Rutgers Falls in Spectacular Fashion to Penn State, 40-36

Rutgers football and its fanbase have suffered stunning losses throughout the years. The 2006 double-overtime loss to West Virginia that would have sent the Knights to the Orange Bowl as a game-winning touchdown from Mike Teel went through wide open receiver James Townsend’s hands in the endzone.

In 2012, with another conference championship on the line, Rutgers blew a 14-3 halftime lead as Louisville’s Terry Bridgewater, playing on a bad ankle, rallied the Cardinals for a dramatic 20-17 victory in another gut-wrenching loss where a ball hit Rutgers receiver Mark Harrison squarely in the hands for a potential game-sealing touchdown but was dropped.

Then, of course, last season, fans witnessed Rutgers about to upset a ranked Illinois squad, the Illini kicker attempting a long field goal into a 30mph stiff wind. The kick wasn’t close, and Rutgers players prematurely celebrated, only to find out the play was waived off by a last-second timeout called by Head Coach Schiano before the kick.

Only Rutgers could ice a kicker already iced. The Illini, realizing they had little chance to make the kick, trotted their offense back out on the field and executed a dramatic fourth-and-long touchdown pass to steal a victory and crush the frozen Rutgers fans in attendance.

Fast forward to a chilly, windy Saturday evening at SHI Stadium with the Scarlet Knights unexpectedly going toe to toe against the Nittany Lions, moving the ball at will against a defense loaded with NFL talent.

Rutgers, despite their defensive woes, found themselves in the driver’s seat, leading 36-33 halfway through the 4th quarter, a chance to put the game away against a team they’ve beaten twice since 1918. On 2nd and 7, Athan Kaliakmanis, playing one of the best games of his career on Senior Night, dropped back to pass. Tight end Kenny Fletcher, already having a big game, was all by himself in the left flat. A perfect play call.

There’s simply no way to explain what happened next. The ball popped out of Kaliakmanis’s hands at the Penn State 39-yard line and was scooped up by Nittany Lions defender Amare Campbell, who took off running 61 yards for the go-ahead score.

Rutgers was driving to potentially go up two scores, but a scoop and score by Campbell gives Penn State the lead! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/keCS7Esnnx
— Basic Blues Nation (@BasicBlues) November 29, 2025

Schiano was asked during the postgame press conference (courtesy of Rutgers Athletics) about what he told Kaliakmanis, who sat dejected on the bench, after the game.

“I love him. He's done incredible things here. Incredible. Think about a couple of years, our passing game, think about what he's been able to accomplish, he's a 3,000-yard passer. And more importantly, just to watch him grow as a leader and grow. It's hard. It's really hard because he's the ultimate competitor, and he feels like he let people down. But I told him, "You didn't let anybody down. You're the reason we're in the game at the fourth quarter.”

Rutgers fans will relive this play all winter. Did Kaliakmanis just panic seeing a wide-open tight end in the flat and, in his haste, just drop the ball? Rutgers did very little wrong on offense all night, and with the way they were driving the ball, had a very good chance to punch in another seven points and likely put the game away, considering the Lions had no answer for Antwan Raymond and the rushing attack.

Like the Illinois game last November, though, Rutgers pulled defeat out of the jaws of victory. One well-executed play short of a massive upset against an opponent that has owned them and was expected to run the Knights out of Shi Stadium. Instead, what transpired was one of the most exciting Big Ten games of the season.

To nobody’s surprise, Penn State gashed Rutgers for 500 yards of offense, including 300 on the ground, as Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton ran wild against a Robb Smith unit that still hasn’t figured out how to seal the edge.

Something must have been in the SHI Stadium water, though, as Rutgers tormented a stout Nittany Lions defense for 533 yards of offense, including 338 yards through a potent air attack that found KJ Duff making one catch after another against an undersized secondary. While the loss was tormenting, fans may have witnessed the catch of the year as Duff made a ridiculous one-handed grab and kept control as he fell to the ground, extending a drive.

WHAT A CATCH FROM @RFootball'S KJ DUFF 🤯

📺: BTN pic.twitter.com/w8HTKGStrj
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 29, 2025

Star running back Antwan Raymond, and the heir-apparent to Kyle Monangai, carried the ball 29 times for 189 yards, making defender after defender miss in the backfield and exploding through the line for big gain after big gain.

Had Rutgers played halfway decent on defense this year, it likely would have won games against Iowa, Minnesota, and Penn State, and a 5-7 campaign would have turned into a solid 8-4 season with a bowl game. But that’s the difference between good teams and bad teams in football - a few poorly executed plays.

Head Coach Schiano, players, and fans will lament Kaliakmanis’s fumble and a killer holding penalty on Jacobie Henderson, away from an incomplete pass, on a Penn State 2nd and 26 that prevented Rutgers from grabbing an upset victory and going bowling.

Now Rutgers braces for the whirlwind of the transfer portal - like any non-blue blood- and Schiano leans on Athletic Director Keli Zinn and her staff to raise the money to keep studs Antwan Raymond, KJ Duff, and possibly Ian Strong, all of whom appear loyal to the program, from walking away for a bigger payday.

Antwan Raymond gets his second of the day for @RFootball 🙌

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/x1yp1vImn6
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 29, 2025

For Schiano, will he finally step out of his comfort zone and hire a defensive coordinator who can recruit talent in the trenches and at linebacker and return the defense to the top tier of the Big Ten? Schiano was asked about what it takes to get this program to the next step.

“Well, I refuse to get into the "woe is me," right. But we've been operating at a completely different level than the people we compete with. So really what we've done is almost miraculous, and everybody wants to talk about things. They don't -- people don't know the true facts of what has gone on. But I'm fine with it. I don't need to justify our performances,” he said.

“I really believed we would be playing again, this year, this team. Hurts very much but we'll be back. We'll be back. We have some people now that understand what it takes, and we'll be back in the way we're suppose to be. Won't be overnight but it will happen.”

For the first time in many years, Schiano enters into an offseason with support from an Athletic Department that wants to lift the program up and has already raised nearly eight figures to not only help him retain his superstars but also hire the right coaches and recruit players on a comparative level with middle-tier Big Ten programs.

For Rutgers fans, who showed out last evening, preventing a full Penn State takeover, only to leave with their hearts broken yet again, hope springs eternal.

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