PISCATAWAY – On their way out of SHI Stadium on Saturday afternoon, it was hard to not overhear many of what was left of the announced crowd of 47,524 fans using some four letter words in association with Greg Schiano. None of them seemed to be “CHOP,” either. The Rutgers head coach’s decision to call a timeout to try to ice Illinois kicker Ethan Moczulski before an attempt at a 58-yard, game-winning field goal into 30 mile-per-hour gusty winds backfired horribly, flipping what would have been a monumental Senior Day win into an impossible 38-31 defeat in the waning seconds instead. Luke Altmyer and Pat Bryant connected on the death blow, with the latter running it into the end zone on a 40-yard connection with just four seconds left after Illinois head coach Bret Bielema, seeing Moczulski’s kick fall well short of the uprights, instead elected to go for it on fourth down and found paydirt. Rutgers? All it found was disappointment. And many watching seemed to hold Schiano solely accountable for it afterwards. He didn’t seem to see it that way. “Illinois, hats off to them,” Schiano said. “They made one more play than we did, and as I said to the team, in the Big Ten Conference, it’s really good football that’s played, and they coached a little better and they played a little better; literally a little better, and they won the game. That’s what we have to deal with. It’s not easy, but you know that when you get into it.” He was, of course, asked to get into the fateful decision that cost his seniors a chance to go out at home as winners, a chance to lock in the program’s first back-to-back winning seasons in over a decade and extends a losing streak to AP Top 25 ranked opponents to a whopping 41 games, dating back to 2009. “Certainly, retrospectively, I wish I hadn’t (called the timeout),’” he said. “I’ve been doing this a lot of years. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don’t. We were going to make sure — we were going to call timeout, anyway. Maybe I should have done it before he kicked the ball, so it wouldn’t have told them, oh, geez, that wind is strong; we can’t make that kick…you do it and win the game, it’s the right call. “As I’ve said to you guys over and over and over again, that’s what makes sports great. People love to talk about and debate, and certainly, it’s worthy of that, right, because it had a part. But there were so many things in that game, so many. Like that game had more twists and turns, and I tell you all the time, every game has a life of its own. This one certainly did.” PISCATAWAY, NEW JERSEY – NOVEMBER 23: Kyle Monangai #5 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights runs with the ball while Alex Bray #11 of the Illinois Fighting Illini chases him during the second half at SHI Stadium on November 23, 2024 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Getty Images) It seemed quite clear where a back-and-forth, extremely entertaining game after a slow start finally turned, of course.  As expected, none of the players were about to spotlight that decision either, especially not with many still hurting after suffering such a difficult Senior Day setback. “We don’t like losing,” said Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis, who threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in an at-times brilliant performance in which he only turned the ball over once on a fumble. “So, whether we lose by a point or a hundred points, a loss is a loss.  Now, we have to learn, watch the film…I know I made a lot of mistakes.  I’m going to eat it, own up to it, and be better for my team.” While, with just one regular season game left before his team gets another big showcase with a bowl game, Schiano needs to do the same, the loss can’t be placed solely on him as many of those fans going through the turnstiles were suggesting. Illinois scored touchdowns on their final four drives of the game, and the Rutgers defense certainly had an opportunity to stop Bryant on his stunning, game-winning scoring reception that at least briefly silenced those in attendance. “We came after them and they got the ball off and then a really good player ran through our guys,” said Schiano, whose team didn’t have a defender higher than the 30-yard line despite the potential Hail Mary scenario. “Now, could we have had more guys? Yeah. I mean, that’s another debate you could have, when it works, and it has before. You know, you’re great; you came after him. If you lay back, what are you doing — the No. 1 thing fans like to talk about is the ‘prevent,’ right.  Again, it’s right when it works and it isn’t when it doesn’t. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I wish we could do it again because it didn’t work today. But again, you make the decisions with the information at the time. Didn’t work out. I feel bad for the guys. But again, I always say this, if a guy drops a pass or a penalty, you know, that one play didn’t decide the game. There’s a whole list of plays that make up the game, and they take on a life of their own.” Unfortunately for Schiano, it’s the timeout blunder that will be the one that lives for a long, long time. PISCATAWAY, NEW JERSEY – NOVEMBER 23: Athan Kaliakmanis #16 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights rushes for a touchdown during the second quarter of their game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at SHI Stadium on November 23, 2024 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Getty Images)