The Philadelphia Eagles have been so succesful with the Tush Push play that all other football teams would be remiss if they didn't try to copy it in short-yardarge situations. It's the type of brute force Rutgers coach Greg Schiano appreciates, so it was no surprise to see the Scarlet Knights lineup in the rear-end-pushing formation in the Rate Bowl Thursday night against Kansas State. But they had something special up their sleeves and ran it to perfection when quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis took the snap and did a Statue of Liberty-like handoff behind his back instead of plunging into the line.
The Wildcats defense was fooled by this sorcery and allowed Antwan Raymond to scamper in for a one-yard score that gave Rutgers a 41-29 lead early in the fourth quarter.
⚔️TOUCHDOWN RUTGERS⚔️@aajk_23 and @antwanraymond8 execute the FAKE TUSH PUSH for the 1yd Scarlet Knights score!
— Rutgers Scarlet Knights | The Knight Report (@RutgersRivals) December 27, 2024
RU: 41 || KSU: 29
👉 https://t.co/KXbcIYpZ6b pic.twitter.com/i8B11UXqas
So sneaky. And credit to Rutgers for busting the play out because if you can't run something strange in a bowl game the day after Christmas, then when can you?
Unfortunately for the Scarlet Knights, the 12-point lead would evaporate as Kansas State mounted a late comeback to win, 44–41.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rutgers Introduces World to the Fake Tush Push Play in Wild Bowl Game.
