Happy to be bowling? Admittedly, Rutgers set higher goals and can still achieve them

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The celebration on the field at SECU Stadium and inside the locker room may have said all you need to know about what this bowl-clinching win meant to a Rutgers team left floundering with five weeks to go.
The Scarlet Knights clinched a bowl berth Saturday, reaching the six-win mark after a four-game losing streak forced the team into some self-reflection during a critical bye week. While the postseason berth will be a nice consolation, no one riding the bus back to New Jersey felt like a weight was lifted. Instead, there’s a feeling around Rutgers that the players and coach hit a baseline goal by punching their postseason tickets with a 31-17 win over Maryland.
“I think every guy in that room would tell you getting to a bowl was not the goal this year, but it’s all relative” coach Greg Schiano said in his postgame press conference.
It’s true: Rutgers’ veterans did not return to win six games. This team set higher expectations after getting Rutgers back to the postseason last year with six wins. They’ll have the chance to do that in the next two weeks, starting with a home game against an Illinois (7-3, 4-3 in Big Ten play) followed by a trip to Michigan State (4-6, 2-5).
Two wins would give Rutgers a winning Big Ten record for the first time. One win would give Rutgers its most Big Ten wins since joining the conference. Those would show more tangible signs of progress and gives the Scarlet Knights plenty to play.
“It’s a great accomplishment at this moment, but we still got more to go for this season to be what we want it to be,” senior linebacker Tyreem Powell said when asked what this bowl-clinching win meant.
Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis, who stacked another impressive performance, throwing for 230 yards and two touchdowns while completing 20 of his 30 passes, agreed.
“It’s an amazing feeling for sure,” Kaliakmanis said. “Able to celebrate it for 24 hours. It was awesome, but we know we’ve got more work to do. Illinois is a very good team and we’re going to have to be at our best.”
If anyone knows about writing a legacy, it’s running back Kyle Monangai. The senior became the fourth Rutgers running back to reach the 1,000-yard mark in consecutive seasons Saturday and knows what happens over the next two weeks will go a long way.
“This is what we came to do,” Monangai said after rushing 25 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns. “We came here to win games and six games isn’t what we see as the ceiling. It’s what I expected.”
Monangai can lead Rutgers down the stretch. He was an integral part of Schiano’s first recruiting class, just like senior defensive end Aaron Lewis, who transferred to Rutgers from Michigan to start something special.
“I remember that Schiano told our class when he first came in that we’re going to change things,” Lewis said. “I feel like we’re in the works of doing that with two bowls in a row, but we have higher goals. We are excited as a team and can’t wait to get right into the next week.”
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Patrick Lanni may be reached at [email protected].