It’ll be remembered as one of the greatest catches in Rutgers football history.
But KJ Duff’s acrobatic, one-handed grab that resulted in a 42-yard reception went for naught as Penn State held on for a 40-36 victory Saturday night before 55,212 fans at SHI Stadium in Piscataway.
Rutgers’ official stats site summed up the dynamic play like this: Athan Kaliakmanis pass deep to the left complete for 42 yards to KJ Duff, caught at the PSU38 and advanced to the PSU36, End of Play, 1ST DOWN, clock 05:46.
But that hardly described a play that New Jersey football fans will certainly compare to Odell Beckham Jr.’s circus catch for the Giants in 2014.
Duff, the 6-foot-6, 227-pounder from Riverhead, N.Y., hauled in a similar one-handed grab with Penn State cornerback Audavion Collins draped all over him.
The iconic catch quickly went viral, with Barstool Sports tweeting on X: KJ DUFF ONLY NEEDS ONE HAND while posting the highlight-reel reception.
His effort was among several memorable performances in a back-and-forth affair in Piscataway.
“That was a heck of a football game,’’ Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. ”It was a tremendous game to be a part of.
“But when you lose, it hurts.’’
Here are five other plays that will have Rutgers and Penn State fans talking for days to come:
A stunning fumble
Rutgers was clinging to a 36-33 lead with about eight minutes to play when the game swung in Penn State’s favor. Kaliakmanis, the Scarlet Knights’ freshly minted 3,000-yard passer, was nearly flawless in what turned out to be the final game of his career.
The 6-3, 212-pound senior from Illinois threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns on 16-for-22 passing. But with Rutgers attempting to potentially make it a two-score game, snapping a 2nd-and-7 play at the Penn State 32-yard line, Kaliakmanis lost control of the ball as he was attempting a pass.
Penn State linebacker Amare Campbell scooped up the fumble and sprinted 61 yards for the go-ahead score with 7:27 to play. Ryan Barker’s ensuing point-after-touchdown provided the final score.
“He’s done incredible things here,’’ Schiano said of Kaliakmanis, who finished the season with 3,124 yards, 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions on 229-for-368 (62.2%) passing.
“Think about what he’s been able to accomplish — he’s a 3,000-yard passer. And more importantly just to watch him grow as a leader, it’s really hard because he’s the ultimate competitor and he feels like he let people down. But I told him, ‘You didn’t let anybody down. You’re the reason we’re in the game at the fourth quarter.’ ‘’
A stuffed 4th-and-1 QB keeper
So how did Rutgers respond from the Kaliakmanis fumble? The Scarlet Knights marched 48 yards in seven plays — highlighted by Duff’s aforementioned 42-yard reception — before stalling at the Penn State 27-yard line.
Rutgers faced a 4th-and-1, but offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca called for a read-option. Kaliakmanis scrambled left, but was dropped for a one-yard loss as Penn State preserved its four-point lead with 3:55 to play.
“Whether the call works or not doesn’t mean it’s a good call,’’ Schiano said. ”Sometimes there’s tremendous athletic performance that stops it. Sometimes there’s a schematic that stops it. But if you’ve never called plays, it’s hard to understand. You have about 12 seconds to make a decision, and you do it with all the information you have. I mean, there was a lot of great calls tonight, a lot of great plays tonight. Some bad ones, too.’’
Penn State’s gutsy play call
Credit Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith for delivering the knockout blow to the Scarlet Knights.
Penn State faced a 4th-and-2 at the Rutgers 10-yard line with 1:04 to play. A field goal would’ve put the Nittany Lions up 43-36 with just under a minute left, but Smith elected to go for the win and kept his offense on the field.
Penn State quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer made the gamble pay off, completing a 3-yard pass to tight end Andrew Rappleyea. Penn State was able to go to victory formation from there.
A fake field goal
Jai Patel isn’t your typical college football placekicker. The senior from South Brunswick was a youth soccer star and played wide receiver for his Pop Warner football team as a youngster.
Perhaps that’s why Rutgers coach Greg Schiano felt confident to put the ball in Patel’s hands in a fake field goal attempt midway through the first quarter.
With the score deadlocked at 7-apiece, Rutgers lined up for a 41-yard field goal attempt. But holder Riley McCann took the snap and pitched to Patel, who sprinted to his left before being dropped for a 3-yard loss.
Schiano said he had “so much confidence’’ in his field goal unit’s ability to execute the fake after successfully doing it in practice.
“This was the first time they didn’t do it, and I won’t get into details but it’s the first time all season they didn’t do it,’’ Schiano said. ”Either real good coaching by them or somehow something got out, I don’t know.’’
A successful wheel play
Antwan Raymond had one of his best rushing performances of his career, but it was a passing touchdown off a perfectly executed wheel route that helped give Rutgers a three-point lead early in the 4th quarter.
The Scarlet Knights’ sophomore running back was wide open down the left sideline, and Kaliakmanis hit him in stride for a 46-yard reception. Patel’s ensuing PAT gave Rutgers a 36-33 lead with 13:33 to play.
Raymond was one of the stars on a night when Rutgers outgained Penn State 533-509 in total yards from scrimmage. The 5-11, 205-pounder from Canada rushed for 189 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries.
“I thought he was a punishing runner tonight,’’ Schiano said. ”Because some of those runs, with all due respect to everybody else, were all him. He made a guy miss in the backfield. He made another guy miss, and there’s plays that were blocked for him but there were some that he just made them on his own. I was proud of his performance.’’
Raymond finished the season with 1,241 yards, moving into 8th place on the school’s single-season rushing leaders.
