PITTSBURGH, Pa. (October 23, 2010) – A second-half surge proved to be the difference maker as Rutgers (4-3, 1-1 BIG EAST) fell to Pittsburgh (4-3, 2-0 BIG EAST) 41-21 on Saturday afternoon at Heinz Field.
The Rutgers defense turned what could have been a potential scoring opportunity for Pittsburgh into seven points for the Scarlet Knights early. On the game’s opening drive, the Panthers returned a kickoff 40 yards, connected on a 22 yard pass and followed with a 22 yard carry by Dion Lewis. However, the drive stalled just shy of the red zone as senior defensive tackle Charlie Noonan (Philadelphia, Pa.) recorded his first career interception on a Tino Sunseri screen pass. Noonan return to pass 25 yards to set up the Scarlet Knights’ first drive of the game.
RU then marched 49 yards on eight plays, capping its scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by junior running back Joe Martinek (Hopatcong, N.J.).
Pitt found the end zone on its next drive, going 66 yards in 10 plays as Sunseri connected on a three-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Cruz to tie the game at 7-7.
The Panthers pulled out to a 14-7 lead in the second quarter following a two-play scoring drive. Sunseri completed a pass to wide receiver Jon Baldwin for 46 yards and running back Ray Graham took it the rest of the way with a 13-yard touchdown run.
The Scarlet Knights closed the gap and knotted the game at 14-14 with the special teams unit providing RU’s second touchdown. Senior safety Joe Lefeged (Germantown, Md.) recorded a 10-yard sack on third down, forcing Pittsburgh to punt. Sophomore defensive back Wayne Warren (Salisbury, Md.) blocked Dan Hutchins’ punt, which went into the end zone and was recovered by senior defensive back Brandon Bing (Wyncote, Pa.).
The punt block was fifth of the season (second resulting in a touchdown) and marked the 44th defensive/special teams touchdown in head coach Greg Schiano’s 10-year Rutgers tenure.
Pittsburgh broke the deadlock following halftime on a six-play, 43-yard scoring drive as Sunseri and Cruz hooked up for their second touchdown of the game – this time, an 11-yard reception.
The Panthers went on to score 27 points over the final two quarters en route to the 41-21 victory. Sophomore quarterback Tom Savage (Springfield, Pa.) entered the game in the fourth quarter and connected on a 27-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Mark Harrison (Stratford, Conn.) – his third TD reception in as many games.
The Scarlet Knights will play their second of back-to-back road games with a Wednesday night contest at USF on Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
POSTGAME NOTES
Team Notes
Rutgers (4-3, 1-1 BIG EAST) dropped a 41-21 decision at Pittsburgh for only its second loss in the last six contests to the Panthers.
The loss was the Scarlet Knights’ first at Heinz Field since 2004. It broke a two-game winning streak at Pittsburgh. RU won earned a 20-10 win in 2006 and a 54-34 win over No. 17 Pittsburgh in 2008.
Rutgers collected the 44th defensive/special teams touchdown in the 10-year Greg Schiano era when Pitt’s punt was blocked by Wayne Warren (Salisbury, Md.) and recovered in the end zone by Brandon Bing (Wyncote, Pa.) in the second quarter. It was the Scarlet Knights’ second touchdown off a blocked punt this season.
The second-quarter blocked punt was the fifth for the Scarlet Knights this season. Seniors Joe Lefeged (Germantown, Md.) and Brandon Bing (Wyncote, Pa.) each have two blocked punts this season.
Rutgers moved to 19-19 (.514) overall under Greg Schiano in the month of October and 15-8 in October over the last five years.
Player Notes
Senior DT Charlie Noonan (Philadelphia, Pa.) intercepted his first career pass and returned it 25 yards to set up Rutgers’ first score of the game against Pittsburgh.
With three extra-points against Pittsburgh, junior PK San San Te (Conover, N.C.) moved past Homer Hazel (1916, 23-24) and into fifth place on the Rutgers all-time scoring list with 218 career points.
Senior DB Joe Lefeged (Germantown, Md.) totaled a career-high 10 tackles against Pittsburgh. His previous career-best tackle total was nine, achieved four times.
Lefeged also forced his third fumble of the season and sixth of his career and recorded first sack of the season to give him 6.5 for his career.
Sophomore WR Mark Harrison (Stratford, Conn.) collected his third touchdown in as many games with a 27-yard fourth touchdown reception against the Panthers from sophomore QB Tom Savage (Springfield, Pa.).
Junior RB Joe Martinek’s (Hopatcong, N.J.) one-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter was his third rushing touchdown of the season and 16th of his career.
Sophomore LB Steve Beauharnais (Saddle Brook, N.J.) recovered his third fumble of the season and third of his career.
Sophomore LB Ka’Lial Glaud (Atco, N.J.) recorded his first career start against Pittsburgh. He replaced injured LB Manny Abreu (Union City, N.J.) and finished the afternoon with a career-high seven tackles.