Rutgers looked defeated. The Scarlet Knights had just blown a two-score lead, its defense was gassed and gashed, its offense struggled to move the ball. They had missed multiple golden opportunities early in the game and their inefficiency was coming back to bite them.

Jai Patel connected on a 24-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining to lift Rutgers to a 26-23 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday. Patel’s field goal capped a 68-yard drive after Rutgers (3-0) squandered a 16-point lead entering the fourth quarter,