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No. 25 Fresno State upends Rutgers, 24-7

New Brunswick, NJ - Fresno visited the Birthplace of College Football for the first time and played Rutgers to a 0-0 stalemate in the first half before Ryan Mathews got on track rushing for 165 yards and three TDs to lead the Bulldogs to a 24-7 win in the opener for both teams.  Kevin Goessling's 31-yard FG got the scoring started in the third period for the Bulldogs, but FSU struck quickly on its next possession when QB Tom Brandstrater connected with Seyi Ajirotutu on a 77-yard pass play that no Rutgers DB came close to covering!  Mathews took a pitch and ran it in from four to take a 10-0 Fresno lead. 

   To begin the fourth, RU go on the board when two Fresno defenders got tangled up and Tiquan Underwood snagged a 15-yard pass from Mike Teel to get to the one where Kordell Young took it in for six.  On the ensuing drive, Brandstater (11 of 24 for 216 yards)  connected again with Ajirotutu on a third and 23 and took it down to the RU one where Mathews took it in again.  In the second half, he hit big holes quickly and veered outside for big gains.  Mathews next capped a 55-yard drive with a TD from the one for his third TD of the second half.  With Fresno leading 24-7 , we watched NJ Governor Jon Corzine leave the building from the open end of Rutgers Stadium in a motorcade.  Hopefully put his seat belt on, and on the next play FSU's Marvin Haynes picked of Teel's pass to put the  Bulldogs (1-0) in the driver's seat. Many Rutgers "fans" were gone before their Governor. 

     Rutgers Young carried for 94 yard on 26 carries.  However, he was slow getting to holes and indicated no breakaway speed.  SE QB Mike Teel finished 20 of 39 for 263 yards and 2 INTs, but many passes were way off the mark to open receivers.  In the past a sore thumb was to blame, but his passes today were just as errant.  GGA Frank Scarpa agreed that by the end of the season, we will see one of the younger QBs playing for RU! 

Extra points: Frank, me, and the other GGAs Steve Ciesla and Eric Koreivo sat in section 201 with Fresno fans overlooking the south end zone area to be constructed with new seating.  We hope to see some improvement when we return on Thursday, September 11 when the Knights host UNC.  This loss was another jolt for the "improving Big East. Fresno has big games coming up against Wisconsin and UCLA before turning their sights on conference play and finishing with rival Boise State at the end of the season.