PISCATAWAY, N.J. — At first, there was confusion.
Washington’s sideline erupted. Sophomore Lance Holtzclaw, who blocked Rutgers’ 38-yard field-goal attempt, signaled no good as he bounded toward the sideline. Junior Maurice Heims, who came up with the recovery, flipped the ball to teammate Jacob Bandes while the Rutgers fans groaned in frustration.
But as the referees huddled to discuss the late penalty, Washington’s confusion became disbelief while the 54,079 Rutgers fans gathered for their “Blackout” game began to roar.
Illegal substitution. Redshirt freshman Vincent Holmes had briefly entered the field of play to celebrate with his teammates before Heims recovered the ball. He was right in front of the referee, who immediately threw his flag. First down for the Scarlet Knights. On the very next play, Rutgers scored a touchdown.
“I grabbed (Holmes), and said, ‘You’re a freshman, and you just had a freshman moment,’” coach Jedd Fisch said. “These are things … that just can’t happen.”