Rutgers tried the Philly Special and it failed in heartbreaking fashion

Rutgers nearly ran the Philly Special to perfection, but failed to execute one very important part of the play: catching the ball.

Trailing Penn State 13-0 in the third quarter, the Scarlet Knights decided to keep the offense on the field on fourth and goal from the two-yard line. Rutgers dialed up the trick play made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. The ball was snapped to running back Raheem Blackshear, who pitched it to Trey Sneed, another running back.

Sneed, a lefty, quickly tossed it to a wide-open Giovanni Rescigno, but the senior quarterback dropped it. Just brutal.

Rescigno, playing his final home game, was in for his first drive of the game in place of freshman Artur Sitkowski. Sitkowski, like he has all season, struggled mightily earlier in the game, including this baffling interception:

With Rescigno under center, the offense showed signs of life, only to botch what should have been a touchdown.

The reaction of head coach Chris Ash said it all.

Penn State went on to win 20-7, so that play — had Rescigno made the catch — may have changed the outcome of the game. Poor Rutgers.

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