PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Samuel Brown V had a career-high 101 yards rushing and a touchdown and Noah Vedral threw for 113 yards and a touchdown as Rutgers rallied past Indiana 24-17 on Saturday.
Rutgers (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) snapped a 21-game conference home losing streak, last winning a conference home game in 2017 against Maryland. It was the longest home conference game losing streak in Big Ten history.
Indiana (3-5, 1-4 Big Ten) opened the game with a 93-yard touchdown return on the kickoff as Jaylin Lucas went untouched to put the Hoosiers up 7-0.
The fast-paced Indiana offense moved right down the field on its first drive of the game. Quarterback Connor Bazelak capped off the 11-play, 91-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run to give Indiana the 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
He was 23 of 41 for 210 yards and a late interception.
Rutgers responded with a 11-play, 86-yard drive. Vedral's pitch and catch to Sean Ryan cut the Indiana lead to 14-7 with 9:53 left in the first half. The transfer from West Virginia had three catches on the drive after just nine on the season.
Rutgers offense was operating under Nunzio Campanile, who is serving as interim offensive coordinator after Sean Gleeason was fired following Rutgers' loss to Nebraska. With the change and the bye week, the offense responded despite being put in an early hole.
Rutgers defense, which came into the game ranked eighth nationally in rushing defense (91.7 yards per game) and 10th in overall defense (285.8 yards per game), tightened up to keep the game in reach at half. After giving up 143 yards in the first quarter, Rutgers only gave up 129 yards in the remaining three quarters.
Trailing 14-7, Rutgers received the ball to open the second half. Following a 15-play drive that resulted in only 46 yards, Rutgers settled for a field goal. Jude McAtamney matched his career-long with a 49-yarder to make it 14-10.
The Rutgers defense had a three-and-out, and the offense had a methodical drive to take its first lead of the game at 17-14. Sam Brown had a 2-yard touchdown run to cap a 12-play, 56-yard drive at the end of the third.
Indiana only had the ball for 53 seconds in the third quarter.
Aron Cruickshank had 121 total yards for Rutgers.
Rutgers missed a 56-yard field goal before Indiana missed a 52-yarder on the ensuing drive. The Scarlet Knights took over on its own 34-yard line with 7:37 left. Christian Braswell had a 12-yard pick six, giving Rutgers the 24-14 with 5:12 left in the game.
Indiana hit a 38-yard field goal with 1:18 remaining to pull within a touchdown, but were unable to recover the onside kick.
THE TAKEAWAY
Indiana: After a 3-0 start, the Hoosiers have dropped five straight. And things are about to get a whole lot tougher for Indiana. The Hoosiers host No. 16 Penn State before traveling No. 3 Ohio State.
Rutgers: If the Scarlet Knights want any chance of making it to a bowl game, Indiana felt like a must-win. Rutgers has a gauntlet of a schedule remaining that included hosting No. 4 Michigan and Penn State, and going to Minnesota and Maryland.
UP NEXT
Indiana: Bye week before hosting Penn State.
Rutgers: At Minnesota next Saturday.
