There was no doubt this time around. Rutgers football barely escaped Lincoln Financial Field last season with a narrow, two-point victory over Temple,
a game that coach Greg Schiano said earlier this week his team probably should’ve lost. Not this year.
Scarlet Knights scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter while their defense turned in another strong showing in a 36-7 win over the Owls before a crowd of 45,317 at SHI Stadium Saturday night.
Rutgers improved to 2-0 with the victory. Rutgers answered back after Temple's lone touchdown in the fourth quarter with 23 unanswered points to put the game away.
"I feel like there were several times in the first half that we could have blown the game wide open and for whatever reasons, it didn't happen," Schiano said.
"Then we hit some as adversity, and I thought that's an improvement, that things could have gotten away.
It could have slid down and really been a nail-biter, and instead they said, 'No, this is what's going to happen.' Took the ball away twice."
Quarterback Gavin Wimsatt finished 10-of-21 passing for 198 yards with one touchdown, a 33-yard pass to Ja’shon Benjamin on a wheel route in the first quarter.
He also delivered a perfect 61-yard pass to JaQuae Jackson in the second quarter. "The one ball he threw to JaQuae Jackson was beautiful," Schiano said.
Wimsatt ran for 24 yards on eight carries, including a 17-yard gain on third-and-3 from the 50 to set up his TD throw to Benjamin.
Scarlet Knights running back Kyle Monangai ran for a career-high 165 yards on 28 carries (5.9 yards per carry) to power the ground attack. It was part of a 254-yard rushing performance for Rutgers.