– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND — Given the seismic moves the Big Ten Conference has made in realignment over the years, it is hard for those who don’t regularly sit at or near the top of the college football world to accomplish landmark achievements while going through the gauntlet of conference play. So what the Rutgers football team just pulled off on Saturday makes their program building under Greg Schiano all the more impressive.
Running back Kyle Monangai returned from injury to score two touchdowns as the Scarlet Knights went on the road and defeated Maryland 31-17 inside SECU Stadium on Saturday. Athan Kaliakmanis also threw for two touchdowns as Rutgers won its sixth game to become bowl eligible.
Three of those six wins for the Scarlet Knights have come in conference play, matching the most Big Ten wins Rutgers has won since moving into the league for the 2014 season. The timing of those wins couldn’t have been better, as the Scarlet Knights have won two in a row after losing all four games in the month of October after a 4-0 start.
“You win four and you lose four — that thing could go either way,” Schiano said.
Monangai rushed for 97 yards on 25 carries, numbers that would have been gaudier if a 70-yard touchdown wasn’t called back due to a penalty. Instead, it was Kaliakmanis, the Minnesota transfer, who had one of his best games as a Scarlet Knight in completing 20-of-30 passes for 238 yards while not turning over the ball. Kaliakmakis led the Scarlet Knights to four consecutive touchdown drives, save a kneeldown at the end of the second quarter, between the second and third quarters.
“It’s an amazing feeling, Kaliakmakis said. “It was awesome, but we know we got more work to do.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday evening’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Rodney Pierce. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 49 pictures in total.
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