PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Rutgers got its first-ever Big Ten victory Saturday night, and beleaguered Michigan coach Brady Hoke got another nail in the coffin of his tenure in Ann Arbor. In front of a raucous sellout crowd, the Scarlet Knights gutted out a 26-24 win that was far more hard work than work of art, but they will take it.
The Knights appeared on the verge of another fourth-quarter collapse, similar to their league debut against Penn State. But this time, they held on in front of 53,327, the third-largest in High Point Solutions Stadium history. The crowd stormed the field after a landmark win that could cost jobs half a country away.
When the Wolverines arrived in Piscataway, Hoke was on the hot seat, and Michigan was facing protests and national PR nightmares after quarterback Shane Morris was allowed to re-enter their Sept. 27 game against Minnesota while concussed. Students earlier this week marched on the school president's house demanding the firing of Hoke and the resignation of the athletic director. Saturday's loss won't quiet the fervor.
In its debut season in the Big Ten, Rutgers (5-1, 1-1) has been one of the league's better stories, while the Wolverines (2-4, 0-2) are without question the worst. They not only lost three games by the end of September for the first time in program history, but made national news for the Morris gaffe, a decision that could cost Hoke his job.
Rutgers senior quarterback Gary Nova — who was benched late last year and was booed by the home fans in that five-interception loss to Penn State on Sept. 13, gave coach Kyle Flood a great reward for his faith, and gave those fans something to cheer. Nova went 22-of-39 for a career-high 404 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers.
His second scoring strike of the day was a 7-yard pass to John Tsimis for a 19-17 halftime lead. He later hit Andrew Turzilli for a 14-yarder to make it 26-17 with 13:12 left in the game.
Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner (11-of-18 for 178 yards) had been benched in favor of Morris, but got his starting job back after the concussion. Gardner ripped off a 19-yard TD run, freezing Lorenzo Waters with a pump fake and running through another arm tackle for the second of his two scores to cut the Rutgers lead to 26-24.
As time ran down in the fourth quarter, Michigan drove to the Rutgers 39, but on third-and-9 Gardner's pass to Andrew Dorbah was ruled incomplete, and replay confirmed the call on the field. And when Michigan opted to try s 56-yard field goal with 3:07 left, Kemoko Turay rose to block Matt Wile's attempt, the redshirt freshman's third blocked kick of the year.
That sealed the win for the Scarlet Knights.
For the second straight week, Nova connected with Turzilli for a long touchdown. After the two hooked up for a 93-yard TD against Tulane last week, this time Turzilli got wide open on a deep post for an 80-yard score in the second quarter.
Rutgers actually got the point after blocked, and led just 12-10. After getting the ball back with that lead, Flood gambled on a fake punt on fourth-and-10 from his team's own 45, and it nearly came back to bite him.
The fake failed — a Michael Burton pass back to punter Tim Gleeson went for a 2-yard loss — to give the Wolverines a short field, and they cashed in with De'Veon Smith's 1-yard TD plunge.
But with Rutgers down 17-12 with 1:43 left in the half, Nova worked the clock like a shrewd hourly employee. He drove the Knights 75 yards in 11 plays, including video reviews on Tsimis' 12-yard toe-tapping catch on sideline and another on his 7-yard touchdown grab. On the play, Nova evaded a sack by defensive end Frank Clark and rifled the ball into a tight window with just 22 seconds remaining before halftime.
Safety Jonathan Aiken — who had been suspended for the first half for a targeting infraction in last week's game — came on at halftime to bolster the defense, and Nova added a touchdown to Turzilli on a third-and-goal from the 14, pushing the lead to 26-17 with 13:12 to play.
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