PHOENIX – Rutgers football’s offense faced issues in the second half of its heartbreaking loss to Kansas State in the Rate Bowl, largely the Wildcats’ defense.
But a communication issue also played a significant role in the Scarlet Knights’ 44-41 loss at Chase Field, a defeat that dropped Rutgers to 7-6 for the season.
Coach Greg Schiano said the issue, which cut out communication from the coaches’ box to the sideline, forced offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca to call most of the second half from the sideline.
Ciarrocca typically calls the game from the press box.
“We had to get Coach Ciarrocca down from the box because our headsets weren’t working correctly,” Schiano said. “I felt bad. Certainly one of this secrets is to call the game from up there and see it so well. But I tip my hat to Kansas State. They did a heck of a job.”
Rutgers had 319 total yards of offense in the first half, but just 82 in the second.
The Scarlet Knights scored on six consecutive drives, but then had to punt on three-out-of-five drives in the second half.
The offense just wasn’t the same after halftime. The communication problem was a part of that.
“It’s different,” quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis said. “He can’t see maybe some things he could see in the box. Now he’s on the field, he’s got to call plays. I don’t know how much that affects him to be honest. That was just a whole weird situation. That’s never happened to me before.”
Kaliakmanis said the issue didn’t necessarily affect him – his helmet was still receiving the calls from the sideline – but it affected the coaches.
“I was just so focused on winning the game,” Kaliakmanis said. “It was different, though.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers football: Communication issue hurts offense in Rate Bowl
