BOSTON — Al-Shadee Salaam scored on a 22-yard rush with 2:43 left, lifting Rutgers to a 22-21 comeback win over Boston College on Saturday in the schools season opener.
Rutgers had lost the last 11 meetings once morest Boston College, which holds a 20-7-1 advantage in the series. The Scarlet Knights found a way to win despite an ugly streak that stretched from the end of the first quarter to the start of the second quarter in which they started with the first and the goal in the 10th only end with a kick clearance on the fourth and the goal of the 43.
“They’re a young team and they started the game with some young team mistakes and made some nervous mistakes I guess,” Scarlet Knights coach Greg Schiano said. “It was a great lesson that if you can stay in the moment; that was all, trying to keep them in the moment. Eventually we got there.
Phil Jurkovec threw two of his three touchdown passes to Zay Flowers as BC opened up a 21-12 lead midway through the third quarter before the Scarlet Knights rallied.
Aron Cruickshank had a 26-yard TD rush and Kyle Monangai a 1-yard for Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights got the ball to their own 4 with just under 8 minutes to go and used 12 plays – 11 rushes and an incomplete pass – to take the lead from Salaam’s TD when he crossed the line and into the left corner of the end zone.
“We practice a lot,” said quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, who played the last drive. “We have been through a lot. We seem to be focused on that. »
Jude McAtamney’s 33-yard field had cut BC’s lead to 21-15.
Jurkovec, who transferred from Notre Dame ahead of the 2020 season, went 23 of 41 for 283 yards with two interceptions. Flowers had 10 catches for 125 yards.
“That’s probably the most discouraging part is that they were able to run for like 90 yards without throwing the ball and scoring,” BC coach Jeff Hafley said.
After Jurkovec escaped a low snap that led to a Scarlet Knights TD, the redshirted senior found Jaden Williams in the left corner of the end zone, making it 21-12.
Monangai’s score had reduced the Eagles’ lead to 14-12 before Rutgers failed on the 2-point attempt.
“It’s tough,” Hafley said. “I felt like we had every chance to get the better of the game. … I feel like every chance we had to put them away, we let them come back.
Jurkovec’s first TD to Flowers was an 11-yard back pass into the right corner of the end zone, making it 7-0 midway through the first quarter. His second gave the Eagles a 14-6 lead late in the second when the fast receiver grabbed the ball in the middle and ran into the end zone near the right pylon for 26 yards.
The take-out sale
Rutger : The Scarlet Knights struggled most of the day on offense, rotating two QBs and throwing just 110 yards. It’s something they’ll need to understand to be competitive in the Big Ten.
Boston College: Jurkovec and Flowers’ play will go a long way if the Eagles are to have their first season with more than seven wins since 2009. When they enter Atlantic Coast Conference play, the teams will likely charge for cover once morest Flowers .
