Three reasons Rutgers football beat Miami in Pinstripe Bowl for 1st winning season since '14

NEW YORK – Rutgers football has its first winning season in nine years.

The Scarlet Knights used another big rushing performance by Kyle Monangai, a huge special teams play that shifted momentum toward their sideline and a solid defensive performance to beat Miami, 31-24, in the Pinstripe Bowl in front of a crowd of 35,314 at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.

With the win, Rutgers secured a 7-6 record, another step for the rebuilding program under Greg Schiano.

It was the Scarlet Knights' seventh bowl victory in program history and the sixth under Schiano.

Rutgers also beat Miami, its former Big East foe, after losing their 11 previous meetings.

"This is a step," Schiano said. "As I said to everybody when we were bowl eligible and then we lost four straight, I said when we became bowl eligible, it's literally a mile marker on the road to where we're going. It's not the exit. This is exciting. This is the start."

The Pinstripe Bowl offered a seemingly perfect opportunity to play close to home, in front a crowd that was largely supporting the Scarlet Knights and against a Miami team that was depleted due to transfer portal losses and injuries.

Rutgers capitalized on all of that − though it wasn't always easy.

The Scarlet Knights held a 14-0 lead before Miami scored 17 unanswered points to take the lead and momentum, and whose final touchdown came with 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

But Rutgers got it all back.

Here are three reasons Rutgers beat Miami:

Momentum-shifting blocked-punt touchdown

Rutgers needed a big play.

Its special teams delivered – fittingly for a team that spends countless hours on that phase of the game.

"Football is a game of momentum, and anybody who tells you it's not really I think they're living in a dream world," Schiano said.

Miami scored 17 unanswered points to take a 17-14 lead in the third quarter. The Hurricanes held firm with the momentum.

But the Scarlet Knights forced a Miami three-and-out with just more than five minutes to go in the quarter, forcing a Hurricanes punt on fourth-and-4 from the Hurricanes 13.

That’s when Trevor Yeboah-Kodie flew in from the left side to block the punt. The ball bounced into the end zone, where Timmy Ward dove on top of it and recovered for a touchdown that put Rutgers up 21-17 after the extra point.

It was a huge play by Ward, who has become a real leader of the special teams. Ward also has a remarkable story, overcoming cancer, a torn ACL and then walking onto the team after working as an equipment manager for the team.

Kyle Monangai does it again

A national television audience on Thursday got to see what anyone who has watched Rutgers all season has seen.

Monangai is an absolute difference maker for the Scarlet Knights, putting together tough run after tough run, moving piles, picking up chunks of yardage at a time.

He did it against Miami, finishing with 163 yards on 25 carries with one touchdown – a seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter.

It was his seventh 100-yard game of the season.

The Don Bosco Prep product ran for 22 yards on the Scarlet Knights’ first play of the game, jumpstarting a game-opening drive that ended with QB Gavin Wimsatt punching it in from one yard out.

"He just runs so hard," Schiano said. "I mean, you can see it. When he starts the games breaking tackles like that, you know he's on. He's got it."

Monangai wasn’t sure about his future after the regular season ended. Declaring for the NFL Draft was a possibility, but he ultimately decided to return in 2024 for his final year of eligibility.

As he showed in the Pinstripe Bowl, it was major news for the Rutgers’ offense.

"I think I was able to build on a lot of things," Monangai said. "I think I set out a lot of goals for myself and I was able to accomplish them. Not all of them, but some. It was great to be in a role that a lot of guys look to me in leadership, being a captain for the first time. A lot of guys, like I said, leaning on me just to make a play or even just for that boost to just be a leader. It's something to build off of going into this offseason and for next year. But I think I did some things well, but like I said, it's stuff to build off of."

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Defense clamps down in second half

Rutgers’ defense had some tough stretches in this game – costly penalties by Aaron Lewis (two straight by Lewis in the second quarter) and Wesley Bailey helped set up a Miami touchdown and field goal in the second quarter, which made it a four-point game going into halftime.

The Scarlet Knights then allowed Miami to get into the end zone – a 30-yard touchdown pass by Brown to Xavier Restrepo – in the third quarter.

But after that, Rutgers buckled down and came up with big stops.

The Scarlet Knights forced the three-and-out that led to the blocked-punt touchdown. They forced another three-and-out on Miami’s ensuing possession.

Then in the fourth quarter, the Hurricanes were on their own 45 when Deion Jennings took down Henry Parrish Jr. for a loss of two and a turnover on downs.

Just when it needed to, Rutgers clamped down.

Miami scored its final touchdown late, but by that point it was too little, too late.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers football beats Miami in Pinstripe Bowl takeaways