Key turnover plagues Rutgers in loss to Wisconsin

Rutgers has taken care of the football well this season.

Gavin Wimsatt had just one interception on the season in 106 pass attempts. Trailing 10-0, the Scarlet Knights were on the move looking to make it a three-point deficit heading into halftime. Instead, Wimsatt eyed up his receiver and threw it right into the hands of Ricardo Hallman who took it 95 yards for a pick six.

Despite it being the first half, that play was the nail in the coffin as Wisconsin clinched a 24-13 win over Rutgers in Madison.

Wimsatt finished 16-for-35 for 181 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Rutgers finished with just 275 total yards, 64 being on the ground on 22 attempts.

Trailing 17-0, Wimsatt took a big hit on the sideline and was forced to come out of the game. Evan Simon threw a touchdown to Aaron Young to cap a 10-play drive. Jai Patel hit the upright on the extra point attempt.

The Scarlet Knight defense played well all afternoon but allowed Wisconsin to respond with a 15-play, 72-yard drive to ice the game with a touchdown. Rutgers would get on the board one final time after a Badger fumble. Wimsatt hit Ian Strong in the end zone for his second touchdown of the year.

The Scarlet Knights did not get off to a quick start as the offense stalled time and time again. The team was stuck on one first down well into the second quarter. This was a combination of poor execution and questionable play-calling. The offense has yet to open up and changes will have to be made moving forward. Kirk Ciarrocca and staff need to draw up a better game plan.

Rutgers will return home to take on Michigan State next Saturday before traveling to Bloomington for a date with Indiana on Oct. 21.

The goal of six wins and a bowl game are still alive if Rutgers can win these next two games. What we saw on Saturday was the Scarlet Knights showing and telling fans to tailor expectations to what we see on the field. And that is that this offense is not ready total a step up in Big Ten competition just yet.

We will see how the team prepares for the Spartans and if a different game plan is drawn up.