Welcome to www.Collegefootballfan.com

"Get off the couch and go to a game!"

The Goal - See 'em all!

#12 Rutgers Defense dominates UConn, 24-13

The Birthplace of College Football - We were home Sunday to spend some time with the family before heading to New Brunswick for the 8 pm start between UConn and Rutgers.  While there the BCS polls came out. To our surprise, Rutgers came out ranked #12.  The computers, for some reason, like them despite what human pollsters think.  In front of 41.077 and a national TV audience, the Scarlet Knights came out fired up and ready to maintain their #12 BCS standing against the challenge of Big East Conference rival, Connecticut, a team that two years ago leap-frogged the Knights into post-season "Bowling" after only four years on the D1A circuit.  Heisman hype abounds on the RU campus.  In August, highlight reels of SR FB Brian Leonard ran on the big screen in NYC's Times Square.  Already a distant memory, the Athletic Department now focuses on Soph Sensation Ray Rice, who came into this game with a 160+ yard rushing average per game.  The Rutgers Game Day  Program cover features his photo under the title "Heisman Trophy Candidate Ray Rice."  However, on this day, it was the highly-ranked RU defense who rose to the occasion to not only stop the Huskies offense, but to put points on the board while the RU offense tried to force their Heisman Candidate down the throats of the Huskies.  The Huskies chewed that strategy like a piece of old bone.  The game started out looking good for the RU offense, but it didn't end that way despite the Knights (8-0, 3-0) coming up on the winning side of a 24-13 score.  For CFF, this was the final game of our first ever Triple-header weekend - three games within 34 hours, a CFF record!

     The start of this game could not have been more perfect for the team who started this all back in 1869 here against the first-rival Princeton Tigers.  Willie Foster returned the opening kick-off out to the 41.  QB Mike Teel found receivers four times on four passes for 51 yards.  Heisman candidate Ray Rice carried it on the left side for the final five yards for a TD.  PK Jeremy Ito's conversion was good, and RU led, 7-0.  It looked easy.  It looked the way a #12 (or AP #15 for that matter) should look against a team with three wins against lackluster competition, but that's not the way the evening would continue.  We've learned that the second offensive series of any game is the best indicator of how a team will perform offensively for the rest of the game.  A second scoring drive will tell us that this can be a high-scoring game. A series of futility can tell us that the scoring will not be as easy as it was in the first series.  The Knights mustered thirty yards on the next series, punting to the Huskies from their own 33.  This indicated that we were probably not going to see a blow-out.  On this night, the RU defense would need to rise to the occasion when needed to make the big plays.  A 51-yard FG attempt by PK Matt Nuzie was the closest UConn would come to scoring in the first period.  It went wide right.

     In the second quarter, RU pushed the Huskies back near the end zone after their start from the 19.  At the 11, DE Jamall Westerman stripped the ball from QB DJ Hernandez ( 8 of 17 passing for 67 yards, 13 carries for -42 yards including 6 sacks).  The ball bounced around and out of the grasp of a few RU players before it was recovered in the end zone by DB Manny Collins for an 11-yard fumble recovery and TD.  14-0, Rutgers led after a review.  The Defense held the Huskies to three and out on the next series.  From their own 45, RU drove to the UConn 34.  From there PK Jeremy Ito nailed it down the middle of the uprights for a 51-yard FG to extend the Scarlet Knight lead, 17-0, with 9:00 remaining.  The teams exchanged punts.  Hernandez fumbled a snap on a desperate fourth and sixteen attempt, but S Courtney Green recovered it for the Knights at the UConn 47.  RU decided to strike quickly but to no avail as Teel's pass to Underwood down the right sideline was intercepted by a leaping Tyvon Branch.  RU was in the lead, but unimpressive throughout the first half as the teams left for intermission with the home team in the lead, 17-0 .  Guest Game Analyst Les Di Vite remarked that aside from the fumble recovery for a TD and a long FG, it was a very close game.  If RU didn't get more offense, the Huskies could still make this a difficult game. 

     The RU band performed during halftime, but you know you've been around a while when you start seeing college players you saw many years ago inducted into their school's Hall of Fame.  PK Alex Falcinelli, class of '83 and WR Chris Brantley from Lodi HS, RU class of '94 were inducted into the RU Hall at halftime.  We especially remember seeing Brantley play many times at the Meadowlands when we had the season ticket packages there.  We look back and realize that we enjoy the campus atmosphere much better.  Although, we did have some "Classic" tailgate parties at 17B in the good old days at the Meadowlands. 

     On the first series of the second half, the Huskies made it closer sooner than we expected.  The one bright spot for the Husky offense, Frosh RB Donald Brown from nearby Atlantic Highlands, NJ, burst through the middle of the vaunted RU defense for a 65-yard scoring run.  Filling in for injured SR Terry Caulley, he was a workhorse carrying 28 times for 199 yards and two TDs.  He outgained RU's Heisman Candidate by 120 yards on the evening.  It's RU's time to put away the Heisman hype and focus on winning football games instead.  Two bowl games since 1869 does not a Heisman school make.  Winning begats Heismans - first things first!  As for the Huskies, Brown was the only offensive threat they had all night as Hernandez's dive plays went about as far as his passing plays as he managed a total offense of 56 net yards on the evening.   Why SR QB Matt Bonislawski wasn't brought in to try to change things, we don't understand.  Nuzie's PAT made the score, 17-7.  Late in the period, return man Larry Taylor surprised the RU cover team as he picked up a bouncing punt and returned it 16 yards to the Rutgers 42.  Hernandez probably ran his most effective play of the game on a third and eight to gain a key first down for the Huskies.  The RU crowd seemed to lose any remaining enthusiasm at that point.  Frustration was setting in.  The offense was not clicking at all and the defense seemed to be unraveling.  Brown capped this scoring drive with a 5-yard TD run.  The snap of the extra point was botched, and a de-energized RU only led, 17-13. 

     At the start of Q4, Rutgers' offensive unit was in and out on three plays, incomplete passes thrown by Teel ( 11 of 24 with 1 INT for 123 yards).  He was rarely close to hitting his receiver.  As UConn shut down Ray Rice, so did it shut down the entire Rutgers offense.  And where was Brian Leonard?  The boo birds started their prolonged calls.  The teams exchanged punts.  DT Ramel Meekins and DE Jamaal Westerman sacked Hernandez near the 20 to force another UConn punt.  On the punt, Westerman broke through again to block the punt and put it in the end zone where it was recovered by LB Quintero Frierson who pounced on it for another RU defensive score with 8:36 remaining.  The late night crowd breathed a sigh of relief as Ito's conversion put the Knights ahead, 24-13.  UConn netted -2 yard on its next series as the RU "D" was finally playing inspired football again.  However, the effort went for naught when Willie Foster fumbled the ensuing punt and the Huskies were in control at the RU 49.  The defense never gave up.  DE William Beckford "sacked" Hernandez as he went down with nary a touch.  Neither team moved the ball from that point on.  CB Devin McCourty dotted the "i" in win for the defense as he picked off Hernandez's last pass to preserve the win for Scarlet Knights who ran out the clock to end the game to put them at 8-0 for the first time since 1976. 

    The offense now has 10 days to prepare for their game with Louisville.  The Knights will be unbeaten going into that game. The question is how the Cardinals will fare against #3 West Virginia, also undefeated, after the two teams clash this Thursday night.  A win or a loss by Louisville have them pumped either way for their game against the team who plays in the Birthplace of College Football.  We think RU's trump card for that game will be Brian Leonard who only carried seven times for 35 yards in this game.  If Rice gets boxed in and Teel is off again, look for the Knights to go to the big back early to take over this game.  He seemed to be the forgotten link tonight.  It's time to stop thinking Heisman candidates at RU and start pulling together all the offensive weapons that they need to win.  Even All-America TE Clark Harris only had two catches for 18 yards.  It's time to spread the wealth for the good of the team.  The Huskies (3-5,0-3) host Pitt in two weeks.  With four Big East games remaining, their bowl hopes look very slim despite six bowl contracts for the eight-team league.

Extra points:  Brian Leonard set the RU mark for pass receiving with his 193rd catch of his career in this game.  He finished the night with three snares for 31 yards.  Quite an accomplishment for a FB, but we hope that they balance the offense a little more and let him run the ball more often to take some of the burden off  of Rice.  They have two good running backs.  Mix it up!

We've heard that HC Greg Schiano is a control freak.  We noted that during pre-game stretching exercises, not only were players perfectly aligned, their helmets were set beside each player on the ground also in perfect alignment.  We sat in the closed end zone two seat from the top.  We also have the same seats there for the Louisville game.

We know UConn's fans are great travelers for both men's and women's basketball, and they were riding the crest two years ago on Connecticut's run to the Motor City Bowl, but we didn't see many at RU tonight.

From what we saw, somebody does a pretty good job of selecting the RU dance team!  The Stadium was rocking before the game as opposite side chanted "R" and "U", but that piped in drum roll before the Knights come out has to go! Play the fight song or blare "Knightly" horns instead.

RU does a great job now of moving people by bus to and from the parking area at the Rutgers Athletic Center (The RAC).  There are enough new, comfortable, well-lit  buses available to move fans quickly before and after the game.  We remember when Rutgers new Stadium first opened and we had to stand for quite a while in the rain to get horded into old school buses.  They've got their act together now.