Few gave Rutgers a puncher’s chance against the Fighting Irish in the Pinstripe Bowl, but the Scarlet Knights have more than held their own as Rutgers and Notre Dame reach halftime tied at 13-13.
The Irish and Scarlet Knights traded blows in the first quarter, first with field goals and then with touchdowns. Notre Dame’s touchdown came on a run by TJ Jones, who later had to leave the game due to a shoulder injury. His status is uncertain for the remainder of the game. The Rutgers touchdown came with Chas Dodd completing a pass to Brandon Coleman, his 20th career touchdown reception. That tied a Rutgers school record for most career touchdown receptions.
The first half had a handful of missed opportunities for both teams though. Notre Dame had their backs against the wall with Rutgers pushing for a touchdown, but Kyle Flood opted to kick a short field goal to tie the game at 13-13 rather than gamble on fourth down close to the end zone. Notre Dame was flagged for offsides on the field goal try, but Flood decided to keep the three points instead of risk it for a potential lead. Notre Dame moved down field on the ensuing drive but was unable to convert a field goal try.
Rutgers had another promising looking drive developing but a poorly executed halfback pass by Justin Goodwin was picked off by Notre Dame’s KeiVarae Russell just outside of the end zone. Rutgers had been moving the ball well and had been given a boost by an unsportsmanlike penalty against Irish defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt for 15 yards. Notre Dame was forced to punt but time ran out on Rutgers before being able to tack on any more points before halftime. Rutgers then took a knee despite having two timeouts remaining.