Football Defeats Delaware, 45-13

Saturday, September 18

Piscataway, N.J.

3:30 PM

Rutgers University

3-0 , 0-0

Delaware

2-1 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Delaware

Rutgers

Photo by: Mike Lawrence

Sep 18 | Football

Box Score Game Book Greg Schiano Postgame Press Conference Postgame Quotes Statistics Photo Gallery

RUTGERS 45 (3-0), DELAWARE 13 (2-1)
SHI STADIUM • PISCATAWAY, N.J.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2021 • ATTENDANCE: 40,129

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers football (3-0) defeated Delaware (2-1), 45-13, on Saturday afternoon at SHI Stadium. The Scarlet Knights cruised to their first 3-0 start since 2012.

Quarterback Noah Vedral went 21-for-26, including a 62-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Sanders and 28-yard touchdown toss to wide receiver Bo Melton. Vedral recorded a total of 323 passing yards in the win.

Running back Isaih Pacheco registered two rushing touchdowns for Rutgers. Wide receiver Aron Cruickshank led the Scarlet Knights with 151 all-purpose yards, highlighted by a 62-yard punt return score. Placekicker Valentino Ambrosio contributed a 34-yard field goal.

Defensively, linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi paced the squad with nine total tackles and two for loss. Defensive linemen Aaron Lewis and Julius Turner each registered 1.5 sacks, as the defense posted nine tackles-for-loss.

FIRST HALF

Rutgers started its scoring early. Vedral capped RU's first drive of the day with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Melton, giving the Scarlet Knights a 7-0 lead at the 9:34 mark in the first quarter.

Pretty much exactly what we picture whenever we think of Bo Melton. 💯@getbusy__bo // @RFootball pic.twitter.com/sReCBKpnTY
— Rutgers On BTN (@RutgersOnBTN) September 18, 2021

Moving into the second quarter, Pacheco registered a 20-yard rush for Rutgers' next score, extending the lead to 14-0 with 12:31 on the clock.

Memo to @RFootball opponents: @isaih_pacheco always finishes his runs. 💪 pic.twitter.com/Crb6Rh527S
— Rutgers On BTN (@RutgersOnBTN) September 18, 2021

Delaware used its next drive to get on the board, cutting into the margin 14-7 with 11:46 to go until halftime.

Second later, Rutgers countered with a 62-yard pass from Vedral to Sanders on the first play of its following drive, pushing its advantage to 21-7 at the 11:28 mark.

.@Noah11_V ➡️ @brandonxsanders @RFootball extends its early lead. pic.twitter.com/D6MqGJfW9Z
— Rutgers On BTN (@RutgersOnBTN) September 18, 2021

Though the Blue Hens connected on a 53-yard field goal, the Scarlet Knights posted on another touchdown with less than five minutes to go in the quarter, this one a six-yard rush by Aaron Young to give RU a 28-10 lead.

😤@aaronyoung04 powers his way into the end zone for the @RFootball score. pic.twitter.com/NbGlDRg7Tj
— Rutgers On BTN (@RutgersOnBTN) September 18, 2021

RU was not finished there. Cruickshank would go on to return a punt 62 yards for a 35-10 Scarlet Knight-lead entering the break.

Is there a better returner than @RFootball's Aron Cruickshank (@Ac_Hollywood_)? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/0U6vk6EGG5
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 18, 2021

SECOND HALF

Ambrosio started off the third quarter scoring for RU with a 34-yard field goal, pushing the advantage to 38-10. The Blue Hens responded with a 41-yard field goal of their own to set the margin at 38-13 at the end of the third frame.

Moving into the fourth quarter, Pacheco kept the RU momentum rolling with his second rushing touchdown of the game, establishing the game's final margin at 45-13.

How much fun is it to watch @RFootball's @isaih_pacheco run the 🏈? pic.twitter.com/pVtcUvhkUH
— Rutgers On BTN (@RutgersOnBTN) September 18, 2021

UP NEXT

Rutgers travels to Michigan to begin Big Ten play on Saturday, Sept. 25. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be televised live on ABC.

A regular #ForTheBrand contributor, it's @RFootball's @AdamKorsak with an absolute beauty. pic.twitter.com/vg5hoCpIr2
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 18, 2021

Look at @RFootball's @johnnylangan2! 👀 pic.twitter.com/bXLnQXfsz6
— Rutgers On BTN (@RutgersOnBTN) September 18, 2021

Bo knows big plays.@getbusy__bo // @RFootball pic.twitter.com/E6usxFVVFk
— Rutgers On BTN (@RutgersOnBTN) September 18, 2021

PARTICIPATION

Collegiate debut (5): LB Khayri Banton, OL Kamar Missouri, WR Nasir Montgomery, QB Evan Simon, OL Gus Zilinskas
Consecutive games played: Bo Melton (48), Billy Taylor (48), Julius Turner (48)

NOTES

Rutgers improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2012.
Head coach Greg Schiano earned his 74th victory leading the Scarlet Knights, tying Harvey Harmon for second in program history. Frank Burns holds the school record with 78 wins.
Rutgers advanced to 43-19 in non-conference games under Schiano, having won 20 of the last 23. That includes a 26-10 mark at home and winners of 12 of the last 14.
Rutgers finished non-conference play in the regular season with a 3-0 mark. The last season with a perfect non-conference slate in the regular season was 2014.
Rutgers moved to 16-13-3 all-time versus Delaware. It was the first meeting since 1973.
Rutgers scored at least 40 points in each of its first two home games for the third time in program history (1915, 1949).
WR Aron Cruickshank scored his first career punt return touchdown. The 62-yard return was a career long. He now has five kick return touchdowns (four kickoff, one punt). It was also the 56th non-offensive touchdown for the Scarlet Knights under Schiano and fifth since 2020.
Rutgers did not concede a turnover for the third-straight game. The Scarlet Knights last achieved the feat in 2009. It was the 31st game overall under Schiano without committing a turnover.
Rutgers was charged with only two penalties, committing just seven so far in 2021, the least amount against through three games this century.
Rutgers went 10-for-14 on third down, tied for the third-best percentage (71.4) in a game under Schiano.
Rutgers did not allow a sack for the second game this season.
Rutgers improved to 55-27 when scoring first under Schiano, 54-17 when having more sacks, 17-2 when scoring at least 40 points, 22-7 when converting at least 50 percent on third down and 26-2 when recording at least five sacks.
QB Noah Vedral topped 300 passing yards for the second time in his career with 323 yards on a 21-for-26 day. That included seven pass plays of at least 20 yards. He now has six games as a Scarlet Knight with at least 20 completions and holds a 71.6 completion percentage (58-for-81) in 2021.
WR Bo Melton moved into 10^th place in program history in career receptions (129) with six catches. He totaled 125 yards for his fourth career game in triple figures. Melton scored his 10^th career receiving touchdown.
P Adam Korsak downed his third punt of the season at the 1-yard line.
WR Brandon Sanders scored his first touchdown as a Scarlet Knight on a 62-yard reception.
RB Isaih Pacheco scored two touchdowns on the ground for his fourth career multiple-score rushing game.

Follow Rutgers football on Twitter (@RFootball), Facebook (/RFootballShow) and Instagram (@rfootball) for the latest news and updates. Also subscribe to the YouTube channel and bookmark Rutgers.Football, the Scarlet Knights' dedicated recruiting site.