Rutgers' offense fails in its biggest test yet, suffering its first loss at Nebraska

Rutgers entered the weekend with an incredible running game and a quarterback who made no mistakes.

Kirk Ciarrocca put his offense in a position to thrive and feel comfortable early in games, but the opposite was true Saturday in Lincoln.

The Scarlet Knights stayed off the scoreboard until the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter during a 14-7 loss to Nebraska in Lincoln. Rutgers is now 0-7 all-time against the Cornhuskers.

They say football is played in three phases and Rutgers was good in two phases. The defense allowed two touchdowns on 12 drives and forced five punts. Nebraska didn't score in the second half. The Scarlet Knights also blocked two punts to give the offense good field position.

Rutgers crossed midfield eight times but was unable to reach the end zone in the first three quarters. This includes starting and stopping a trip at the two-year limit.

Athan Kaliakmanis had his worst performance as a Scarlet Knight, completing 15 of 37 passes for 186 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

The Scarlet Knights started the game like everyone else, handing the ball to Kyle Monangai and letting him go to work. Rutgers got away from the run in the first half but still couldn't get it going. Monangai totaled 78 yards on the ground on 19 carries.

Rutgers also played its first game without Bryan Felter, who missed the season with a knee injury. Nebraska's defense finished with three sacks, four hits on Kaliakmanis and eight tackles for a loss.

Rutgers will return home to host Wisconsin next Saturday at noon ET. The Badgers defeated Purdue 52-6.

The Scarlet Knights are no longer undefeated and if they want to get back on the winning list, the game plan against Wisconsin has to be better.