Scarlet Knights Game Preview - Louisville
Nov 22 | Football
LOUISVILLE (5-6, 2-4
) at RUTGERS (4-6, 1-4)
Friday, November 26 • 11:00 a.m. • ESPN2
Rutgers Stadium (52,454)
Piscataway, N.J.
Series: Rutgers Leads 7-2
TV: ESPN2 Mike Gleason (play-by-play) John Congemi (color)
Internet Broadcast: ESPN3.com
Radio: Rutgers Radio Network
WOR-710 AM (New York City)
97.5 FM The Fanatic (Philadelphia)
WCTC-1450 AM (New Brunswick)
Chris Carlin (play-by-play), Ray Lucas (color), Anthony Fucilli (sideline)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 125, XM 203
The Game
Rutgers and Louisville continue their BIG EAST series with another non-Saturday contest on national television as the Scarlet Knights host the Cardinals Friday at 11 a.m. on ESPN2. The two teams have played on Thursday or Friday on ESPN or ESPN2 in all six meetings since Louisville joined the BIG EAST in 2005.
Mike Gleason (play-by-play) and John Congemi (color) are the game announcers for ESPN2. The game is also available on the Internet at ESPN3.com.
The Rutgers Radio Network begins pre-game coverage at 10 a.m. as Chris Carlin calls the action with former Rutgers QB Ray Lucas (color analyst) and Anthony Fucilli (sideline). The Rutgers Radio Network includes WOR-710 AM in New York City, WCTC-1450 AM in Central Jersey and 97.5 FM The Fanatic in Philadelphia and South Jersey.
The Rutgers Radio Network feed is available nationally on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 125 and XM channel 203. In addition, WRSU has complete coverage of the game on 88.7 FM in New Brunswick.
Head Coach Greg Schiano
Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano (Bucknell '88) is in his 10th season with the Scarlet Knights. Schiano will be just the fourth coach in BIG EAST history to coach 10 seasons at the same school, joining Paul Pasqualoni (Syracuse, 14 years), Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech, 13 years) and Don Nehlen (West Virginia, 10 years). Schiano passed former Boston College head coach Tom O'Brien earlier in the season as the fifth-winningest coach all-time in victories in the BIG EAST (59-61).
Schiano will tie former West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez for fourth place in BIG EAST history in coaching victories with one more win.
The 2006 National and BIG EAST Coach of the Year, Schiano has guided Rutgers to a school-record five consecutive bowl appearances, including four straight bowl victories. Rutgers is just one of four schools in the nation to win four consecutive bowl games.
Senior Day
Rutgers will honor its senior class on Senior Day prior to kickoff vs. Louisville. The group of seniors has been part of three consecutive teams that have captured a bowl victory. For nine fifth-year seniors, they have been a member of four consecutive squads that won a bowl game. Rutgers has won four of its last five Senior Day games at Rutgers Stadium.
Louisville Series
Rutgers and Louisville will meet for the 10th time in series history Friday morning in Piscataway with the Scarlet Knights leading the all-time series, 7-2. In games played at Rutgers Stadium, the Scarlet Knights are undefeated vs. Louisville (4-0) and have outscored the Cards 163-60. The last time Louisville came to Rutgers Stadium, Mike Teel set school records for single-game passing yards (447) and passing touchdowns (7) in a 63-14 victory on ESPN.
Greg Schiano is 3-2 all-time vs. Louisville. Friday's matchup is the first meeting between Schiano and Louisville head coach Charlie Strong.
Up Next
The 2010 regular season concludes for Rutgers at West Virginia on December 4.
LeGrand Injured in Army Victory
Rutgers junior defensive tackle Eric LeGrand suffered a spinal cord injury in the fourth quarter vs. Army.
"We want to say thank you to everyone for all of your prayers, kind words, and well wishes," the LeGrand family said. "We appreciate every single thought. Eric is in good spirits and we are praying for a full recovery."
LeGrand is at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, one of the nation's leaders in spinal cord rehabilitation, in West Orange, N.J. The LeGrand family requests that the media respect their privacy at this time as he transitions to this next phase of care and treatment.
The "Eric LeGrand Believe Fund" has been established to assist the family. For more information, please visit www.ScarletKnights.com/Believe.
Inside the Louisville Series
Rutgers leads, 7-2 (h:4-0, a:3-2)
1976 hW 34-0
1979 aW 31-7
1984 hW 38-21
1986 aW 41-0
2005 aL 5-56
2006 hW 28-25
2007 aL 38-41
2008 hW 63-24
2009 aW 34-14
On the Mark
Sophomore WR Mark Harrison put together one of the best individual performances in school history in Rutgers' loss at Cincinnati.
The Connecticut native caught 10 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns vs. the Bearcats.
He tied an 18-year school record for receiving touchdowns in a game with four, joining Chris Brantley in the Rutgers' annals. Brantley totaled eight receptions for 124 yards and the four scores vs. Virginia Tech on Oct. 31, 1992.
Oh So Close
Mark Harrison's 240 yards vs. Cincinnati was the second-highest total in Rutgers single-game history. He became just the fourth player in school history to break the 200-yard mark for receiving yards in a game and was just nine yards shy of setting a new single-game benchmark at Rutgers.
Current Jacksonville Jaguar WR Tiquan Underwood is the school's all-time leader for receiving yards in a single-game with 248 vs. Buffalo (8-30-07).
Rutgers Single-Game Receiving Yards Leaders
Player Opponent Receiving Yards
1. Tiquan Underwood Buffalo (8-30-07) 248
2. Mark Harrison at Cincinnati (11-20-10) 240
3. Jack Emmer at Holy Cross (11-16-66) 237
Rutgers Single-Game Receiving TD Leaders
Player Opponent Receiving TDs
1. Mark Harrison at Cincinnati (11-20-10) 4
1. Chris Brantley Virginia Tech (10-31-92) 4
3. Kenny Britt at Pittsburgh (10-25-08) 3
Worth Noting ...
Mark Harrison's 240 yards receiving vs. Cincinnati was the second-best game by a receiver in the nation this season, trailing only Michigan's Roy Roundtree (246 yards vs. Illinois) ... Harrison tied a BIG EAST single-game record with his four touchdown catches vs. the Bearcats ... the 240 yards receiving also ranked third all-time in BIG EAST history.
Moving Up the Charts
Mark Harrison leads Rutgers and is tied for second in the BIG EAST with eight receiving touchdowns in 2010. He now is tied for fourth all-time in school single-season history in the category, joining current Tennessee Titan Kenny Britt and Reggie Funderburk in fourth place.
Rutgers Single-Season Receiving TD Leaders
Player Receiving TDs
1. Marco Battaglia (1995) 10
2. Tim Brown (2009) 9
2. Bob Simms (1958) 9
4. Mark Harrison (2010) 8
4. Kenny Britt (2007) 8
4. Reggie Funderburk (1994) 8
Going Long Distance for Six
Mark Harrison is averaging 34.4 yards per touchdown reception in 2010 and has caught touchdown passes from three different quarterbacks in 2010.
Harrison has been on the receiving end of six touchdown passes from Chas Dodd, one by Tom Savage and one from fellow WR and Wild Knight QB Mohamed Sanu.
Chasing the Top Spot
Chas Dodd has three of the top seven single-game top passing yardage games by a true freshman in Rutgers school history in 2010.
Dodd threw for 335 yards and four touchdowns at Cincinnati, the second-best single-game yardage total by a true freshman at Rutgers.
Player Opponent C-A-I Yds TD
Mike McMahon at Army ('97) 26-42-1 386 1
Chas Dodd at Cincinnati ('10) 19-29-2 335 4
Ryan Cubit Navy ('01) 13-20-1 327 3
Chas Dodd Connecticut ('10) 18-29-0 322 2 Tom Savage UCF ('09) 14-27-1 294 2
Mike McMahon Pittsburgh ('97) 19-38-1 269 2
Chas Dodd Army ('10) 18-30-1 251 2
Finding a Rhythm
Chas Dodd and Mark Harrison are quickly becoming one of the top QB-WR duos in the BIG EAST.
In six games with Dodd as the starter at quarterback, Harrison has become his favorite target.
Harrison has caught 30 passes for 611 yards and eight touchdowns during the six games Dodd has started at QB. Dodd has thrown six touchdown passes to Harrison as the starter.
On Target
Chas Dodd set a single-game record for completion percentage by a QB during the Greg Schiano by going 19-of-22 passing for 139 yards Nov. 3 at USF.
He completed 86.4% of his passes vs. the Bulls, topping the previous single-game record for completion percentage under Schiano set by Ryan Hart in 2005 vs. Navy.
Top Single-Game Completion Percentage Games
QB C-A Pct. Yards TD Opponent (Date)
Chas Dodd 19-22 86.4 139 0 at USF (11-3-10)
Ryan Hart 18-21 85.7 221 0 Navy (10-29-05)
Joe Gagliardi 13-16 81.3 116 2 Colgate (11-16-85)
Mike Teel 21-26 80.8 447 7 Louisville (12-4-08)
The Comeback Kid
Chas Dodd has rallied the Scarlet Knights in the fourth quarter for two victories this season. Even more impressive, the two fourth quarter comebacks came in Dodd's first two career starts.
Dodd was 16-of-22 (72.7%) passing for 285 yards and three touchdowns in the victories over UConn and Army in the fourth quarter and overtime. Dodd was 7-of-9 passing for 151 yards and a touchdown vs. UConn in the fourth quarter on Oct. 8 before going 8-of-12 for 128 yards and two scores vs. Army in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Fourth Quarter Comebacks Under Schiano
Yr. Opponent, QB 4th Q Deficit Final Score
2010 Army (Dodd) 3-17 23-20 OT*
2010 UConn (Dodd) 17-24 27-24*
2010 at FIU (Savage) 13-14 19-14
2009 at UConn (Savage) 21-24 28-24*
2008 NC State (Teel) 19-23 29-23
2006 Louisville (Teel) 22-25 28-25*
2006 at USF (Teel) 13-14 22-20
2004 at Vanderbilt (Hart) 16-34 37-34*
* Game-winning drive with less than two minutes remaining
Runs Like a Deer
Freshman WR Jeremy Deering has turned into the Scarlet Knights' best option on the ground over the last three games.
Deering posted career-highs in rushes (29) and rushing yards (166) and matched his career-long run (22) out of the Wild Knight vs. Syracuse.
The 29 rushing attempts were the most by a Scarlet Knight since Ray Rice's 35 attempts vs. Ball State in the International Bowl (1/5/08).
Deering recorded his first career rushing touchdown with a 19-yard run in the third quarter against Syracuse.
He also caught one pass for 10 yards and completed his first career pass for five yards against the Orange.
In Rare Company
Jeremy Deering rushed for the most yards in a single-game by a non-running back in school history with his 166-yard performance as the Wild Knight quarterback vs. Syracuse.
He broke Mohamed Sanu's school record for rushing yards in a single-game by a non-running back after his 148-yard contest last season at Louisville.
Deering became the fourth player in the Greg Schiano era to rush for at least 165 yards in a game.
Lefeged Named a Semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award
Joe Lefeged has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, an honor given annually to the nation's top defensive back. The Germantown, Md., product has been all over the field on defense and special teams this season and was named a Mid-Season All-America by Phil Steele.
The Maryland product is second on the squad with 68 tackles and leads Rutgers with five pass breakups. He has also forced a team-best three fumbles in 2010.
Lefeged became the first player in BIG EAST history to be named the Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Week, in the same week, the league office announced Sept. 13. Lefeged earned the two awards after an incredible performance in the victory at FIU.
The senior strong safety blocked two punts, forced two fumbles, recorded one interception, broke up a pass and had six tackles in the win.
It marked the second time in two weeks a Scarlet Knight was named Special Teams Player of the Week after Brandon Bing earned the award on Sept. 6.
Lefeged was also named the Jim Thorpe National Defensive Back of the Week for his amazing performance at FIU.
Attack the Quarterback
Rutgers entered the Syracuse contest with just seven sacks on the season, but the Scarlet Knights totaled a season-high six sacks vs. the Orange. Seven players combined to record sacks in the game, led by senior DE Alex Silvestro's 1.5 sacks.
In addition, Rutgers totaled six quarterback hurries and a season-high 10 tackles-for-loss.
Sacks for Silvestro
Alex Silvestro has totaled 3.5 sacks over his last two games, including eight tackles, three tackles-for-loss and two sacks at Cincinnati on Nov. 20. The South Jersey native leads Rutgers in TFLs (11.5) and sacks (4.5) in 2010.
Fourth Quarter Magic
After trailing 17-3 to start the fourth quarter, Rutgers scored 14 points in the final stanza to force overtime and earn the 23-20 OT victory over Army on Oct. 16. The 14-point fourth quarter deficit was the largest Rutgers' has rallied from for a victory since trailing at Vanderbilt 34-16 on Oct. 9, 2004. Rutgers responded with a 37-34 victory at Vandy for the largest fourth quarter comeback in school history.
The Scarlet Knights moved to 2-4 all-time in overtime games with the win vs. Army.
Game-Winning Field Goal
For the second time under Greg Schiano, Rutgers converted a game-winning field goal with less than 30 seconds remaining in the 27-24 victory over UConn.
Junior PK San San Te drilled a 34-yard field goal with 13 seconds remaining to secure the three-point victory. He was named the BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 11 for his performance vs. UConn.
The only other game-winning field goal with less than 30 seconds to play came via the right foot of Jeremy Ito in 2006 vs. No. 3 Louisville. Ito booted a 28-yard field goal - with also 13 seconds remaining - to give Rutgers a thrilling 28-25 victory over Louisville.
A Debut for the Ages
Chas Dodd had one of the greatest debuts of any QB in school history with his 322-yard performance in the 27-24 victory over Connecticut on Oct. 8.
Dodd was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week by the league office and the BIG EAST Player of the Week by Rivals.com following the UConn game.
He completed six passes of 20 yards or longer in the contest. Dodd had career-bests in completions (18), yards (322) and touchdowns (2), while he completed a career-long pass of 52 yards.
Dodd threw for the third-highest yardage total in a single-game by a true freshman QB in school history.
The 322 passing yards for Dodd were the most ever by a quarterback making their first career start in the Greg Schiano era. It was the second-most passing yards by a quarterback in his first career start in school history, trailing only Mike McMahon with his 386 yards on 26-for-42 passing at Army in 1997.
It also marked the first 300-yard passing performance since Mike Teel (319 yards) against NC State in the PapaJohns.com Bowl on Dec. 29, 2008.
The 322 yards passing by Dodd were also the most by any player in the BIG EAST in 2010 at the time of the game.
Notable First Starts for Rutgers QBs
Year Player Opponent C-A-I Yards TD Long
2010 Chas Dodd* Connecticut 18-29-0 322 2 52
2009 Tom Savage* Howard 8-13-0 223 2 68
2009 Domenic Natale Cincinnati 8-12-3 108 0 20
2005 Mike Teel at Syracuse 13-27-2 203 2 37
2002 Ryan Hart* #1/1 Miami 9-23-2 110 0 40
2002 Ted Trump Buffalo 16-38-3 166 1 22
2001 Ryan Cubit* at Buffalo 11-23-2 157 2 39
1997 Mike McMahon* at Army 26-42-1 386 1 40
1981 Jacque LaPrairie* at Boston College 2-16-2 38 0 N/A
*True freshman
Shutout in Five Straight Seasons
Rutgers and Boise State are the only teams in the nation to record a shutout in each of the last five seasons. Here is a look at Rutgers' shutouts over the last five years:
2006: Illinois (33-0); Navy (34-0)
2007: Norfolk State (59-0)
2008: Morgan State (38-0)
2009: Texas Southern (42-0); USF (31-0)
2010: Norfolk State (31-0)
Return to Sender
The return game has provided excellent results over the first part of the season for the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers ranks 23rd nationally (second in the BIG EAST) in kickoff returns, averaging 23.9 yards per return.
Joe Lefeged is 24th in the NCAA and second in league play with an average return of 26.7 yards. Lefeged had a season-long 75-yard kickoff return to setup at touchdown in the victory over UConn.
Lefeged is looking to become the fourth Scarlet Knight in school history to lead the BIG EAST in kickoff returns. Gary Melton (1991), Terrell Willis (1993) and Nate Jones (2002) led the BIG EAST in kickoff returns in their respective year listed.
Single-Season Kickoff Return Yards Per Return
Rank Year Yards per Kickoff Return
1. 2005 24.8
2. 1988 24.0
3. 2010 23.9
3. 1991 23.9
5. 2009 23.8
6. 1960 23.1
Rutgers is 50th nationally in punt returns. Junior Mason Robinson returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown Nov. 3 at USF. It marked the first punt return for a touchdown for Rutgers since Willie Foster in 2005 vs. Pittsburgh.
Stingy Third Down Defense
One year after finishing 10th in the nation in third down efficiency defense (54-of-178, 30.3 %), the Scarlet Knights have continued to excel on third down in 2010.
Rutgers is 13th in the nation in third down defense. The Scarlet Knights have limited the opposition to 46-of-136 conversions (33%) on third down this season.
Jack of All Trades
Sophomore WR and Wild Knight QB Mohamed Sanu joined an impressive list of Scarlet Knights who have totaled 190 yards or more of all-purpose yards during the Greg Schiano era. Sanu rushed for 121 yards and totaled 70 yards receiving vs. Tulane on Oct. 2.
Sanu also recorded the longest run in school history - 91 yards - when he scored on the game's second offensive play.
The South Brunswick native leads Rutgers in rushing yards (309), tied for the lead in rushing touchdowns (4) and receptions (41).
Sanu is also 6-of-9 passing for 160 yards and three touchdowns in the Wild Knight.
Single-Game All-Purpose Yardage Leaders (Schiano era)
Rank All-Purpose Yards
1. Ray Rice vs. Ball State (1-5-08) 295
2. Ray Rice at Army (11-9-07) 255
3. Tiquan Underwood vs. Buffalo (8-30-07) 248
4. Mark Harrison at Cincinnati (11-20-10) 240
5. Ray Rice at Syracuse (10-13-07) 225
6. Ray Rice at Pittsburgh (10-21-06) 225
7. Ray Rice vs. Navy (9-7-07) 215
8. Ray Rice at North Carolina (9-2-06) 214
9. Kenny Britt vs. Army (11-22-08) 213
10. Ray Rice vs. Buffalo (8-30-07) 205
11. Ray Rice at USF (9-29-06) 202
12. Brian Leonard at Illinois (9-3-05) 193
13. Mohamed Sanu vs. Tulane (10-2-10) 191
Everyone Loves a Block Party
Greg Schiano has always preached the importance of special teams and the results have shown over his coaching career in Piscataway. Rutgers has blocked 48 kicks during the Schiano era, including two in the first game of the 2010 season by Brandon Bing against Norfolk State.
Joe Lefeged followed that effort up with two blocked punts of his own in the victory at Florida International. Rutgers is 21-16 under Schiano when blocking a kick in a game.
NCAA Blocked Kick Leaders (Since 2002)
1. Fresno State 55
2. Texas 49
3. Rutgers 48
4. Louisiana-Lafayette 43
5. Florida 42
Sweet Te
Rutgers junior PK San San Te is 16th among active career kickers in the nation with 44 made field goals. The 44 field goals also place Te third in school history in career field goals made. The North Carolina native is 14-for-20 on the season.
Inside 40 yards this season, Te has been nearly automatic, going 12-of-13. His only miss inside 40 yards was from 38 yards vs. North Carolina. In his career, Te is 38-of-44 from under 40 yards (86%).
Te also ranks 10th in BIG EAST history in career field goals. He needs one field goal to move into a tie for ninth place in the conference annals with former Miami PK Todd Sievers.
Representing the 305
Antonio Lowery, a native of Miami, has been all over the field in 2010. Lowery leads the team in tackles (86) and ranks third in the BIG EAST with 8.6 tackles per game.
Lowery totaled a career-high 19 tackles in the 23-20 overtime victory over Army. It was the most tackles by a Scarlet Knight during the Greg Schiano era and the most tackles by any player in the BIG EAST this season. The active linebacker has also recovered three fumbles and forced two fumbles this season.
28-5
Under head coach Greg Schiano, Rutgers is 28-5 when rushing for 175 yards or more in a game. Since the start of the 2006 season, the Scarlet Knights are 20-2 when going over the 175-yard mark on the ground in a game.
Rutgers is 1-0 when rushing for more than 175 yards in a game in 2010. The Scarlet Knights totaled 268 rushing yards in the 31-0 victory over Norfolk State.
