Of course it was a blocked punt.
Something with special teams.
Rutgers almost swatted Miami’s first punt of the Pinstripe Bowl, and they’d scored off a sequence like that 13 other times under Greg Schiano.
One of those had already occurred in 2023.
So it was only fitting — in the most Scarlet Knights-esque, Schiano-led, beat-you-with-special-teams kind of script — that late in the third quarter, with Hurricanes punter Dylan Joyce standing just outside the end zone, Trevor Yeboah-Kodie sprinted into the punt, Timmy Ward fell on it, and there was Schiano, arms outstretched on the sideline, waiting to embrace his unit after their touchdown flipped the game in an eventual 31-24 victory Thursday at Yankee Stadium.
It allowed the Scarlet Knights (7-6) to recover after blowing an early 14-0 lead and surrendering 17 unanswered points as its offense — and potent running attack behind Kyle Monangai — stalled, snapping their four-game losing streak and surviving a late Miami rally for their first bowl victory since 2014.
But there wasn’t anything simple about this Pinstripe Bowl for Rutgers, just as there wasn’t anything simple — anything linear, predictable or consistent — about their regular season, which ended with four consecutive losses after a 6-2 start.
A 14-0 lead nearly evaporated before halftime.
Jacurri Brown, Miami’s third-string quarterback, threw for a touchdown and rushed for two others, with his second making it a one-possession game with 27 seconds remaining.
The Hurricanes recovered the ensuing onside kick, but their final chance ended with a turnover on downs.
When Monangai revealed his decision to return for 2024, Rutgers’ offense for next season, and this bowl game, immediately took shape.
It didn’t need to change, and why would it with the Big Ten’s rushing leader delaying an NFL chance for one more collegiate campaign?
He accounted for 48 rushing yards as the Scarlet Knights scored a touchdown on the opening drive.
He topped the 100-yard mark for the seventh time this season.
And on the Scarlet Knights’ first offensive possession following the blocked punt, Monangai’s 40-yard run preceded quarterback Gavin Wimsatt’s sneak into the end zone.
Their offense, as it had all season, operated through the junior from Don Bosco Prep, who finished with 163 yards on 25 carries.
This wasn’t like 2021, when the Scarlet Knights needed to replace Texas A&M on the fly when the Aggies pulled out of the Gator Bowl due to COVID-19 cases.
They had eight days to prepare that year.
Eight days to assemble their team for walk-throughs, book flights and handle the other logistics before getting crushed by Wake Forest.
This time, Rutgers knew it’d be playing in a bowl game since an October win over Indiana.
But one win, in this bowl game and against a Hurricanes team navigating opt-outs and quarterback woes, won’t ensure Big Ten relevance, especially as the conference adds UCLA, USC, Washington and Oregon next year.
The Scarlet Knights will play three of those teams.
There’s not a clear-cut formula, one blueprint to follow, for them to crawl closer to the top of the standings.
It’ll take gradual strides.
One promising win after another.
Recruiting coups.
Sticking to strengths — such as running the ball and special teams — that have become a crucial part of their identity.
They’ll need to replicate the complicated process year after year, too.
For 60 minutes Thursday, though, enough of those elements collided to provide a glimmer of Rutgers hope.