Rutgers’ upset bid of Michigan falls short as Wolverines take over SHI Stadium | 5 observations

Rutgers remained alive for longer than expected against Michigan, but the Scarlet Knights were unable to repeat 2014 on Saturday.Head coach Greg Schiano’s team stayed within a score of its blue-blood visitors for most of Saturday afternoon and even managed to tie the game at 21 with 12 minutes to play, but the hosts were unable to get one last stop before suffering a 28-21 loss to the Wolverines in Piscataway on Saturday.It marked a 10th consecutive loss to Michigan (5-3, 2-3) for Rutgers (2-6, 1-4) since it earned its first Big Ten win over the Wolverines during the 2014 season. Half of those losses came under Schiano, with the average margin of defeat in those games being 15.8 points.Rutgers is now 0-4 at home against FBS opponents this season after losses to UMass, USC and Indiana.Despite being down starting quarterback Dylan Lonergan for the entire game and star receiver KJ Duff for most of the afternoon, the Scarlet Knights scored more points against Michigan than any other team this season and were able to move the ball against Michigan’s vaunted defense thanks to a handful of big plays.Of its 249 total yards, 198 of them (79.5%) came in five plays: an 80-yard touchdown pass from quarterback AJ Surace to receiver Jourdin Houston, a 54-yard carry from running back Antwan Raymond, a 32-yard completion to Raymond, a 20-yard carry from backup running back Clay Thevenin and a 12-yard carry from Raymond. It also 55 yards on four Michigan defensive penalties.But on the other end, its defense was unable to get enough stops against one of the worst offenses in the Big Ten. Only UTEP (52) conceded more points against the Wolverines this season.Calling plays from the sideline for the first time this season, defensive coordinator Travis Johansen’s unit allowed Michigan to go 12-of-16 on third downs, score four touchdowns on five trips to the red zone (the other trip ended with a missed 35-yard field goal attempt) and finish with 427 total yards and 35 minutes and 49 seconds of possession.Watch "Rutgers' upset bid over Michigan falls short: Live reaction" on YouTubeWatchThe Scarlet Knights allowed Michigan quarterback Tommy Carr, who they tried to flip from Miami of Ohio as a high school recruit before he landed with the Wolverines, to throw for 266 yards and a touchdown on 22-of-27 passing and rush for 60 yards and two touchdowns on 10 non-sack carries.Carr’s touchdown pass, which came on Michigan’s first possession of the game, marked the Wolverines’ first passing touchdown since September 26 against Iowa, snapping a three-game drought.After conceding touchdowns on each of its first two defensive drives, Rutgers bunkered down to force a missed field goal and a punt in the final two drives of the second half. It gave up a touchdown to start the second half, but got back-to-back stops — another missed field goal and punt — to allow its offense to tie the game at 21 with 12 minutes to play.But the Scarlet Knights could not get one last stop, allowing Michigan to take a 28-21 lead with 4:24 to play after a seven-minute drive, then could not answer on the other end, punting after a three-and-out that ended its upset bid.Here are five observations:1) AJ Surace is better, but still strugglesThe backup quarterback got the nod after starter Dylan Lonergan was ruled out early in the week, and while he was better than his poor performance against Northwestern, he was not great.Surace finished with 123 yards and a touchdown on 3-of-12 passing, with 65% of his production coming on the 80-yard touchdown pass to Houston. Surace gained 12 yards on five non-sack carries, but he was sacked twice.2) KJ Duff plays, but clearly not at 100 percentAfter starting the week with a doubtful designation, the star receiver gave it a go as a game-time decision. Ultimately, he was unable to make much of an impact, finishing with zero catches and one target that led to a defensive pass interference penalty.Duff was clearly physically hampered. He seemed a step slow as he warmed up, and on his first target, he stayed down on the turf and was checked out by the medical staff in the injury tent. While he returned to the game, his impact was limited.3) Small crowd was half-blueThe stands of SHI Stadium were half-empty — the announced attendance of 39,540 is the lowest at SHI Stadium for a non-COVID Big Ten game in the Greg Schiano era — and of the seats that were occupied, at least half of them had Michigan fans in them.The announced attendance was 39,540, marking the lowest at SHI Stadium for a non-COVID Big Ten game in the Greg Schiano era. It is the lowest since 24,641 came to watch Rutgers lose 27-0 to Michigan State in the 2019 season finale.The Wolverines always bring a lot of bodies to Piscataway, even when it is having a mediocre season like this fall. But the amount of Scarlet Knight supporters in the building was the lowest of the season against an FBS opponent by far.Did the game landing on Halloween keep people home for trick-or-treating? Was the day too beautiful to waste watching football? Or have most Rutgers fans punched out on the season?Michigan fans, meanwhile, were active. A fan named Luke made the drive from the midwest to share the same message on a handwritten sign. There were chants of “Fire Beck” after coordinator Jason Beck’s offense stalled and chants of “Let’s Go Blue” in the final two minutes. And when a kick-catch interference was called against the Wolverines, the boos were loud enough to force Rutgers to call a timeout.4) Schiano gains another notch in his belt as he fights to keep his jobCBS reported this week that Schiano’s seat is less hot than many expect considering the program’s putrid 2-5 start to the season. Multiple people with knowledge of the situation have shared a similar sentiment with NJ.com in recent weeks, with two people categorizing the situation as “50/50″ while stressing that no decision had yet been made in either direction.There are various financial factors to consider: Schiano has a sizable buyout (roughly $18 million for Schiano, another $10 million for the rest of his coaching staff); the athletic department has been running $516 million deficit since entering the Big Ten; there are ongoing negotiations with various employee unions at a University level three years after a historic strike; and there are plans to amend SHI Stadium and Jersey Mike’s Arena in the near future.Schiano was able to withstand a shocking start to the season that featured losses to UMass and Boston College. He won the games he absolutely had to against Maryland and Howard, then was competitive against USC and Michigan. With four games to go, he can still build his case for one more season.5) This and Thata) Saturday served as a win for the Rutgers special teams unit. While Michigan missed field goals of 48 and 35 yards, Scarlet Knights kicker Dane Pizzarro nailed attempts from 46 and 32 yards. He is now 8-of-9 on field goals this season.b) Wisconsin will almost certainly not be ranked when it hosts Rutgers next week. The Badgers were mauled by Iowa, which led 20-0 at halftime before finishing with a 30-0 victory.c) Boston College’s momentum was stalled in Durham, where Duke dominated the Eagles in a 47-2 win. With games against No. 1 Miami and No. 5 Notre Dame on deck, BC will have to beat Syracuse and Florida State to make a bowl game — a goal it would have no hope to achieve had it not beaten Rutgers earlier this season.d) Maryland showed some fight in its first game following the firing of head coach Mike Locksley, but ultimately it fell short in a 20-17 home loss to Illinois.e) Will Penn State get its first Big Ten win of the season on Saturday? It hosts Purdue (4:15 ET, Big Ten Network) coming off of a bye. If the Nittany Lions cannot beat the Boilermakers, there is a real possibility that Rutgers will the next realistic opportunity. In between those matchups, Penn State travels to Washington and hosts Minnesota.Arnold Mugerwa, a three-star wide receiver currently committed to Rutgers, will be at that game in State College. The Pennsylvania native, who pledged to the Scarlet Knights in June, is on an official visit. He very well may be the fourth recruit to de-commit from the Scarlet Knights since the start of the 2026 season.MORE BY BRIAN FONSECAWhat Greg Schiano said about Rutgers QB AJ Surace’s 3-of-12 day vs. Michigan, Dylan Lonergan’s healthNov. 1, 2026, 5:56 a.m.Rutgers-Wisconsin kickoff time, TV designation announcedOct. 31, 2026, 9:08 p.m.f) After back-to-back one-score losses before its bye week, Nebraska looks to get back on track against Washington (8 p.m. ET, BTN). The Cornhuskers can get on a roll before going to Piscataway in mid-November: they go to Champaign next weekend to face a disappointing Illinois team.g) Rutgers’ first and last opponents of the 2026 season are off this week. UMass needs to win three of its final four games (vs. Ball State, @ Toledo, vs. Akron, @ Bowling Green) to earn a historic bowl bid, while Michigan State has three chances to earn its first Big Ten win (@ Michigan, vs. Washington, Oregon) before going to Piscataway.h) Men’s soccer earned a huge 4-1 win at Michigan State on Friday night, locking in a spot in the Big Ten Tournament and putting it in position to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament.Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here.