Rutgers may’ve lost against Ohio State this weekend, but the Scarlet Knights fooled their opponents in the first half with an unexpected fake ‘tush push’ for considerable yard gain.
Trailing by a touchdown early in the second quarter with the football at their own 43-yard line, the home team was in a fourth-and-1 situation, so, Rutgers players decided to line up in an unusual formation in an attempt to keep possession.
Ohio State’s defense, on the other hand, didn’t quite understand what was about to happen and jumped over the pile of Rutgers’ offensive linesmen to sack quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, whom they thought would run with the ball up the middle with an extra push.
The Rutgers signal-caller, however, tricked everyone on the Buckeyes by keeping the ball in between his legs before giving it to running back Kyle Monangai.
With most of Ohio State’s defensive line down on the ground already, Monangai ran 45 yards to pick up a first down and get the Scarlet Knights up the field, deep into the territory of their opponents.
Rutgers players lined up in a formation allowing them to pull a fake ‘tush push’ vs. Ohio State
The play not only fooled the Buckeyes but also commentators in the booth, including CBS Sports broadcaster Tom McCarthy.
‘Ooh he fumbled it, he fumbled it… and Monangai picks it up!’ McCarthy said after he realized that Rutgers was actually still running with the ball.
‘This was a play that was set. Monangai into the open field and Monangai inside the 15 and he’s in the red zone.’
Rutgers didn’t manage to get a touchdown afterwards, but the ‘tush push’ got them into field-goal range for the team’s first three points of the afternoon.
Rutgers got deep into Ohio State territory after the play, allowing them to score a field goal
The trick certainly galvanized Rutgers players, too, as momentum shifted after the clever play, and gave the Scarlet Knights hopes of an upset win.
Rutgers took a 9-7 lead into halftime.
However, that wasn’t the case, as Ohio State ultimately proved to be too much of an offensive powerhouse in the second half, winning the contest, 35-16.
Buckeyes QB Kyle McCord had three touchdowns for 189 passing yards.
The 21-year-old, junior completed 19 of 26 passing attempts.