Rutgers opened its 2024 season with a 44-7 home win over Howard on Thursday night.
The final points of the night came on an 11-yard touchdown run by Rutgers freshman running back Antwan Raymond with no time remaining.
After Rutgers took over at the Howard 31 with 15 seconds remaining, Raymond gained 20 yards on first down before scoring on the next play.
Raymond’s late touchdown didn’t sit well with Howard head coach Larry Scott, who let Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano know he didn’t appreciate him not kneeling the clock out during their postgame handshake.
Things didn’t get out of hand between the two, but Scott clearly had words for Schiano, who doubled back momentarily after starting to walk away.
7 seconds left and Rutgers runs it up the gut for another touchdown. Didn’t seem to sit well with Howard HC Larry Scott. Schiano leaned in… pic.twitter.com/3VKT7LlhwF
— FootballScoop (@FootballScoop) August 30, 2024
On one hand, Scott had previously called timeout before a 4th-and-1 play by Rutgers at the Howard 13-yard line with 1:17 remaining and the Scarlet Knights leading 31-7. Howard then stopped Raymond for a one-yard loss.
The Bison then went for it on 4th-and-9 from their own 31 and failed, turning the ball back to Rutgers for Raymond’s final two carries.
Also, if you don’t want a team to score, you can always stop them from doing so.
On the other hand though, we definitely can’t fault Scott for being a little miffed here.
Schiano’s team had the outcome well in hand, and while its understandable to want to get your backups some reps in these games, it’s not a great look to score with no time left when you’re already up 31 points.
This isn’t the first time Schiano has angered an opposing coach with his end-game strategy.
We’ll have to see what both men say about things postgame.
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