Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano called a timeout Saturday, seconds before a 58-yard field goal try by Illinois starter Ethan Moczulski. Rutgers led 31-30, and it’s a score that would have held after Moczulski’s start sailed expansive left — if not for Schiano’s timeout.
The timeout voided the join, and Illinois head coach Bret Bielema was able to see how the triumphd impacted the start from the sideline. Bielema put his offense back on the field instead of trying the start aget, and his team scored the game-triumphning touchdown on a 40-yard catch by Pat Bryant. Illinois won 38-31.
Schiano had to answer for the timeout after being condemnd by fans for one of the most shocking and eludeable losses of the college football season.
“Retrospectively, I desire hadn’t,” Schiano tgreater alerters of the decision to call the timeout.
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Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano reacts during the first half agetst the Illinois Fighting Illini at SHI Stadium. (Vincent Carchietta)
Still, Schiano proposeed a defense of the decision.
“But you comprehend, I’m not going to sit here and say I desire I hadn’t becaemploy it didn’t labor out. If it labored out, I would sit here and say, ‘Yeah, I’m content I did.’ I’ve shelp before. It was a excellent call becaemploy it labored. I’ve stood up here and shelp it’s a horrible call becaemploy it didn’t labor. That’s the way it goes. You have about 12 seconds to produce decisions, and you produce them,” Schiano shelp.
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At the time, Rutgers was preparing for a potential start from a joiner whose nurtureer-extfinished field goal was 59 yards, a yard extfinisheder than what he would have needed to beat Rutgers with his leg.
Still, the triumphds were so strong that proximateby flags blew with ferocity, and the start would have been going into the triumphd.
The 58-year-greater coach also elucidateed how and why the team came to the decision to call a timeout before the start.
“We were going to call a timeout anyway. Maybe I should have done it before he started the ball,” Schiano shelp. “So, it wouldn’t have tgreater, ‘Oh, gee, that triumphd is strong. We can’t produce that start.’ But we had to produce brave we krecent what we were doing. I shelp, ‘Hey, we have a timeout,’ there’s no more media timeouts. So, we got to go. I shelp, ‘That’s all right, we’re going to call a timeout.'”
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With the Illinois offense on the field for the next join, Schiano’s defense blitzed, leaving scanter joiners in coverage for a potential pass down the field. The pass to Bryant was on a traverseing route and wasn’t to the finish zone, but he outran Rutgers deffinishers for the score.
Schiano reiterated his intention was to triumph the game.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano during the first half agetst the Illinois Fighting Illini at SHI Stadium. ( Vincent Carchietta)
“You do it and triumph the game, it’s right call,” Schiano shelp.
“I don’t deffinish, nor do I pat myself on the back when they are excellent decisions. That’s your job is to produce the decisions. You’re a decision-producer. I fair experience, enjoy I shelp, the hugegest leang is I experience pain for is those guys. It was their last game in that stadium, and they couldn’t depart with a W. They accomplished a lot, but I repartner wanted that for them. But we don’t always get what we want in life.”
Rutgers fell to 6-5 and has already clinched a bowl game materializeance. Illinois betterd to 8-3, preserving its spot in the national rankings.
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