Greg Schiano describes emotions after Rutgers' comeback victory vs. Michigan State

Michigan State had Greg Schiano and Rutgers dead to rights in the fourth quarter. But the Scarlet Knights pulled off a comeback and won 27-24 in what could be described as an emotional victory for Schiano.

The usually stoic and serious-minded coach isn’t afraid to show off his passion on the sideline. But this time, it might’ve been more of a sigh of relief to see hard pay off.

Rutgers improved to 5-2 on the season and 2-2 in the Big Ten this year. Schiano described what went through his head as the clock hit all zeroes.

“I don’t know if I was emotional,” Schiano said postgame. “There was so much hard math. It was right on the cusp. That’s why I went bananas when the clock got mixed up. We were right on the edge, but I knew we had it if we did what we did, and then all of a sudden the clock changed. And so I was — that went from, okay, now, we got it, which should have been right from the beginning, right. It’s out there, you have to make sure you do that clock exactly right.

“After the game, it was probably as much relief, but I was really happy for our players. These kids work so hard. For them to have it pay off, because they have certainly had their tough times. That was a really good day for them today.”

Greg Schiano breathes sigh of relief following Rutgers’ comeback

Rutgers trailed 24-6 going into the fourth quarter and it looked like another typical Scarlet Knights Big Ten game. That means competitiveness but too many self-inflicted wounds that lead to a questionable loss.

Not this time. Schiano’s special teams stole the show, scoring a touchdown off a botched punt snap and stealing a kickoff off a pooch kick late in the game.

“Yeah, you really could (feel the momentum swing),” Schiano said. “And oftentimes, as a coach you’re so worried about your team. Sometimes you’ve just got to take a breath and say, well, you know what how do they feel right now. It’s slipping away from them, right. So you have to play all that into what your decisions are. I thought our guys did a very good job. 

“Certainly the punt block touchdown gave everybody a little juice but you still had to have stops and run drives. There’s a lot of football in that fourth quarter to get it done, especially that last drive. I think what was it, what did it start with, 7:30 maybe? In my own mind I’m thinking we could use one of those old-fashioned Jerry Rice drives right now. We had a lot of them. Just bleed the clock out, and then walk out with them a knee, and that’s just what we did, so that was gratifying.”

Rutgers and Schiano will hit the road next week in Bloomington to face Indiana. With a win, it’ll be Rutgers’ first traditional bowl eligibility season (Rutgers got invited to the Gator Bowl during the 2021 season amid a COVID dropout from Texas A&M) since 2014, the school’s first in the Big Ten.