Kyle Monangai rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown on Saturday as visiting Rutgers finished its regular season with a 41-14 Big Ten Conference rout of Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich.
The Scarlet Knights (7-5, 4-5) controlled both sides of the scrimmage line after a slow start, more than doubling the Spartans in rushing yardage and gobbling up 35 minutes of clock. Athan Kaliakmanis added 157 passing yards on 13-of-22 accuracy, along with a touchdown.
Michigan State (5-7, 3-6) was seeking to become bowl-eligible but saw its season end with an emphatic thud. The Spartans managed 13 first downs, and after a promising start on the ground that saw them rush for 99 yards in the first quarter and a half, barely reached 100 yards for the day.
Michigan State initiated the scoring less than three minutes in as Nate Carter ripped off a 26-yard touchdown run. But that was it for the Spartans’ attack until Aidan Chiles found Jack Velling for a 5-yard strike with 7:21 left in the game. Chiles finished 13-of-23 passing for 150 yards.
By then, Rutgers had more than done its damage. It took the lead for good before the midway point of the first quarter behind Monangai’s 7-yard touchdown run and the first of Jai Patel’s four field goals, a 25-yarder.
Antwan Raymond made it 17-7 at the 6:07 mark of the second quarter with a 13-yard scoring jaunt, capping a 94-yard drive. Patel then punched 42 and 30-yard field goals through snow and a stiff wind in the final 90 seconds of the half for a 23-7 advantage.
The Scarlet Knights essentially ended the game’s competitive phase on the first drive of the second half, chewing up 7 1/2 minutes to drive 75 yards. Kaliakmanis finished it off with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Ian Strong.
Patel added his fourth field goal, a 29-yarder, with 10:55 left in the game to cap off another seven-minute drive. Raymond tacked on a 5-yard scoring jaunt with 1:57 remaining.
–Field Level Media
