PISCATAWAY, N.J. (November 12, 2009) – For the third time in four years, the Rutgers football team beat a ranked opponent in an ESPN-nationally televised Thursday night game as the Scarlet Knights blanked No. 23/24 USF 31-0.

The Scarlet Knights (7-2, 2-2 BIG EAST) have now won three consecutive games and four straight over the Bulls (6-3, 2-3 BIG EAST).The win makes RU bowl-eligible for the fifth straight year. The regular season shutout loss was the first in USF’s history.

The Scarlet Knights dominated all three phases in their first shutout conference victory since 1993.

RU’s offensive showcase was highlighted by true freshmen quarterback Tom Savage (Springfield, Pa.) and wide receiver Mohamed Sanu (South Brunswick, N.J.) and sophomore running back Joe Martinek (Hopatcong, N.J.)

Savage went 15-30 for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Sanu caught five balls for career-best 105 yards and a touchdown, all in the first half.

Joe Martinek tallied his fourth 100-yard rushing performance of the season with 128 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown. It marked the first 100-yard game for Martinek vs. a BIG EAST opponent.

Defensively, the Scarlet Knights limited the Bulls’ offense to 159 total yards and collected five turnovers and seven sacks.

Senior defensive back Devin McCourty (Nanuet, N.J.) forced two turnovers on special teams with a forced fumble and blocked punt.

Rutgers took the early lead when Savage hit Sanu inside the 20-yard line where Sanu raced down the sideline for his first career receiving touchdown.

Freshmen made an impact on defense as well as USF’s offense only saw four plays on its first drive before defensive back Brandon Jones (Sicklerville, N.J.) snatched a tipped ball for his first career interception at the 8:57 mark.

Following Jones’ interception, sophomore placekicker San San Te (Coram, N.Y.) extended Rutgers’ lead with a 36-yard field goal to put Rutgers ahead 10-0 with 7:03 remaining in the first quarter.

The Scarlet Knights captured their second turnover of the night when McCourty forced USF wide receiver Faron Hornes to fumble a punt on USF’s 21-yard line that was picked up by RU defensive back Duron Harmon (Magnolia, Del.). The Scarlet Knights were unable to score points off the turnover, leaving Rutgers with a 10-0 lead to end the first quarter.

Rutgers defense smothered USF’s offense in the first quarter by limiting the bulls to 34 total yards and only two first downs.

Later in the second quarter with USF driving, Daniels lofted it for the end zone but found Rutgers’ defensive back Khasseem Greene (Elizabeth, N.J.). It was the fourth turnover gained by the Scarlet Knights on the night.

After the teams’ swapped short drives, USF was set to punt when McCourty blazed by the Bulls’ line to block Delbe Alvarado’s punt that was recovered by defensive end Jonathan Freeny (Tampa, Fla.)

Te connected on a 26-yard field goal to give Rutgers a 13-0 halftime lead.

Rutgers’ passing attack continued to flourish in the second half. Senior wide receiver Tim Brown (Miami, Fla.) caught a 26-yard pass from Savage for his sixth touchdown of the season and 17th of his career with 7:05 remaining in the third quarter.

Brown’s touchdown and Sanu’s two-point conversion were the only points scored in the third quarter as Rutgers’ entered the final period with a comfortable 21-0 lead.

Te added his third field goal of the night by connecting on a 49-yard kick 20 seconds into the fourth quarter to give Rutgers a 24-0 lead.

The Bulls went three and out following Te’s kick. Rutgers kept it on the ground down the field and Martinek capped off the dominating performance with a 37-yard touchdown run to close out the scoring at 31-0.

POSTGAME NOTES

Team Notes
With the 31-0 victory over USF, Rutgers improved to 7-2 and became bowl-eligible for the fifth straight season. The shutout win was the third against a BIG EAST opponent in school history. RU last posted a shutout in BIG EAST play on Oct. 2, 1993 with a 62-0 victory over Temple. The Scarlet Knights also defeated Temple, 41-0, Nov. 16, 1991.

It was RU’s 15th victory over its last 17 games.

It was the second shutout of the season for Rutgers, which also defeated Texas Southern, 42-0, on Oct. 10.

It was the second time the Scarlet Knights posted a shutout win over a nationally ranked team. RU defeated #17 Harvard, 13-0, on Nov. 2, 1946.

The victory was the fourth-straight for the Scarlet Knights against USF. RU is now 4-1 all-time against the Bulls. Rutgers has defeated USF a combined 80-16 in the last two games after beating the Bulls 49-16 in Tampa last season.

Rutgers has now won seven consecutive home games in the month of November, dating back to the 2005 season.

It was the ninth victory over a ranked opponent in school history.

Thursday’s game marked the 10th time Rutgers has played in an ESPN Thursday night game. The Scarlet Knights are 5-5 overall when playing on ESPN’s Thursday Night primetime slot, including a 5-4 mark at Rutgers Stadium.

Rutgers has hosted more ESPN Thursday night games than any other BIG EAST school with nine. West Virginia is second on the list with seven appearances at home in ESPN’s Thursday night primetime slot.

Date                                 Opponent                            Result
Sept. 17, 1992              Pittsburgh                           W, 21-16
Oct. 28, 1993                Pittsburgh                           L, 21-10
Sept. 12, 1996              #10/11Miami                   L, 33-0
Oct. 9, 1997                   Syracuse                             L, 50-3
Nov. 9, 2006                  #3/4 Louisville                   W, 28-25
Oct. 18, 2007                #2/3 USF                           W, 30-27
Nov. 29, 2007               at Louisville                          L, 41-38
Sept. 11, 2008              North Carolina                   L, 44-12
Dec. 4, 2008                 Louisville                               W, 63-14
Nov. 12, 2009               #23/24 USF                      W, 31-0

The Rutgers defense held USF out of the red zone in the first half and limited the Bulls to just 26 rushing yards in the opening half.

With two interceptions in the first half, Rutgers now has 13 interceptions in nine games this season. The 13 interceptions are the most for Rutgers in a season since 2006 when RU recorded 15 interceptions in 13 games. For the season, 11 different Scarlet Knights have an interception while sophomore DB David Rowe (Cocoa, Fla.) and redshirt freshman DB Khaseem Greene (Elizabeth, N.J.) each have two picks on the year. 

The Rutgers defense has recorded at least one interception in six of nine games this season with multiple picks in five contests. 

The Rutgers defense, which entered the week as the national leader in turnover margin, gained four turnovers (all in the first half) against USF. The Scarlet Knights are now +22 in turnover margin for the season with 29 turnovers gained and seven lost. It was the 15th-straight game Rutgers has gained a turnover.

The Rutgers defense held USF to 30 yards rushing. It was USF’s lowest output on the ground in 2009 by 92 yards (122 at Pitt). It was the Bulls’ lowest rushing total since gaining eight yards on 24 carries at Louisville on Oct. 25, 2008.

USF was shutout for the first time in a regular-season game and for just the second time in program history.

Player Notes
Senior WR Tim Brown (Miami, Fla.) tied a school record for career touchdowns with 17 after hauling in a 26-yard TD pass in the third quarter against USF. He is now tied with Kenny Britt (2006-08) and Chris Brantley (1990-93). 

With 49 receiving yards against USF, Brown moved past Tiquan Underwood (1,931 yards from 2005-08) and into seventh place in the Rutgers all-time receiving yardage list with 1.967 yards on 99 catches for his career.

Brown has 860 yards on 40 catches in nine games this season and moved into sixth place on the single-season receiving yardage list. His six touchdowns in 2009 are tied for 10th in a season in school history.

True freshman WR Mohamed Sanu’s (North Brunswick, N.J.) 25-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was the first receiving touchdown of his career. It was the second career touchdown for Sanu, who had an 11-yard rushing touchdown against Pittsburgh on Oct. 16.

Sanu had a career-high 105 receiving yards on five catches, all in the first half. It was Sanu’s second (10 catches for 101 yards against Cincinnati on Sept. 7) career 100-yard game.

Senior CB Devin McCourty (Nanuet, N.Y.) blocked his sixth career kick with a second-quarter punt block against USF. For his career, McCourty has blocked five punts and one field goal. McCourty, one of the nation’s top special teams standouts, also forced a fumble on a punt return that Rutgers recovered.

McCourty led RU defensively with nine tackles, including two for loss.

Sophomore RB Joe Martinek (Hopatcong, N.J.) recorded his fourth 100-yard game of the season and first career 100-yard rushing performance in BIG EAST play. He finished the game with 128 yards on a career-high tying 25 carries and a touchdown.

Redshirt freshman DB Brandon Jones (Sicklerville, N.J.) posted his first career interception in the first quarter.

Redshirt freshman DB Khaseem Greene (Elizabeth, N.J.) recorded his second career interception with a second-quarter pick in the end zone.

Jones and true freshman LB Steve Beauharnais (Saddle Brook, N.J.) recorded their first career starts against USF.