Much like Rick Moranis’ character Coach Danny O’Shea in Little Giants, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano knew his team was going to have to pull some trickery to beat a team much better than his on paper.
And so the Rutgers’ offense, facing a 4th and 1 to start the second quarter and trailing 7-0, decided to do what Moranis did: run the fumblerooski.
#Rutgers Football just ran the PERFECT FUMBLEROOSKI!! pic.twitter.com/L7t5dJoraS
— Rutgers Scarlet Knights | TheKnightReport.Net (@RutgersRivals) November 4, 2023
And just like in Little Giants, it worked.
The play involves a snap going to the quarterback, who then covertly hands it off to someone else (an offensive lineman in the case of Little Giants) or puts it on the ground for someone else to pick up and run with. All the while, the quarterback pretends as if he has the ball, causing the defense to chase him instead of the player that actually does.
When Rutgers did it, quarterback Gavin Wimsatt got the snap and quickly handed it to running back Kyle Monangai rumbled 45 yards to the Ohio State 12-yard line before he was finally dragged down.
Rutgers reached the Ohio State 4-yard line but was unable to score a touchdown, settling for a 22-yard field goal. But any points are valuable against a defense like Ohio State’s.
It’s worth noting that Rutgers only got a field goal on the drive, but it was the Scarlet Knights’ first points of the game. And football in general needs far more fumblerooskis.
