PISCATAWAY, N.J. — After Rutgers had pulled out a 26-24 escape against Michigan — a game they needed quarterback Gary Nova’s right arm to win, and kick-blocking Kemoko Turay’s left arm to save — the sellout crowd at High Point Solutions Stadium rushed the field, celebrating its piece of history.
“It’s great, something you’ll remember forever. It’s the reason why you play college football, for moments like that,’’ said Nova, who was 22-of-39 for a career-high 404 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers, and shared the moment with the crowd of 53,327, the third-largest in Rutgers history.
The Scarlet Knights (5-1, 1-1) had the first Big Ten victory in their history, and beleaguered Michigan coach Brady Hoke had the worst week in his — and perhaps the nail in his Ann Arbor coffin. After quarterback Shane Morris was left in last weekend’s loss to Minnesota despite a concussion, fans marched on the school president’s house Tuesday demanding Hoke’s firing and the athletic director’s resignation.
Nova — benched late last year, and booed in a five-interception loss to Penn State on Sept. 13 — bounced back with a redemptive performance. Even that wasn’t enough, with Rutgers taking a 26-17 lead, but nearly collapsing again, until Turay rose up to block Matt Wile’s potential go-ahead 56-yard field goal try with 3:07 left.
“I feel like [Nova] had something to prove,” said wide receiver Leonte Carroo, who called it redemption for the senior quarterback. “He came up short in the Penn State game, and this game you saw a different Gary, you saw a more confident [player], you saw him more excited to go out there and play. I knew he was going to have a great game from the moment we got off the bus. I knew he wasn’t go out like he did versus Penn State.
“He was upset, truly upset with the way he played against Penn State. He’s a guy that always wants to do well for this team and he wanted to go out there and put on his best performance. … It showed what type of quarterback Gary Nova can be. It showed his character.’’
Nova found Andrew Turzilli for an 80-yard post-pattern touchdown midway through the second quarter, and hit John Tsimis for a 7-yard TD with 22 seconds left in the first half. On that scoring drive, Nova worked the clock like a shrewd hourly employee on a flawless two-minute drill, marching Rutgers 75 yards in 11 plays over just 1:21 for a 19-17 lead at the break.
Nova hit Turzilli for a 14-yard score to make it 26-17 with 13:12 left in the game. Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner (13-of-22 for 178 yards) — who had been benched last week, but was back in the lineup with Morris concussed — ran for the second of his two TDs to cut the lead to 26-24, but Rutgers held on.
Michigan drove to the Rutgers 39, but on third-and-9, Gardner’s pass to Amara Darboh was ruled incomplete, and replay confirmed the call on the field. And when Michigan opted to try that 56-yard field goal with 3:07 left, Turay rose to block Wile’s attempt, the redshirt freshman’s third blocked kick of the year — and Rutgers’ nation-best 40th since 2009 — to seal it.
Michigan (2-4, 0-2) is off to its worst start since 2-7 in 2008 under Rich Rodriguez, and its worst league start since 1967.
“We have great fans. Now we need to do our part,’’ Hoke said.
Asked if he thought he would keep his job, Hoke said, “I don’t think about that. I have 115 sons — we have all kinds of distractions.’’
When asked if this was his toughest week, he replied: “Yeah. Was that personal? These are jobs that you’re very much in the public eye, and that’s part of it. But you know that when you get into it.’’