Game 1: Football at No. 14/18 Washington
Aug 29 | Football
RUTGERS (0-0) at No. 14/18 WASHINGTON (0-0)
September 3, 2016 • 2 p.m. ET
Husky Stadium • Seattle, Wash.
• Notes: Game 1
• Monday News Conference
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: Pac-12 Network
Radio: Rutgers IMG Sports Network
WOR 710-AM, WCTC 1450-AM, WENJ 97.3-FM, WNJE 920-AM
Satellite Radio: * Sirius 132; XM 197 (* Home team broadcast)
• The Rutgers IMG Sports Network pregame show begins at 1 p.m. with hosts Marc Malusis and David Milewski. Game broadcast starts at 2 p.m. with Chris Carlin and Ray Lucas in the booth, while Anthony Fucilli will provide sideline coverage.
ALL-TIME SERIES
• Rutgers and Washington will meet for the first time in the teams' history. The programs also have a game scheduled to open the 2017 season at High Point Solutions Stadium.
• This marks the third time RU will play a team from the state of Washington.
• Rutgers closed out a two-game series against Washington State with a split, as each team won on the road. RU won the game in Seattle, 41-38, in 2014.
• Rutgers vs. Washington will broadcast on Pac-12 Network with Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play), Anthony Herron (analyst) and Lewis Johnson (sideline) on the call.
ASH ERA BEGINS
• Chris Ash was hired as the 30th head coach in Rutgers football history on Dec. 7, 2015 after spending two seasons as co-defensive coordinator/safeties at Ohio State, winning the 2014 national championship. 2016 will mark Ash's first as a head coach, as he went 16-3 in season openers as an assistant coach at previous stops, including winning the previous seven.
• Since 1924, Rutgers head coaches in their RU debut are 11-1. The only loss was a 15-12 setback for Dick Anderson at No. 11/7 Penn State, 15-12, in 1984. All-time, Rutgers head coaches are 14-11-1 in their first game leading the Scarlet Knights. List of previous 12 RU head coach debuts:
Kyle Flood (9/1/12) at Tulane: W, 24-12
Greg Schiano (8/31/01) at Buffalo: W, 31-15
Terry Shea (8/31/96) vs. Villanova: W, 38-28
Doug Graber (9/8/90) vs. Kentucky: W, 24-8
Dick Anderson (9/8/84) at 11/7 Penn St.: L, 15-12
Frank Burns (9/22/73) at Lehigh: W, 31-13
John Bateman (9/24/60) at Princeton: W, 13-8
John Steigman (9/22/56) vs. Ohio Wesleyan: W, 33-13
Harvey Harman (9/24/38) vs. Marietta: W, 20-0
J. Wilder Tasker (9/26/31) vs. Providence: W, 19-0
Harry Rockafeller (10/1/27) vs. Manhattan: W, 8-0
John Wallace (9/27/24) vs. Villanova: W, 14-0
SCARLET KNIGHTS VS. HUSKIES
• Washington marks the fourth different Pac-12 opponent Rutgers will face in its history, previously playing Arizona State (0-2), California (0-2) and Washington State (1-1).
• Saturday will be the fourth road season opener in the last five years for the Scarlet Knights and third on the west coast in four openers.
• Rutgers is 9-6-2 starting the season on the road since 1980. The last time RU played a ranked opponent to start the season was in 1985 at No. 5 Florida, a game that ended tied at 28.
• The Scarlet Knights are 75-62-9 all-time in season openers and 11-5 since 2000.
• RU has scored at least 41 points in each of its last three openers and posted 35 shutouts all-time on opening day.
• All-time RU games in the Pacific Time Zone include 1999 at California, 2013 at Fresno State and 2014 vs. Washington State in Seattle. Played at CenturyLink Field, Rutgers came back to beat the Cougars, 41-38, two seasons ago. The trip to Seattle is the third-longest trek in the continental United States in school history.
• Husky Stadium marks the 23rd consecutive different road venue in as many Rutgers games played away from home in the regular season.
• The Scarlet Knights and Huskies will also face off to start the 2017 season at High Point Solutions Stadium.
RUTGERS AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Rutgers is scheduled to face five teams ranked inside the top 20 in the preseason AP Poll, starting with the game versus No. 14 Washington. Others include No. 6 Ohio State, No. 7 Michigan, No. 12 Michigan State and No. 17 Iowa. The Scarlet Knights own nine victories over a ranked opponent in their history, with the last one on the road coming in 2008 at No. 17/20 Pittsburgh. List of wins over ranked teams:
11/2/46 at No. 17/NR Harvard, 13-0
11/3/79 at No. 17/NR Tennessee, 13-7
11/10/84 vs. No. 19/18 West Virginia, 23-19
9/10/88 at No. 15/14 Michigan State, 17-13
9/24/88 at No. 15/13 Penn State, 21-16
11/9/06 vs. No. 3/4 Louisville, 28-25
10/18/07 vs. No. 2/2 USF, 30-27
10/25/08 at No. 17/20 Pittsburgh, 54-34
11/12/09 vs. No. 23/24 USF, 31-0
NEWS AND NOTES
• Rutgers has played 1,313 games, the most in major college football. The program is in its 148th year and 147th season of action.
• Rutgers plays eight-straight weeks to start the season without a bye for the first time since 2008.
• Rutgers has only played two prior games on Sept. 3 in program history: 1994 vs. Kent State (W, 28-6) and 2005 at Illinois (L, 33-30 OT).
• Rutgers last played an overtime game in 2013 at SMU (triple-overtime win) and is 5-6 all-time in overtime games overall.
MEMORABLE SEASON OPENERS
Here is a look back at some of the most memorable season openers for the Scarlet Knights.
Fresno St. 52, Rutgers 51 (8/29/2013 at FSU)
In one of ESPNU's Top 25 college football games of the entire season, Fresno State stopped Rutgers' attempt at a two-point conversion in overtime to defeat the Scarlet Knights 52-51. The 103 combined points scored were the most in a season opener in RU history. The two teams combined for 1,094 yards of total offense and 55 first downs.
Rutgers 38, Buffalo 3 (8/30/2007 at RU)
Rutgers cruised to an easy 38-3 victory over Buffalo as Tiquan Underwood set a school record with 248 yards receiving. The New Jersey native hauled in 10 receptions on the night, including a pair of touchdowns in the 35-point victory.
Rutgers 21, North Carolina 16 (9/2/2006 at UNC)
Rutgers' historic 2006 season began with an All-America performance by Ray Rice as the sophomore running back rushed for 201 yards to lead the Scarlet Knights to a 21-16 victory on the road in Chapel Hill. The victory propelled Rutgers to a 9-0 start in 2006 en route to an overall record of 11-2 and a 12th place finish in the final national rankings.
Rutgers 19, Michigan St. 14 (9/4/2004 at RU)
In front of an ABC television audience and a sell-out crowd at Rutgers Stadium, Rutgers stopped Michigan State 19-14 to open the 2004 season. Jeremy Ito connected on four field goals and Ryan Neill returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown in the win.
Rutgers 31, Buffalo 15 (8/30/2001 at UB)
The first game of the Greg Schiano era finished in the win column for the Scarlet Knights. Dennis Thomas rushed for 177 yards on 30 carries and Ryan Cubit threw for 157 yards and two touchdowns in his first game as a Scarlet Knight to help secure the victory.
Rutgers 20, Boston College 13 (8/31/1991 at RU)
Rutgers and Boston College played the inaugural Big East conference game as the Scarlet Knights defeated the Eagles 20-13 at Rutgers Stadium. Bill Bailey scored the first touchdown in league history just 1:17 into the game while Tom Tarver threw for 275 yards and a touchdown.
Rutgers 17, #15/14 Michigan St. 13 (9/10/1988 at MSU)
The 1988 season began with a bang as Rutgers upset Michigan State 17-13 in East Lansing. Scott Erney completed 25-of-36 passes for 239 yards and Doug Kokoskie recovered a MSU fumble at the RU 10-yard line with 5:32 remaining to seal the upset over the defending Rose Bowl champions.
Rutgers 28, #5 Florida 28 (9/14/1985 at UF)
Backup quarterback Joe Gagliardi came off the bench to rally Rutgers and completed a two-point conversion pass to Curtis Stephens with 35 seconds remaining as the Scarlet Knights, trailing by 21 points at one point, tied fifth-ranked Florida, 28-28, in Gainesville.
#11/7 Penn St. 15, Rutgers 12 (9/8/1984 at PSU)
In his first game as head coach at Rutgers, Dick Anderson returned to State College to face Penn State, where he spent 11 years as an assistant coach under Joe Paterno. Anderson's Scarlet Knights were tied at 10 at halftime versus the nationally-ranked Nittany Lions, but a second-half safety and field goal proved too much as the Scarlet Knights lost 15-12.
Rutgers 16, Princeton 13 (9/30/1961 at PU)
An 83-yard pass play from Bill Speranza to Lee Curley, and a two-point run by Dave Brody with 3:27 to play gave Rutgers a 16-7 edge en route to a 16-13 victory over Princeton, Rutgers' fourth straight win over the Tigers. The win was the first as the Scarlet Knights finished the 1961 season 9-0 - the first undefeated season in school history.
Rutgers 6, Princeton 4 (11/6/1869 at RU)
The first college football game was played at College Field in New Brunswick as Rutgers came away with a 6-4 victory.
OFFENSE
• Rutgers has transitioned to the spread offense in 2016 under offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer. He is the youngest play caller in the power five conferences at 28 years old.
• The school record for offensive plays run from scrimmage in a game is 95 set three times: 9/14/91 at Duke, 11/11/95 at Tulane, 10/1/11 at Syracuse (3OT). The season-high in 2015 was 83 against Kansas and Indiana.
Quarterback
Chris Laviano
• Named starting quarterback for the season opener on Aug. 22.
• Played in all 12 games last season with 11 starts and went 187-for-307 passing for a 60.9 completion percentage - the best by an RU quarterback since Mike Teel in 2008 - and 16 touchdown passes.
• Totaled 2,247 passing yards to mark the eighth-most in a year in school history and placed seventh in the Big Ten with a 131.8 passing efficiency rating (third among returning Big Ten quarterbacks).
• Recorded 9-of-16 touchdown passes on first-down throws last season. Finished with a career-best four touchdown passes versus Maryland.
• Threw for a career-best 386 yards at Indiana, tied for the fifth-best mark in school history and sixth-best mark by a Big Ten quarterback last season. Went 7-of-8 for 105 yards in the fourth quarter to help engineer first career last-quarter comeback.
• Owns two career 300-yard passing games.
Running Backs
Justin Goodwin
• Led all running backs with 13 receptions and 93 receiving yards last season.
• Owns three career games with at least 100 yards rushing, including 149 rushing yards and three total touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving), including the winning 17-yard run in triple overtime, in first extended action at SMU as a freshman in 2013.
• Started at cornerback and had an interception in Rutgers' last trip to Seattle in 2014 versus Washington State.
Josh Hicks
• Averaged 5.2 yards per carry last season on 130 attempts to bring his career yards/carry to 5.6, third-best in program history with a minimum of 100 rushes.
• Picked up a first down on 9-of-11 carries on third down last season.
• Rushed for 202 in the 2014 Quick Lane Bowl to become sixth Scarlet Knight in program history to reach 200 yards in a game.
• Owns four career games with at least 100 yards rushing.
Robert Martin
• Led the team with 763 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns and 141 rushing attempts in 2015.
• Ranked 10th in the Big Ten with 63.6 rushing yards per game.
• Picked up 5.41 yards per carry to rank sixth in the conference and 58th nationally. Averaged 5.0 yards on first down and 6.7 on second down. Career yards per carry of 5.25 is sixth in school history with a minimum of 100 carries.
• Has three career 100-yard games. Leads all players on the roster with 1,197 career rushing yards.
• Led Rutgers with seven rushing touchdowns as a freshman, the most for a Rutgers true freshman since Justise Hairston had eight in 2003.
Wide Receivers
Carlton Agudosi
• Averaged 18.4 yards per catch on 17 receptions last season. Reeled in the longest team passing play of the year of 58 yards versus Ohio State.
• Picked up 72 yards on three receptions in the fourth quarter at Indiana, including two third-down receptions on game-winning drive.
Janarion Grant
• Named Second Team All-Big Ten by the media and Third Team All-Big Ten by the coaches as a return specialist in 2015.
• Leads the active roster with 63 career receptions. Picked up first career receiving touchdown versus Maryland to end the year.
• Finished second last season in the Big Ten with 1,583 all-purpose yards (984 kick returns, 352 receiving, 167 punt returns, 80 rushing). Averaged 131.92 yards per game to rank No. 20 nationally. Currently fifth in school history with 3,596 career all-purpose yards, a total that leads all returning Big Ten players.
• Recorded a school-record 984 kickoff return yards, tops in the conference. Returned three kickoffs for touchdowns to rank second in the country. Added 167 punt return yards to total 1,151 combined kick return yards, second nationally. Has a school-record 2,411 career kickoff return yards.
• Returned both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown versus Washington State, the first Rutgers player to do both in the same game in the modern era.
• Has six career touchdowns on special teams (four kickoff return, two punt return). Also has one career passing touchdown.
• Owns six career kick returns of at least 70 yards.
• Had a team-leading 31 plays gaining at least 20 yards last year (21 kickoff return, five receiving, three punt return, two rushing), with four going for touchdowns. Recorded 77 such plays in his career, totaling 34 in 2014 and 12 in 2013.
• Named to the preseason Hornung Award watch list.
Vance Matthews
• Reeled in first career catch with an 18-yard reception at No. 16 Michigan.
• Added five tackles on special teams last season.
Andre Patton
• Leads active players on the roster with 704 career receiving yards.
• Converted a first down on 25-of-34 receptions last season.
John Tsimis
• Missed 10 games last season due to injury.
• Owns 25 career receptions for 254 yards.
Tight Ends
• Nick Arcidiacono and Matt Flanagan combined for 23 receptions, 202 yards and three touchdowns last season.
DEFENSE
• Rutgers implements the rugby-style tackling technique.
• Rutgers finished tied for third in the Big Ten with 13 interceptions last season.
Defensive Line
Darius Hamilton
• Leads current team with 39 games played, 24.5 career tackles-for-loss and 10.5 sacks.
• The first three-time captain in Rutgers football history.
• Named to the preseason Outland Trophy watch list.
Linebackers
• Rutgers graduated all three of its starting linebackers from 2015, with Deonte Roberts (one start) returning as the only player with starting experience.
Secondary
Anthony Cioffi
• Tied for third in the Big Ten with four interceptions last season. Owns six in his career.
SPECIAL TEAMS
• Since 2009, Rutgers has blocked 44 kicks (field goals & punts) on special teams, the most by any team in the NCAA during that span. The Scarlet Knights have blocked multiple kicks every year since 2007.
$100,000 KICKOFF RETURN CONTEST
For the second-straight season, Rutgers students who attend the Scarlet Knights' home opener against Howard on Sept. 10 will have an opportunity to win a share of $100,000. If Rutgers football returns its opening kickoff for a touchdown against the Bison, 100 students will win $1,000 each in the contest presented by Autoland.
ASH ANNOUNCES 2016 TEAM CAPTAINS
Rutgers football head coach Chris Ash announced that fifth-year seniors Darius Hamilton, Chris Muller, Derrick Nelson and Julian Pinnix-Odrick will serve as 2016 team captains for the Scarlet Knights. Hamilton earns the honor for the third-straight year, making him the first three-time captain in the history of Rutgers football dating back to 1869.
THE HUNT
Throughout the Rutgers football facilities are signs that read "The Hunt."
"'The Hunt' is really the theme of the team," said head coach Chris Ash. We're basically chasing the other teams in the Big Ten. We can't make any secret about that. To chase them, we gotta go hunt every single day. Whether it's in the weight room, out in the indoor (bubble) with our special workouts or in practice.''
KNIGHTED = READY FOR COMBAT
Another tradition borrowed from head coach Chris Ash's time at Ohio State, Scarlet Knight players will have black stripes running along the crown of their practice helmets. Only when a player has that stripe removed will they see game action.
"The black stripe is a symbol that when it's removed from your helmet, you are game ready, you're combat ready to go play," said Ash. "The players know that if they have a black stripe on their helmet, they will not play in a game here. They're not ready. They're not ready in terms of their ability, in terms of their trust level and a lot of other things that can go into it."
SCARLET KNIGHTS WORK TO BE 10 STRONG
One of the mantras seen around the Rutgers football program is "10 Strong" which refers to the 10 position groups on the team: Quarterback, running back, tight end, wide receiver, offensive line, defensive line, linebacker, cornerback, safety and specialist. Head coach Chris Ash stresses the importance of all those units working at a high level in unison to reach peak performance.
"That really is one of the ultimate goals of the program," said Ash. "We're not going to talk about winning, we're not going to talk about championships, we're not going to talk about red-letter games and things like that. We're going to talk about the process of getting 10 strong. We have 10 position groups of the football team when you count the offense, defense and the specialists together. If we can get 10 units operating at maximum capacity, then we're going to have a chance for success. That's really what it's all about for us."
LIFE BEYOND THE GAME
Rutgers head coach Chris Ash instituted the "Life Beyond the Game" program, designed at preparing football players for their careers after their college playing days have ended.
"The percentage of our guys going to the NFL is very small," said Ash. "Even if you do go to the NFL, your lifespan there could be very short and then what are you going to do for the rest of your life? Universities have programs set up to help the general students population with alumni, but I think it's our obligation to help student-athletes in their life after football.''
PLAYER NUTRITION
Upon taking over the Rutgers football program, head coach Chris Ash hired Allison Kreimeier, the team's first full-time director of performance nutrition who's responsible for making sure players understand the do's and don'ts of eating right and staying hydrated.
"There is so much that we're putting into sports science and nutrition. We're trying to promote the right type of lifestyle that helps you maximize performance."
