Reigning Big Ten Conference rushing champion Kyle Monangai ran for 165 yards and a touchdown, tying his career high, to lead Rutgers to a 44-7 victory over two-time defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Howard on Thursday night in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Transfer quarterback Ahsan Kariakmanis threw three touchdowns, defensive back Eric Rogers returned an interception 52 yards for a score on Howard's first possession and the Scarlet Knights overcame a slow start to win their eighth straight nonconference game.
Antoine Raymond scored on an 11-yard run on the final play of the game.
There was no PAT.
That final play frustrated Howard University coach Larry Scott, who said he wasn't planning on going for a touchdown when the Scarlet Knights were leading 38-7 with seven seconds left.
“I think we're both competitive people and in that situation,” Scott said, “I would have handled it a little differently. I can't speak for him.”
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said he was just trying to give his reserves a chance to play and wasn't trying to score points.
Eden James, son of NFL great Edgarlynn James, scored on a 2-yard run late in the first half and Howard University received a $425,000 guaranteed fee to play against a Power 4 opponent.
Redshirt sophomore Ja'Shawn Scroggins, playing his first game as the Bisons' quarterback, ran for 67 yards and passed for 116 yards.
“Obviously we're disappointed with the result,” Scott said, “and we definitely thought there were some positives we could build off of, but the result is definitely not what we came here to try and achieve.”
Monangai ran 19 times for seven yards in the third quarter, averaging 8.7 yards per attempt. The senior also had a 165-yard rush in a win over Temple University early last season to lead the conference with 1,262 yards rushing.
He had seven games of 100+ yards.
Kariakmanis hit a 2-yard scoring pass to Daimere Miller in the first half and completed scoring passes of 34 yards to Samuel Brown and 3 yards to defensive end Kenny Fletcher in the second half.
The transfer from the University of Minnesota passed to eight receivers, completing 15 of 24 passes for 147 yards and zero interceptions.
Jai Patel booted a 36-yard field goal late in the first half to give Rutgers a 17-7 lead.
Rutgers gained 329 of its 476 total yards rushing, with Brown adding 68 on 14 carries.
Rutgers returns most of its top-20 ranked defense this season, and on Coach Howard's first possession of the game, Rodgers intercepted a Scroggins pass and returned it 52 yards along the left sideline for a touchdown that gave the Scarlet Knights a score.
“When you play FCS opponents, they're definitely at a different level of FCS,” Schiano said of Howard, “and this is a really good football team. If they can stay healthy, they're going to have a lot of success. I have a lot of respect for their program.”
