PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Heisman Trophy candidate Ray Rice (New Rochelle, N.Y.) rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns, while junior Tiquan Underwood (Lawrencville, N.J.) caught 10 passes for a school-record 248 yards and two scores to help No. 16 Rutgers to 38-3 season-opening win over Buffalo before 43,091 fans. The victory marked the Scarlet Knights eighth straight win within the confines of Rutgers Stadium and marked the team's fifth consecutive home opening victory under reigning national coach of the year Greg Schiano.
"It was a great way to start the year," said Schiano. "Offensively, we were certainly very explosive. Defensively, we made some mistakes but we played hard. I give credit to Buffalo, they played well, but our guys came through."
Rutgers was simply too much for its Mid-American Conference foe from opening kickoff to final gun. With the third largest crowd in school history in attendance, the home squad owned a 328 yard advantage in total yards and did not punt for the game's entirety for the first time since September 5th, 1993, when they went without a punt in a 68-6 win against Colgate. The Scarlet Knights out-rushed the Bulls 235 to 70 and almost doubled Buffalo's passing attack, 328 yards to 165.
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Ray Rice runs for a first quarter touchdown.. Photo by Tom Ciszek/NJSportsPhoto |
Rice's rushing output marked his 16
th career 100-plus yard game and gives him 3,098 career rushing yards, 16 shy of Rutgers carrying king Terrell Willis (3,114). His 41-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter finished a five play, 71-yard drive and gave the Scarlet Knights a 35-3 lead.
Jeremy Ito (Loma Linda, Calif.) added a 38 yard field goal in the fourth quarter to provide the final margin of victory.
The Scarlet Knights wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. Sophomore Kordell Young (Westville, N.J.) returned the opening kickoff 56 yards to the Buffalo 43 yard-line. Three plays later, Rice raced 34 yards to pay dirt on just his second touch of the young campaign to provide the home squad a 7-0 advantage after the Ito conversion. On the carry, he surpassed J.J. Jennings for second place on the RU career rushing list. It marked the first time since the 2000 season, a 34-21 win over Villanova, that RU scored a touchdown on its opening possession of a season.
Nine minutes later on the first quarter clock, Rice provided the visitors a dose of d????j?? vu, carrying 12 yards into the end zone to cap a 12-play, 80-yard drive. The junior would total 78 yards and two touchdowns on nine attempts in the initial stanza, both career first quarter bests.
Scarlet highlights were in ample supply in the first quarter and Underwood decided to join in on the home squad's third possession. The third year junior grabbed an aerial over the middle from Teel and proceeded to weave his way down the field 65 yards to the dismay of UB cornerback Kendric Hawkins and the Bulls faithful. It marked the longest reception of the junior's career and resulted in a 21-0 lead with 1:24 remaining in the first quarter, but Underwood was not finished.
In the second quarter, Underwood set a new career game high, making a leaping one-handed catch up the middle on RU's fifth possession and racing 66 yards for the score to help establish a 28-0 lead with 5:07 remaining before halftime. With the effort, he exceeded 200 yards to become just the third player in Rutgers history to eclipse 200 receiving yards in a contest.
"Ty's an exceptional athlete," said Schiano. "The way Buffalo played defense pushed the ball towards Ty, and he made some big plays."
Junior quarterback Mike Teel (Oakland, N.J.) enjoyed Underwood's career night, finding him early and often. Of Teel's 16 completions, 10 of those were to Underwood. Teel finished with a career high 328 passing yards, only 80 of which went to receivers not named Underwood.
"I thought Michael played very well," said Schiano. "He played within himself and didn't try to do too much."
The Scarlet Knights generated 378 total yards in the opening half, while Buffalo managed 74. Rutgers' 21 points in the first quarter marked the most points it had scored in an opening stanza since RU also posted 21 against Princeton at home on September 27, 1980 in a 44-13 victory.
Buffalo registered its only points on a 35-yard A.J. Principe field goal with 2:55 remaining in the third quarter to cap an eight play, 43 yard drive. The three points marked the lowest opening-day scoring by an opponent since a 21-3 RU defeat of Temple on September 13th, 1980.
The Scarlet Knights return to the gridiron next Friday (Sept. 7) evening to host Navy in a 7:00 p.m. kick-off at Rutgers Stadium. The game will be televised live on ESPN. The contest will mark the 22nd meeting between Rutgers and the Midshipmen, with the series tied, 10-10-1.
POSTGAME NOTES
Team Notes
Rutgers scored 21 first-quarter points for the first time since Sept. 27, 1980 when the Scarlet Knights put up 21 against Princeton at home. The Scarlet Knights scored 21 points in both the second and third quarters against Howard on Sept. 23 of last season.
As an offense, Rutgers recorded 378 total yards in the first half.
Tonight's attendance of 43,091 is the third-largest crowd in Rutgers Stadium history.
Top Crowds In Rutgers Stadium History
- 44,111 - No. 15 Rutgers vs. No. 3 Louisville (11/9/06) - 28-25 Rutgers won
- 43,791 - No. 15 Rutgers vs. Syracuse (11/25/06) - 38-7 Rutgers won
- 43,091 - No. 16 Rutgers vs. Buffalo (830/07)
Rutgers' three-play opening scoring drive marked the first time the Scarlet Knights scored on their opening drive of the season since 2000 when RU scored a TD against Villanova en route to a 34-21 victory over the Wildcats on Sept. 2.
Buffalo's three points marked the fewest scored against the Scarlet Knights in a season-opener since Rutgers defeated Temple 21-3 on September 13, 1980.
Rutgers did not punt in a game for the first time since September 5, 1993, when they also went without a punt against Colgate in 68-6 win at Giants Stadium.
The season opener saw nine first-time starters with four Scarlet Knights earning the start on offense and five getting the starting nod on defense.
First time offensive starters
Sophomore center Ryan Blaszczyk (Medford Lakes, N.J.)
Sophomore fullback Jack Corcoran (Atlantic City, N.J.)
Sophomore right guard Kevin Haslam (Mahwah, N.J.)
Senior tight end Chris Rudanovic (Sussex, N.J.) (As a Scarlet Knight)
First-time defensive starters
Junior defensive tackle Vantrise Studivant (Riviera Beach, Fla.)
Junior linebacker Kevin Malast (Manchester, N.J.)
Sophomore defensive end George Johnson (Glassboro, N.J.)
Sophomore cornerback Devin McCourty (Nanuet, N.Y.)
Sophomore linebacker Damaso Munoz (Miami, Fla.)
First Career Appearances
Wide Receiver Julian Hayes (Malverne, N.Y.)
Defensive back Davon Smart (Hackensack, N.J.)
Fullback Andres Morales (Bethlehem, Pa.)
Offensive lineman Mo Lange (Hillsborough, N.J.)
Defensive tackle Charlie Noonan (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Linebacker Jim Dumont (Newtown, Pa.)
Linebacker Patrick Nemorin (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
Offensive lineman Howard Barbieri (Leonardo, N.J.)
True Freshman Appearances
Running back Mason Robinson (Somerville, N.J.)
Right guard Anthony Davis (Piscataway, N.J.)
Defensive end Justin Francis (Miramar, Fla.)
Linebacker Antonio Lowery (Miami, Fla.)
Cornerback Brandon Bing (Wyncote, Pa.)
Defensive tackle Alex Silvestro (Gibbstown, N.J.)
Defensive back Colin McEvoy (Hillsdale, N.J.)
Defensive end Jonathan Freeny (Margate, Fla.)
Linebacker Manny Abreu (Union City, N.J.)
Defensive back Joe Lefeged (Germantown, Md.)
Player Notes
Junior RB Ray Rice (New Rochelle, N.Y.) finished with 184 yards, topping the century mark for the 16th time in his career. He now stands just 16 yards shy of the school's all-time rushing yardage record (Terrell Willis; 3,114) with 3,098 yards.
With a 34-yard first-quarter TD run, Rice movedinto second place in the Rutgers career rushing record book (past JJ Jennings).
Rice's three rushing touchdowns gives him 28 in his 26-game Rutgers career, putting him into a tie for fifth place (Harvey Grimsley,1946-49) on the school's all-time list.
The three touchdowns tonight marked Rice's third career three-touchdown performance. He also achieved the feat at North Carolina (9/2/06) and at home against Howard (9/23/06).
Rice's 78 first-quarter yards are the most for the junior running back in the opening quarter in his career.
Junior WR Tiquan Underwood (Lawrenceville, N.J.) set a new school single-game record with 248 receiving yards. He surpassed Jack Emmer's 13-catch, 237-yard performance on Nov. 16, 1966 at Holy Cross.
Underwood set career highs in receptions (10), yards (248) and longest reception (66). He hauled in a 65-yard pass for his first touchdown of the contest in the first quarter and a 66-yard TD reception in the second quarter. His previous career highs were five receptions at Pitt on Oct. 21, 2006, 64 receiving yards at Navy on Oct. 14, 2006 and a 30-yard long reception at West Virginia on Dec. 2, 2006. In 2006, Underwood caught 23 passes for 290 yards (four TDs) for the season.
Underwood's 248 yards are the second most in a game in BIG EAST history. Virginia Tech's Ernest Wilford had 279 receiving yards against Syracuse in 2002.
Junior QB Mike Teel (Oakland, N.J.) posted a new career high in passing yards with 328, surpassing his previous career high of 278 at West Virginia on Dec. 2, 2006.
Sophomore RB Kordell Young (Westville, N.J.) opened the game with a career-long 56-yard kickoff return.
Sophomore defensive end George Johnson (Glassboro, N.J.) posted his first career full sack in the second quarter. He previously had a half-sack against Navy on Oct. 14, 2006. Johnson had a game-high two sacks.
Junior linebacker Kevin Malast (Manchester, N.J.) established a new career high in tackles with 10. His previous best was four against Howard on Sept. 23, 2006.
