PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Senior QB Mike Teel (Oakland, N.J.) threw for a 361 yards and a school record six touchdowns, while junior WR Kenny Britt (Bayonne, N.J.) caught a career-best three scores as the Rutgers football team (3-5, 2-2 BIG EAST) defeated #17 Pittsburgh (5-2, 2-1 BIG EAST) 54-34 at Heinz Field on Saturday evening.
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| Mike Teel became the first player in BIG EAST history to throw five touchdown passes in the first half in a league game. |
Teel became the fourth player in league history to throw six touchdown passes in a BIG EAST game, finishing just one TD shy of the record seven. The Scarlet Knights got great production from their wide receivers as Britt ended the game with 143 yards on five catches. In addition to his performance, junior wide out
Tim Brown (Miami, Fla.) caught a pair of touchdown passes to go along with 132 yards through the air.
Pittsburgh scored on its opening drive on a 33-yard run by RB LeSean McCoy, however, Rutgers didn't wait long to respond, answering with a 60-yard touchdown pass from Teel to Brown.
One of its quickest scoring drives of the season, RU traveled 71 yards in two plays, culminating in the 60-yard strike through the air. Later in first quarter with the score knotted at 7-7, both teams traded possessions and Pittsburgh seemed poise to tack on a field goal but a stout defensive stand thwarted the Panthers fake field goal attempt.
From the Rutgers 21 yard line, Pitt lined up for a field goal, however, the Panthers instead attempted a fake but the RU defense was alert and responded by snuffing out pass play. The Scarlet Knights took over with the ball on their own 21 and after needing two plays to find paydirt on their first scoring drive, Rutgers used just one play to hit the end zone.
Teel got under center and took Rutgers 79 yards on a touchdown pass to Britt to make it 14-7. It was the Scarlet Knights' longest play and quickest scoring drive of the season, as well as Britt's first touchdown of 2008.
After a missed field goal by the Panthers at the 3:05 mark, RU drove 72 yards on 10 plays, adding to its lead with a touchdown pass from Teel to Britt. The pair connected on a seven-yard play to pull Rutgers ahead, but a botched extra point left the score at 20-7.
Pittsburgh inched closer on its next scoring drive, going 77 yards ending in a McCoy touchdown to make it 20-14 on the scoreboard.
The Scarlet Knights added to its six point cushion with Teel's fourth and Britt's third touchdown of the evening. A 38-yard kickoff return by senior CB Jason McCourty (Nanuet, N.Y.) gave Rutgers excellent field possession as it started the drive from the Pitt 44-yard line. Teel found Britt in the end zone from 26 yards out to push RU in front 27-14.
The seesaw battle continued on the Panthers' subsequent drive, as McCoy crossed the goal line for the third time, to cut into RU's lead at 27-21. Rutgers answered on the next possession, moving the ball 69 yards on five plays, ending with a touchdown pass from Teel to senior TE Kevin Brock (Hackensack, N.J.). The five TDs marked the most touchdown passes by a quarterback in the first half of a BIG EAST contest.
Rutgers held a 10-point lead entering halftime after Pittsburgh tacked on a 43-yard field goal towards the end of the second quarter, making it 34-24 in the Scarlet Knights' favor.
Pittsburgh cut the advantage to three points when it scored on its opening drive of the second half. The Panthers went 59 yards on nine plays and capped it with a one-yard touchdown run by McCoy (34-31).
The Scarlet Knights continued to keep Pitt at bay, increasing their lead ever time the Panthers inched closer. Initially pinned on its own 10-yard line, Pittsburgh forced a Rutgers three-and-out. However, on the ensuing punt, RU came up with its first turnover of the game, as junior DB Zaire Kitchen (Hightstown, N.J.) stripped Pitt returner Aaron Berry.
Sophomore DB Colin McEvoy (Hillsdale, N.J.) recovered the fumble, giving Rutgers great field position at the Pitt 36 yard line. The Scarlet Knights' quick strike offense returned as Teel found Brown in the end zone for his sixth touchdown pass of the evening.
Rutgers once again used a one-play drive to widen its lead at 41-31. The TD pass was Teel's sixth of the game which was a career high and set the Rutgers record for most touchdown passes in a game. It was also Brown's second TD of the game and second multiple-touchdown reception game of his career.
After Pitt starter Bill Stull was forced out of the game due to injury, sophomore Pat Bostick entered the contest and drove the Panthers down the field, into red zone territory. On a third-and-one, Bostick dropped back and had his pass intercepted by senior LB Kevin Malast (Manchester, N.J.), who then returned the INT 74 yards to the eight-yard line.
The interception and return set up the Scarlet Knights' third one-play scoring drive of the game as sophomore RB Kordell Young (West Deptford, N.J.) started and ended the ensuing possession with an eight yard carry into the end zone.
Pittsburgh tacked on a 40-yard field goal at the 11:16 mark in the fourth quarter to make it 48-34 on the scoreboard.
The Scarlet Knights put the game away with just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter as Young ran into the end zone to make it 54-34. It was Young's second touchdown carry of the contest and marked the second time in his career that he's scored multiple TDs in a game.
Rutgers forced a turnover on downs on Pittsburgh's final drive. The Scarlet Knights reclaimed possession with less than four minutes remaining and ran out the clock to come away with the victory.
RU will take a break from game action with the upcoming bye week, before returning to the gridiron on Nov. 8 when it hosts Syracuse at Rutgers Stadium.
POSTGAME NOTES
Team Notes
Rutgers earned its fifth victory all-time over a ranked team on the road. It was RU's first win over a ranked opponent on the road since Sept. 24, 1988 at Penn State (21-16 victory).
The Scarlet Knights also secured their first four-game winning streak against Pittsburgh and first two-game winning streak at Pittsburgh.
The 54 points scored against Pittsburgh is the most Rutgers has ever scored against the Panthers. Pitt defeated RU, 55-48 in double overtime on Oct. 25, 1997.
The 54 points are the second-most points scored by Rutgers in a BIG EAST contest. The Scarlet Knights' defeated Temple 62-0 on Oct. 2, 1993.
The 54 points are the most points scored against a nationally-ranked opponent on the road in Rutgers' history.
Rutgers recorded its longest play of the season with a 60-yard touchdown pass from QB Mike Teel (Oakland, N.J.) to WR Tim Brown (Miami, Fla.) in the opening minutes of the first quarter and later in the period broke that mark with a 79-yard touchdown pass from Teel to WR Kenny Britt (Bayonne, N.J.). The 79-yard play is the longest pass play since Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25, 2004 when QB Terrence Shawell found WR Tres Moses for an 87-yard touchdown pass against Connecticut.
Rutgers' first two scoring drives were a combined three plays, totaling 155 yards, encompassing 1:05. Each drive ended with passing touchdowns of more than 70 yards.
Rutgers scored three times on the first play of its drive. The Scarlet Knights had five scoring drives of four plays or less.
Player Notes
Senior QB Mike Teel (Oakland, N.J.) became the first player in BIG EAST history to throw five touchdown passes in the first half in a league game.
Teel broke the school record with six touchdown passes in a game. Mike McMahon (Sept. 2, 2000 against Villanova) and Rich Policastro (Nov. 22, 1969 against Colgate) previously held the record with five TD passes.
Teel is only the fourth player in BIG EAST history to throw six touchdowns in a BIG EAST game.
Teel finished the first half 12-for-15 for 311 yards and five touchdowns with one interception.
Teel finished with a career-high 361 yards passing. It was the seventh 300-yard passing game of his career.
Teel moved into a tie with Ray Lucas (1992-95) for the second-most touchdown passes in Rutgers' history with his six-touchdown performance against the Panthers. He now has 43 career TD passes.
Teel passed West Virginia's Marc Bulger (1996-99) and Temple's Henry Burris (1993-96) and moved into seventh place in BIG EAST history with his performance at Pittsburgh. He now has 7,688 yards.
Teel passed Syracuse's Donovan McNabb (1995-98) for seventh place on the BIG EAST career completions list with 551.
Teel passed Temple's Henry Burris (1993-96) and moved into eighth place on the BIG EAST career total offense list with 7,503 yards.
The 79-yard touchdown reception for junior WR Kenny Britt (Bayonne, N.J.) was the longest reception of his career. His previous long was 67 yards against Louisville on Nov. 9, 2007.
Britt finished the first half with five catches for 143 yards and three touchdowns. The three touchdowns are a career high for Britt, whose previous career-best TD total was two on three separate occasions.
With his five-catch performance against the Panthers, Britt now has at least one reception in 26-straight games which is tied with Pittsburgh's Dietrich Jells (1991-94) and Louisville's Harry Douglas (2005-07) for the 10th-longest streak in BIG EAST history.
Britt passed Andrew Baker (1981-84) and moved into second place on the Rutgers career receiving yardage list and now has 2,386 yards for his career.
Junior WR Tim Brown (Miami, Fla.) set a career-high for receiving yards with 132 yards on four catches. His previous career best receiving total was 127 against Cincinnati on Oct. 6, 2007. Brown also tied his career-high with two touchdowns in a game. He had two touchdown receptions against Kansas State in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 28, 2006.
Senior LB Kevin Malast (Manchester, N.J.) recorded his first career interception after senior DT Pete Tverdov (Union, N.J.) hurried the Pittsburgh quarterback in the third quarter. Malast returned the pick 74 yards to set up a touchdown on the next offensive play.
Senior FS Courtney Greene (New Rochelle, N.Y.) tied Aaron Brady (1995-98) for fifth place on the Rutgers career tackles list with his seven-tackle performance against Pitt. He now has 355 for his career.
Sophomore RB Kordell Young (West Deptford, N.J.) tied his career high with two touchdowns against the Panthers. Young previously recorded a pair of TDs against Howard on Sept. 23, 2006.
