game.”

But one win, in this bowl game and against a Hurricanes team navigating optouts and quarterback woes, won’t ensure Big Ten relevance, especially as the conference adds UCLA, USC, Washington and Oregon. The Scarlet Knights will play three of those teams next year. There’s not a clear-cut formula to follow to crawl closer to the top of the standings.

It’ll take gradual steps. One promising win after another. Recruiting coups. Sticking to strengths — such as running the ball and special teams — that have become a crucial part of their identity. They’ll need to replicate the complicated process year after year, too.