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    • Rutgers Football Takeaways as Scarlet Knights Beat Howard
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    Rutgers Football Takeaways as Scarlet Knights Beat Howard

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    PISCATAWAY – It wasn’t as easy as many initially expected, but Rutgers football ultimately defeated Howard 44-7 in the season opener Thursday night at SHI Stadium.

    Here are some immediate conclusions:

    How Rutgers Football Offensive’s Athan Kaliakmanis Performed

    Expectations for the attack were high.

    Rutgers brought in Kaliakmanis from Minnesota in the offseason to revitalize an ineffective passing game, especially with an improved group of wide receivers.

    But overall the attack was quite conservative.

    Kaliakmanis completed 15 of 24 passes for 147 yards with three touchdowns.

    The Minnesota transfer threw three touchdown passes, a two-yard throw to Dymere Miller in the second quarter, a 34-yard throw to running back Sam Brown late in the third quarter and a three-yard throw to tight end Kenny Fletcher late in the fourth quarter, giving Rutgers a 38-7 lead.

    Rutgers finished with 476 total yards of offense and rushed for 298 yards as a team.

    The Scarlet Knights started off poorly offensively, but improved as the game progressed.

    The question now is which version will appear in the future.

    Eric Rogers’ pick six provided early momentum

    The cornerback intercepted a pass from Howard QB Ja’shawn Scroggins on third-and-7 from the Howard 47-yard line and returned the pass 52 yards for a touchdown early in the first quarter.

    It was a great performance from Rogers, who takes on a larger role following the departure of Max Melton.

    And without that move by Rogers, Scarlet Knights fans would have been a lot more nervous at halftime, when Rutgers held a 17-7 lead.

    Kyle Monangai delivers a big first match

    The Rutgers running back, who had a breakout season last year with over 1,000 yards rushing and led the Big Ten in rushing, was superb again.

    The Don Bosco Prep player tied his single-game high with 165 yards on 19 carries, including 124 yards in the first half.

    Monangai recorded a seven-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter to put Rutgers up 24-7. He also had a 39-yard run to start a second-quarter drive, bringing the ball to Howard’s 16, setting up Kaliakmanis’ TD pass to Miller.

    He didn’t play much in the second half, with Sam Brown getting most of the carries (Brown finished with 68 yards on 14 rushes).

    No Tyreem Powell

    We already knew that Mohamed Toure would be out due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered during training camp, but Powell’s status was unclear: he is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon and coach Greg Schiano said he wouldn’t send him back too soon.

    Powell was listed as questionable on the availability report but ultimately did not play.

    There was no reason to rush Powell back for this game. Or even next week against Akron, who is coming off a bye week.

    Without Tyreem Powell and Mohamed Toure, Dariel Djabome performed

    The third-year linebacker made his first career start and performed well, finishing with a team-high 14 tackles.

    It was a strong day for the Quebec native, who impressed during training camp to earn the opportunity he got on Thursday.

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