PITTSBURGH (AP) ' There's nothing deceptive about a Rutgers offense that gives the ball to Ray Rice on nearly every other play. Trickery isn't a necessity with a runner like him.

Rice's 63-yard run set up his own short touchdown in the fourth quarter immediately after Pittsburgh had closed to within three points, and the No. 19 Scarlet Knights won their first big test of the season by beating the Panthers 20-10 Saturday.

Rice carried 39 times for 225 yards to nearly outgain Pittsburgh by himself and put Rutgers in position to make a major move up the AP poll if it can beat No. 6 Louisville at home on Nov. 9 ' as long as it beats Connecticut on Oct. 29. Rutgers (7-0, 2-0) hasn't been unbeaten so deep into a season since 1976, when it was ranked as high as No. 17 but played mostly against Ivy League-type competition.

"It feels good," said Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, whose team also has No. 4 West Virginia still to play. "It puts us in position to keep moving forward."

Pitt (6-2, 2-1 Big East) had won four in a row and likely would have made the Top 25 with a victory. But a Panthers offense averaging 37.6 points did almost nothing against a Rutgers defense that was No. 1 nationally in scoring defense and No. 2 in total defense.

The Knights did what they do best: Run the ball, control the clock and get the ball back quickly when they did give it up. They sacked Tyler Palko four times and limited what was the nation's most efficient quarterback ' Palko had 17 touchdown passes and three interceptions ' to 169 yards passing. Rutgers outgained Pitt 340-236, 268-67 on the ground.

Rutgers has one of the worst passing offenses of any nationally ranked team. With a runner like Rice and a defense like this, it hardly mattered.

"We put ourselves in bad downs and distances, and you can't do that against a good football team," Palko said. "We didn't play well enough to win a big game and they did."

Rice, a sophomore who already has four career 200-yard games, was the difference as the nation's No. 4 rusher went over the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in as many seasons ' he now has 1,124 yards. After Pitt had drawn to within 13-10 on Palko's 8-yard pass to Oderick Turner early in the fourth quarter, Rice broke up the middle on the 63-yard run to the Pitt 27 that quickly swung the momentum back to Rutgers.

"That thing, it just parted, it just split and I had a burst and that was it right there," Rice said.

Post Game Notes

Team Notes

With the victory...

Rutgers improves to 7-0, continuing its best start since 1976 when it finished 11-0. It is only the fourth time in school history RU started 7-0 (1976, 1961 and 1958).

Rutgers begins the season 2-0 in BIG EAST play for the first time in its 16 years in the league.

Rutgers has won four-straight road games for the first time since the 1979 and 1980 seasons The Scarlet Knights won six-straight road contests spanning the 1979 and 1980 seasons.

Rutgers won at Pittsburgh for just the second time in the series.

With victories over USF and Pittsburgh Rutgers has won back-to-back BIG EAST road games for the second-straight season. Last year, RU beat Syracuse and Connecticut on the road in consecutive games.

Rutgers held Pittsburgh scoreless in the first half for the second straight season. In 2005, the Scarlet Knights took a 27-0 lead into halftime at Rutgers Stadium. It is the first time this season the Panthers were held scoreless in the first half.

After holding Pittsburgh scoreless through the first two quarters, the Rutgers defense extended its streak to six-consecutive scoreless quarters.
It is the second time this season Rutgers has not allowed a point in six-straight quarters.

Pittsburgh's 46-yard field goal was the first points scored against Rutgers in the third quarter this season. The Scarlet Knights held opponents scoreless for a span of 94:01 third-quarter minutes this season.

The RU defense recorded five sacks against Pittsburgh, brining its total to 73 in the 20 games head coach Greg Schiano has served a dual role as defensive coordinator.

It is the third straight game Rutgers has held an opponent scoreless in the first quarter. The Scarlet Knights have surrendered just seven points all season in the first quarter.

Pittsburgh, which entered the game eighth nationally in scoring with an average of 37.6 points per game, was held to a season-low 10 points.

Pittsburgh quarterback Tyler Palko, who entered the game ranked 17th nationally in passing yards per game at 237.3 yards per contest, was limited to a season-low 169 yards by the RU defense.

The Pittsburgh rushing offense was also limited to a season-low 67 yards per game, 90 yards short of its season average of 157 yards per contest entering the game.

Rutgers did not turn the ball over against Pittsburgh, which entered the night as the nation's leader in takeaways with 20 this season.
The two penalties committed by Rutgers tied for the lowest this season. The Scarlet Knights have done it three times this season.

Player Notes

Senior FB Brian Leonard (Gouverneur, N.Y.) set a new BIG EAST record with a reception in 41-consecutive games. He passes former West Virginia wide receiver Khori Ivy (1997-2000).

Leonard also tied the Rutgers' all-time receiving record, first established by WR Tres Moses (2001-05) with 192 career receptions. He finished the Pittsburgh game with two receptions.

Sophomore RB Ray Rice (New Rochelle, N.Y.) became the third player in Rutgers history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, joining "JJ" Jennings (1972-73) and Terrell Willis (1993-94). He finished the game with a career-best 225 yards on 39 carries to bring his season total to 1,124 yards. The total currently ranks sixth all-time on the school's
single-season yardage list, passing his 2005 season total of 1,120 yards.

Rice's 225-yard performance is the third-best single-game total in school history. He came within seven yards of breaking Terrell Willis' all-time single-game rushing record of 232 yards against Temple on Nov. 12, 1994. The 225 yards and 39 carries are both career highs.

Rice's third-quarter touchdown was his 12th rushing TD of the season, moving him into a tie with Frank Kelly (1917) for sixth place all-time in single-season rushing touchdowns in school history.

Rice is the first player in school history to record four career 200-yard games. All his 200-yard games were on the road.

Rice's 200-yard games
Date Opponent Carries-Yards
10-22-05 at Connecticut 27-217
9-29-06 at USF 35-202
9-2-06 at North Carolina 31-201
10-21-06 at Pittsburgh 39-225

Rice is now ninth on the Rutgers all-time rushing list with 2,244 career yards through just 19 career games. He is averaging 118.1 yards per contest.

Rice registered 100 or more yards in seven of his last nine games with 225 yards on 38 carries against Pittsburgh.

Rice's third-quarter rush of 63 yards was a career-long, surpassing his previous career-long rush of 58 yards against Cincinnati on Nov. 26 of last
season.

Junior K Jeremy Ito (Loma Linda, Calif.) connected on a pair of field goals to give him 45 for his career. Ito is now one field goal shy of the Rutgers all-time record of 46 set by Kennan Startzell (1976-79). Ito is 10-for-12 on field goal attempts for the season.

Sophomore WR Tiquan Underwood (Lawrenceville, N.J.) set a new personal career high for receptions in a game with five for 41 yards against Pittsburgh. His previous career-high was four at Navy last week. Underwood, who entered the Navy game without a touchdown catch, has three touchdown receptions in his last two games.

Senior TE Clark Harris (Manahawkin, N.J.) also extended his reception streak to 37 games with three catches for 30 yards. He moved into a tie with former Miami wide receiver Reggie Wayne (1997-2000) for the third longest streak in BIG EAST history.  The three catches by Harris give him 126 for his career moving him into sole possession of seventh on the RU all-time receiving list.

True freshman wide receiver Kenny Britt (Bayonne, N.J.) recorded his first career start against Pittsburgh as the Scarlet Knights started in a three receiver set.