Football Loses to Penn State

Saturday, November 29

Piscataway, N.J.

3:30 PM

Rutgers University

5-7 , 2-7

Penn State

6-6 , 3-6

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Penn St.

Rutgers

Photo by: Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics

Nov 29 | Football

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PENN STATE 40 (6-6, 3-6), RUTGERS 36 (5-7, 2-7)
SHI STADIUM • PISCATAWAY, N.J.
NOVEMBER 29, 2025 • ATTENDANCE: 55,212

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers football (5-7, 2-7) lost to Penn State (6-6, 3-6), 40-36, on Saturday at SHI Stadium. The Scarlet Knights held a lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Nittany Lions scored the go-ahead touchdown with 7:27 remaining and held on for the win.

QB Athan Kaliakmanis finished 16-of-22 for 338 yards and four touchdowns accounted for (three passing, one rushing), becoming the third quarterback in program history and first since Mike Teel (2008) to throw for 3,000 or more yards in a season. WR KJ Duff and WR DT Sheffield each hauled in a touchdown reception, with Duff going over 1,000 receiving yards on the season.

RB Antwan Raymond rushed 29 times for 189 yards and a touchdown, adding two catches for 62 yards, including a 46-yard score in the air.

DB Jett Elad contributed a season-high 11 stops and a tackle-for-loss, while LB Dariel Djabome added six tackles with a sack.

FIRST QUARTER

Rutgers opened the game with a five-play, 75-yard scoring drive, capped by a 19-yard touchdown run from Raymond to make it 7-0. Kaliakmanis completed three passes during the opening series, including back-to-back long receptions from Duff and WR Ian Strong.

Penn State countered with back-to-back scoring drives before RU answered with another touchdown to tie it. Facing second-and-one from the two-yard line, Kaliakmanis took it himself for his fourth rushing score of the season. He found TE Kenny Fletcher Jr. for 39 yards to highlight the seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive, as Kaliakmanis' rush made it 14-14 with 1:30 left in the quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

Rutgers once again answered a Penn State score, this time with an 11-play, 89-yard march down the field. Kaliakmanis found Sheffield on a 21-yard touchdown pass, tying the score at 21-21 with just under 30 seconds before halftime.

A 31-yard field goal from PSU gave the Nittany Lions a 24-21 lead heading into the locker room.

THIRD QUARTER

RU took its first lead of the second half with 3:51 left in the third quarter, as Kaliakmanis connected with Duff for a 13-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-27.

A late touchdown by Penn State made it 33-28, with an unsuccessful two-point conversion keeping it a five-point game.

FOURTH QUARTER

Rutgers regained the lead on its next drive. On second-and-six from the RU 41-yard line, Kaliakmanis found Raymond on a wheel route, with Raymond taking it 46 yards for the score. Duff then hauled in a two-point conversion attempt to give the Scarlet Knights a 36-33 advantage with 13:33 left to play.

With 7:27 remaining, Penn State scored a touchdown on a fumble return to take a 40-36 lead. RU was unable to complete the late comeback and the Nittany Lions held on for the victory.

NOTES

• Rutgers averaged 389.1 yards of total offense in Big Ten play, its best mark in a season since joining the league. That included 533 today, its second game in conference play over 500.
• Rutgers had a 3,000-yard passer (QB Athan Kaliakmanis), 1,000-yard rusher (RB Antwan Raymond) and 1,000-yard receiver (WR KJ Duff) for the second time in program history and first time since 2007.
• Kaliakmanis compiled 3,124 passing yards in 2025, fourth most in a season in program history and the first Scarlet Knight to reach 3,000 yards since Mike Teel in 2008. He added three touchdowns passes to reach 20 for the season, the first Scarlet Knight to reach the mark since Teel in 2008.
• Raymond rushed 189 yards to reach 1,241 on the season, eighth most in a season in program history and most by a Scarlet Knight against Penn State. He added his 13th rushing touchdown of the season, tied for seventh most in the school record book, and a 46-yard receiving touchdown on the way to a career-high 251 all-purpose yards in the game.
• Duff had 127 receiving yards for his third game of the season in triple figures and reached 1,084 for the season, seventh most in program history and the first 1,000-receiving season for Rutgers since Leonte Carroo (1,086 in 2014). He scored his seventh touchdown of the season and totaled 60 receptions in 2025, ninth most in a season in program history.
• WR DT Sheffield recorded his fifth receiving touchdown of the season and 15th career.
• TE Kenny Fletcher Jr. recorded a career-high 85 receiving yards on four catches.
• DB Jett Elad led the team with a season-high 11 tackles.
• LB Dariel Djabome recorded a sack for a loss of 11 yards.
• First career start (1): LB Sam Robinson
• OL Bryan Felter became the 11th player in program history to appear in 56 games for Rutgers. DL Jordan Thompson became the 23rd player in program history to appear in 52 games for Rutgers. DB Cam Miller reached his 52nd career game played at the collegiate level, while Elad has now played in 51 FBS games.
• Consecutive games played: DL Jordan Thompson (50), DB Cam Miller (49), DB Timmy Ward (46), TE Colin Weber (40), PK Jai Patel (38), OL Gus Zilinskas (38)

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