Both teams had poor defensive showings in the first half. Rutgers came into the game ranked last in the nation offensively, but had their way with Liberty’s defense in the first half. For the first time this year, the Scarlet Knights scored on their opening possession.
Isaih Pacheco also had a successful first half for Rutgers. The sophomore running back averaged 5.9 yards per carry through two quarters.
Antonio Gandy-Golden reeled in another highlight catch to put the Flames ahead 14-7 early in the 2nd quarter. The Rutgers press corps was in disbelief, but AGG’s acrobatic snags have become a weekly occurrence for Liberty.
Liberty’s poor defensive showing continued into the 2nd half. Meanwhile, the Flames offense began to struggle: scoring only two field goals until 30 seconds left in the game. By the end of the third quarter, the game was all but over.
Here’s a story nobody expected: the Rutgers offense. Tommy Langhan ran for over 100 yards and completed 15-21 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Isaih Pacheco spearheaded Rutgers’ rushing attack with 118 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries.
Khaleb Coleman suffered a gruesome-looking arm injury early in the 4th. We’ll keep you posted on the severity of his injury.
Here’s another killer for Liberty: lack of focus. The Flames committed several careless errors in this game, including two delay-of-game penalties.
Rutgers dominated time of possession. Lack of depth on defense hurt Liberty’s chances in this one. It’s hard for a defense to rest up when it’s on the field for over 40 minutes and off the field for roughly 20.
Despite the near-futility of their remaining games, Rutgers appeared to show some heart. Their runners routinely dragged Flames defenders, their receivers out-muscled Liberty’s secondary for 50/50 balls, and the Scarlet Knights capitalized on sloppy Liberty mistakes.
Liberty will look to rebound next week at UMass. Kickoff is at 12:00.
