Late-game touchdowns in a blowout can often trigger emotions and Rutgers football’s last-second touchdown against HBCU Howard University in the season opener certainly did.
Rutgers got the ball against Howard up 38-7 with fifteen seconds remaining. Instead of taking a knee, it ran two plays, including an 11-yard touchdown run by Antwan Raymond. Just before Rutgers got the ball, Howard took timeouts when it had the ball.
After the game, Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano and Howard University head coach Larry Scott had a rather tense exchange before heading off to join their teams. Both coaches were asked about the end of the game in the post-game media sessions.
When asked if there was frustration with the way the game ended, Scott admitted that there was.
“Yeah, a little bit. And from the frustration obviously mounted and those type of things,” Scott said regarding Rutgers football’s decision to keep moving the ball. “But I think, you know, things can be done a little bit better. And he might have had his feelings about it and why he did what he did, and I had mine.”
Schiano denied that the final score was retaliatory for the timeouts the HBCU squad, though he did mention it.
“Guys practiced all training camp; they deserve to play,” Schiano said of the final play call. “There was no running it up. If it was running it up, you don’t use timeouts when you have the ball. You let the game end.”
Clearly, that’s not the way Scott saw the ending.
“I think we’re both two competitive people. And in that situation, I know I would have chose to handle it a little bit differently,” he continued. “Can’t speak for him. I have a lot of respect for Coach Shiano and what he’s done and what he’s been able to do. But we’re both competitive and in that situation – just a little bit of frustration came out there a little bit because I thought it could have been handled differently, but he might have felt otherwise.
Either way, Howard will look to get back on track next week as it prepares for its home opener against Mercyhurst.