Rutgers coach Schiano reacts to critical goal-line sequence

But he was also proud of his team’s performance in a game where they were searching for the inches that could have made the difference between winning and losing.

“Haven’t had this feeling since Thanksgiving weekend,” Schiano said after Rutgers’ first loss of the year. “Guys in that locker room, I’m proud of how hard they played, proud of how smart they played. We just didn’t play well enough to win this game. So get on the plane, go home and get back to work and figure it out.”

Schiano wasn’t surprised by how the game was played, just disappointed by his team’s execution, especially in the first half when they fell behind 14-0.

“It was everything it was built up to be, an old-fashioned, Big 10 slugfest,’ he said. “Two teams played really hard. We made a couple of mistakes in the first half that I think hurt us. In the second half, that’s the defensive football team I know. They’re suffocating.”

Even though Rutgers’ defense put the clamps on Nebraska in the second half, the offense only made it into the red zone twice and scored a single touchdown on a pass from Athan Kaliakmanis to Ben Black with just over four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter,

“To only have seven points on the scoreboard to show for that, disappointed for sure,” Schiano said. “Tip my hat to Nebraska’s defense. They played really well. There’s always a counterforce. I don’t think we made huge mistakes. It’s a good defense, very big and strong.”

Rutgers’ other red zone opportunity came in the third quarter. The Scarlet Knights blocked a Brian Buschini punt and recovered at the Nebraska 2-yard line.

But Rutgers couldn’t get the ball into the end zone on six tries. The closest came on a Kyle Monangai run where it appeared he might have crossed the goal line.

But Schiano didn’t challenge the call, saying referees had told him the spot had been confirmed. Three plays later, Nebraska knocked down a Kaliakmanis pass to end the scoring threat.

Kaliakmanis finished the game 15 for 37 with two interceptions. But Schiano said he played well.

“I’m proud of Athan,” he said. “There’s one throw that I’m sure he wants back. But he got hit today by some really big men, strong men, and he kept getting up, answering the belt.”

Asked if the physicality from Nebraska’s interior defensive line, which Schiano called one of the best in the country, impacted his play, Kaliamanis replied, “No, not at all.”

But he went on to say that he didn’t feel like he played well.

“I don’t think I played to the standard that I’m level of competing at,” he said. “I’ve got to play better. I will be better. I’m more than capable of making throws that I missed today.”

The final element of the game that Schiano addressed in his short postgame media appearance was the weather, dry heat in the high 90s and strong swirling winds.

“I’ve been doing this 37 years, I’ve not been in conditions like we were in today,” Schiano said. “Usually, if you have a wind like that, it’s a storm, some kind of hurricane, tropical storm. I’m proud of our trainers and our sports science people, our strength coaches. We had one guy cramped which is huge in an environment like that, dry heat.”