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Another look at Rutgers improbable comeback against Indiana

By Aaron Breitman
Matt Kryger-USA TODAY Sports

What an emotional, season saving comeback victory!!  A lot has and will be said, let's look at the numbers of this wild, wild game.

Team Performance

  • The 25 point comeback matches the biggest in school history, tying last season's comeback win over Maryland.
  • The 107 total points tied for the most points in any game Rutgers has ever played.  They also beat SMU in 2013 by the same 55-52 score, although that game went three overtimes. That was also the last game that Rutgers returned a fumble for a touchdown before Kemoko Turay did so yesterday.
  • It was the first time in school history that a player scored three rushing touchdowns and a player scored three receiving touchdowns in the same game, as Robert Martin and Leonte Carroo did yesterday.
  • Rutgers amassed 596 yards on offense, the third time this season they went over 500 yards.  They also gave up 627 yards of offense to Indiana but let's save negative talk for another day.
  • A major difference in the game was on third down conversions.  Indiana converted just 2 of 10 attempts, while Rutgers converted on 12 of 20 attempts.  On fourth down conversions, Indiana was just 1 of 4 while Rutgers was 1 of 2.
  • The two teams combined for 43 plays of 10 yards or more and 15 touchdowns in the game.
  • Indiana was in the top ten nationally for takeaway margin entering the game, but had three turnovers to just one for Rutgers. 
  • Rutgers won the time of possession, having the ball 35:02 versus 24:58 for Indiana. Rutgers had the ball for 11:31 of the 4th quarter.
  • Rutgers averaged eight penalties a game coming into yesterday.  They committed only one against Indiana.
  • Rutgers out-rushed Indiana with 210 yards versus 163 yards for the Hoosiers.  Rutgers has out-rushed every opponent this season with the exception of Penn State.
  • For the first time all season, Rutgers had all three timeouts left with less than five minutes to play in the game.  It proved crucial on the last drive that set up Kyle Federico's game winning field goal.

Individual Performances

  • Leonte Carroo had a season high 157 receiving yards and had more than 100 yards receiving in a game for the 11th time in his career. Carroo had his third three touchdown performance of the season and fifth for his career. It was the second consecutive game he had seven catches in a game, his career high.  He now has nine touchdowns in only fourteen quarters played this season.
  • Robert Martin tied his career high with three rushing touchdowns.  He also scored three touchdowns in last season's win over Indiana. It was the third 100 yard rushing game of his career, as he had 124 yards on 17 carries yesterday.
  • Paul James had rushed for just 2 yards on 5 carries in the game, before scampering for a game tying 42 yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter.  It was his second rush of over 40 yards for the season, after last week's 72 yard run that got Rutgers back into that game against Michigan State.  The senior had stayed patient and waited for his turn to have an impact, despite limited opportunities with the running back rotation this season.
  • Chris Laviano threw for three touchdowns for the second consecutive game and third of his season, tying his career high. He also set a career high 386 passing yards against Indiana. He continues to lead the Big Ten in completion percentage at 69.3%, is second in quarterback rating at 156.1 and third in touchdown passes for the season with 12.
  • Andre Patton has 6 catches for 89 yards, which was his best game of the season. Carlton Agudosi had three catches for 72 yards, all in the 4th quarter after coming in for Leonte Carroo once he left the game injured. Please start playing them together!!
  • Steve Longa led the team with 16 tackles with 1.5 going for a loss, as well as a forced fumble on the punt attempt.  It was the fourth time this season and the fifteenth time of his career he has had double digit tackles in a game. He was a beast yesterday!
  • Quentin Gause had 10 tackles, including one for a loss. He has had a tremendous senior season so far, leading the defense as the only captain with Darius Hamilton out for the season.
  • Anthony Cioffi picked up his third interception of the season, which is the first time Rutgers has had a player with that many picks since 2012, when Brandon Jones had five and Logan Ryan had four. Cioffi also had 7 tackles and 1 sack. He continues to shine after making the positional switch to safety this off-season.
  • Redshirt freshman Isaiah Wharton played the best game of his young career.  He had 6 tackles, 1 pass break-up and 1 big interception in the 4th quarter.
  • Kyle Federico was just 4-6 on PAT's, having two blocked.  He is now just 21-24 for the season on extra point attempts.  However, he won the game on a 26 yard field goal and is 5-6 for the season.  It was great to see him get redemption with the game winning kick!

Injuries

  • Leonte Carroo, Blessuan Austin, Kiy Hester and Davon Jacobs all left the game due to various injuries suffered. Let's hope none are serious and they can all play next week against #1 Ohio State.

Let's end it with this tremendous tweet, showing how improbable Rutgers 25 point comeback win truly was!!!