Rutgers Football

There are many who consider this game to be the biggest victory in Rutgers history, due in large part because of the way in which the game unfolded. Of course, what made the victory even more monumental was the fact that it was against a Big East foe who had been ranked as the No. 3 team in the nation.

Without question, it certainly ranks as the greatest home victory ever. In fact, the game was so thrilling that ESPN named it an "instant classic," and they re-aired the contest 24 hours later.

The 2006 season was not long ago; it was the year that a pre-LeBron James Miami Heat team won the NBA title and the Florida Gators boasted two titles—one in basketball and one in football.

In cinema, The Da Vinci Code was a great mystery, but greater still was the mystery of what would happen on the gridiron when Louisville (8-1) traveled to Rutgers to play an undefeated Scarlet Knights (9-0) squad on a nationally-broadcast ESPN game.

In Piscataway, NJ, head coach Greg Schiano had gotten the Scarlet Knights to believe in themselves, molding a group of players who would go on to play in the NFL into a formidable force in the Big East.

Louisville came in riding the crest of a wave that had them ranked top-five in the nation, and the fans that packed Rutgers Stadium that night saw why the Cardinals had earned that distinction.

Running back Anthony Allen staked the Cardinals to an early 7-0 lead on a 2-yard touchdown run, completing an 80-yard drive in 8 plays. But the Knights struck back less than three minutes later when quarterback Mike Teel hit Tiquan Underwood with a 26-yard scoring strike to tie the game at 7-7.

From there, the hearts of Rutgers fans sank as Louisville scored again and again and again, and with just 6:34 left in the first half, the Scarlet Knights trailed 25-7. At that point, even the most ardent fans must have had serious doubts about the game's outcome.

Little did the 44,111 fans in Rutgers Stadium realize at that time, but no one would be seeing Louisville score again for the remainder of the contest.

Desperately needing a score before the half, the Scarlet Knights got into position with a 67-yard completion from Teel (8-for-21, 189 yards) to future-NFL receiver Kenny Britt. From there, running back Ray Rice swept right on a 4-yard scoring run to bring the score to 25-14 as the half wound to a close.

Rutgers so thoroughly controlled the balance of the game that the Cardinals' No. 2-ranked offense could not muster a first down for the first 26 minutes of the second half. 

Ray Rice (22 carries for 131 yards and 2 TDs) scored again from four yards out to close to the game to a three-point deficit in the third quarter, at 25-22. When kicker Jeremy Ito hit a 46-yard field goal with 10:13 left in the game, the score was tied, setting up one of the most famous finishes in the history of Rutgers football.

Neither team could break the tie until, on their final drive, Rutgers drove 80 yards in 11 plays to get into position for Jeremy Ito to try a 33-yard field goal in the final seconds.

Which he then missed.

"It was just a bad kick," Ito would say to reporters after the game of the missed kick. The kicker got a second chance because Louisville had been offsides on the play, and thanks to the five-yard penalty, Ito then lined up and kicked the go-ahead 28-yard field goal—which ended up being the game winner—with :13 seconds left.

From there, the clock ran out on the Cardinals, and the home crowd spilled out onto the field with the final score Rutgers 28, Louisville 25. "It was a little scary at the end with the mob scene," said head coach Greg Schiano after the game. "But it was fun. This is the way college football is supposed to be."

"This is the new Rutgers," said senior fullback Brian Leonard of the victory. The Scarlet Knights would end up going 11-2-0 for the season, finishing the year with a victory over Kansas State in the 2006 Texas Bowl.

Rutgers leads the all-time series with Louisville (7-4-0) but by far, this was the biggest game ever played between these two Big East rivals.

While many fans have been looking forward to the 2012 campaign under new head coach Kyle Flood, the Scarlet Knights have been busy procuring talent for the 2013 season and beyond.

With the fresh start in the coaching regime this upcoming season, Rutgers has already been busy appropriating talent for Kyle Flood's second year at the helm, particularly at the skill positions. While a number of players have already committed, there are others with offers still under consideration. Those who have committed include:

Quarterbacks: Chis Laviano, (6'2", 197 lbs) from Hicksville, NY. Generally regarded to have a good arm, strength and accuracy, Laviano reportedly gave Syracuse some consideration, but committed to Kyle Flood's program on June 15th. Some sources list the Scarlet Knights looking at as many as 15 other quarterbacks, with offers out to four of them.

Running Backs: Dontea Ayres, (5'8", 205 lbs) committed on May 25 from Wicomico High School in Salisbury, MD. With a time of 4.5 in the 40-yard dash, Ayres reportedly received offers from five other schools including long-time Rutgers rival, West Virginia. Justin Goodwin (5'11", 185 lbs), a local Garden State prospect form Madison, NJ, committed to Rutgers on May 17 after reportedly receiving four other offers, including Big East rivals Connecticut and Temple.

Receivers: John Tsimis (5'11", 180 lbs) is another local New Jersey prospect who reportedly turned down offers from Ivy League schools (Pennsylvania, Princeton and Harvard) to join the Scarlet Knights in 2013. With a reputation for being able to snag the long pass, Tsimis has spent much of his high school career as a split end, with a limited amount of time in the slot. Tsimis committed to the Knights on May 25.

Defensive Line: On June 12, Egg Harbor (NJ) Township's Eric Wiafe (6'5", 258 lbs) committed to the Scarlet Knights after turning down offers from Buffalo and Massachusetts. With a 4.9 time in the 40-yard dash, Wiafe also had a 29.2 inch vertical jump at the Philadelphia Nike Combine. He committed to Rutgers on June 12.

Linebackers: Currently, no linebacker prospects have committed to Rutgers, but they do reportedly have an offer out to Jeremy Benjamin from Hollywood, FL. At 6'3", 225 pounds with a time of 4.6 in the 40-yard dash, Benjamin has been courted by 15 other schools (including West Virginia, Purdue and Kansas State), all of which have made offers to him.

Defensive Backs: Anthony Cioffi (6'0", 175 lbs) is a very athletic prospect out of Springfield, NJ, where he played quarterback, receiver and safety. He committed to Rutgers on February 19. Another safety, South Brunswick High School's T.J. Taylor (6'3", 185 lbs), declined offers from Big East members Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Temple before committing to RU on June 7.

Of these players, the one rated highest by ESPN is Chris Laviano, whom Rivals.com rates as No. 28 in the country at the quarterback position.

"I've pretty much known for quite a while that Rutgers was my top choice," said Laviano of his decision to join the Scarlet Knights over other schools. "It's more about Rutgers and more about my feelings and expectations for what this Rutgers program is going to be."

Rarely do seasons start so well.

As Dick Anderson entered the season as the Scarlet Knights' head coach, he was looking to take Rutgers above their mediocre play of the previous two years (5-5-1 in 1986 and 6-5-0 in 1987), and put the program in the right direction. In his first season (1984), the team posted a respectable 7-3-0 mark, but fell flat the following year, struggling to a 2-8-1 record.

But in 1988, while the Edmonton Oilers were the team to beat in hockey, the Lakers ruled the hardwood and the Dodgers were on their way to winning the World Series, Americans were also talking about movies like Rain Man and Who Framed Roger Rabbit after discussing the latest episode of The Cosby Show. And while "glasnost" might have loosened Soviet society a bit that year, they were still not able to listen to Billboard's number one song on September 10, 1988: "Sweet Child O' Mine."

It was on that day that the Rutgers Scarlet Knights traveled to East Lansing, Michigan to play the season opener against the No.15-ranked Spartans. Opening on the road would be tough enough, but opening against a nationally-ranked Big 10 team at their home stadium (where the Spartans have traditionally won more than two-thirds of their games) seemed like an extra-tall order for Rutgers.

It had been 69 years since Rutgers had played a Big 10 team, and now Dick Anderson was bringing his squad into enemy territory against the defending Rose Bowl winners—a team that had finished third in the nation in total defense in 1987, and number one against the run.

But Michigan State wasn't the only team with a fired-up defense. The Scarlet Knights made the day tough for Spartans' quarterback Bobby McAllister, who could only manage to complete 8 of 18 passes all day for a paltry 80 yards. In fact, the lone touchdown that the Spartans could muster came on a 1-yard plunge by McAllister himself.

Conversely, Rutgers quarterback Scott Erney threw for 239 yards and the Scarlet Knights posted a 17-0 lead in the second quarter after scoring strikes to receivers Eric Young and Brett Mersola. In fact, against Michigan State the Knights rolled up 333 total yards in offense, 61 of which came on the Erney-to-Young touchdown pass that put Rutgers ahead 7-0.

Head coach George Perles' Spartans chipped away at the lead, and eventually closed the gap to 17-13. From there, quarterback Bobby McAllister took Michigan State from their own 35 yard line down to the Rutgers 15 with time winding down in the fourth quarter. Needing a touchdown for the lead, the Spartans attempted to use the clock as they moved towards the goal line.

On first down from the Rutgers 15, running back Blake Ezor was tackled for a one yard loss. On second down, the Spartans went back to the run, and as Ezor ran wide right, he rambled down to the 10 yard line but fumbled, where an opportunistic Doug Kokoskie fell on the ball for the Scarlet Knights.

With what seemed like an eternity to kill, the Scarlet Knights drained the remaining 5:23 seconds of life in the game and stunned the home crowd of 70,693 in attendance at Spartan Stadium, knocking off Michigan State by a final score of 17-13. In fact, the Knights squeezed the time out of the final period, controlling the clock and the ball for 9:16 in the fourth quarter.

The win was Rutgers' first over a top-25-ranked team since they defeated West Virginia in 1984, and while this seemed to be the start that the Scarlet Knights needed to ensure a successful season, the year was a difficult one. The Knights finished the year 5-6-0, and when the team went 2-7-2 in 1989, head coach Dick Anderson moved on, replaced by Doug Graber.

Quarterback Scott Erney ended the season with 13 TD passes, and 41 touchdown passes (tied for 4th all-time) for his career at Rutgers. In addition, Erney ranks 3rd all-time in passing yards and 3rd in completions. Following college, Erney spent two seasons with NFL Europe's Barcelona Dragons, but never made it to the NFL.

One 1988 Rutgers player who did go on to NFL success was tight end James Jenkins, who played from 1991 to 2000 with the Washington Redskins. In his time with the Redskins, Jenkins was fortunate enough to win a Super Bowl.

All time, Rutgers leads the head-to-head series with Michigan State, 3-2-0. But the biggest of these victories was undoubtedly against the No. 15-ranked Spartans on their home field on September 10, 1988.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights will once again field a top-notch defense in 2012.  This season, their stellar defense may even carry them to a Big East title.  With almost every important player returning, a new (but familiar) defensive coordinator and no dreaded West Virginia game, look for the Knights to have the best defense in the Big East.      

First year head coach Kyle Flood will certainly have his hands full this season attempting to duplicate last year's success on the defensive side of the ball.  But he made a move in the right direction when he hired Robb Smith as his defensive coordinator. 

Flood knows how successful Rutgers has been defensively over the last couple of seasons and wants to continue that success.  And he believes Smith is the man to do it. (via NJ.com)

I couldn't be happier he stayed on staff, Flood continued, The way Rutgers has played defense the past seven years is as good as anybody in the country, and I believe we'll be able to keep that tradition alive with Robb Smith as our defensive coordinator going forward.

Smith had spent the last three seasons as the Knights' special teams coordinator and knows this aggressive defensive system well.  

In 2012, Smith will be looking to build on last season's outstanding defensive performance.  The Knights were one of the elite defenses in 2011. They were extremely stingy; they allowed the eighth fewest points in the nation and only allowed more than 20 points in four of their 13 games (via ESPN).

Along with being one of the top scoring defenses in the country, Rutgers also ranked No. 12 in yards allowed.  They were especially good against the pass—they gave up just over 170 yards per game, good enough for ninth in college football.

The Knights' success against opponents' passing attacks was, in large part, due to the outstanding play of guys like star cornerback Logan Ryan, Brandon Jones and Duron Harmon—all three are returning for Rutgers.  The lone defensive backfield starter from 2011 who won't be returning is David Rowe, who disallowed countless big plays as the Knights' last line of defense.

With Rowe now gone, the Knights will need to find a replacement.  

Harmon, who had a team-high five interceptions last season, will shift from strong safety to free safety to fill the void left by Rowe. And it seems as if Robb Smith has found his starting strong safety in sophomore Lorenzo Waters.

The aforementioned combination of Ryan and Jones will, once again, be a formidable duo shutting down opposing teams' wide receivers.  Ryan, an All-Big East second team selection last year, had one of the most impressive defensive stat lines in the conference: 67 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions and two forced fumbles.  This kid is an impact player who made plays all over the field for the Knights, and he will have similar success in 2012.

With three out of four starters returning to a defensive backfield that was sixth in the nation with 19 interceptions last season, look for Rutgers to give opposing teams very few opportunities through the air. 

Looking beyond the defensive backfield, Rutgers is returning all three linebackers, which includes Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year Khaseem Greene.  

In 2011, the then-junior linebacker led the conference with 140 tackles and also added 3.5 sacks.  Despite the fact he's coming off a broken ankle in last season's Pinstripe Bowl, you can expect Greene to be ready to play come fall (via NJ.com).

Another returning standout in the linebacker core is senior Steve Beauharnais.  The middle linebacker was a do-it-all guy for the Knights' defense in 2011, rounding up 77 tackles, five sacks and three interceptions.  His versatility will be a valuable weapon for defensive coordinator Robb Smith in 2012.

Add an improved Jamal Merrell to the combination of Greene and Beauharnais, and the Knights will field the No. 1 linebacker group in the Big East.

Now, to perhaps the biggest question mark on the Knights' defense this season: the defensive line.

The team is losing both of their starting defensive ends in Justin Francis and Manny Abreu.  Francis led the Knights in 2011 with 6.5 sacks and was constantly blowing up opposing offenses' plays (13 tackles for loss).  Abreu, in his first season at defensive end after spending the past four at linebacker, sacked the quarterback three times and recorded six tackles in the backfield.  

The Knights were ranked No. 14 in sacks last season, and replacing the two players who accounted for more than a quarter of the team's sacks will be a tall task.  But Rutgers has the personnel to make the transition almost seamless.  Converted linebacker Ka'Lial Glaud has had a very impressive spring and will be counted upon to provide a consistent pass rush.  He has apparently locked in his starting job at that position.  

On the other side of the line, however, things are much more undecided.  

Michael Larrow and Marcus Thompson seem to be the front-runners to take over, but other, younger players will get a chance to show off their abilities. Via ESPN: "Marcus Thompson, Max Issaka, Michael Larrow, and Darius Hamilton are all going to get an opportunity to see where they end up," said head coach Kyle Flood.

Larrow and Thompson certainly bring more experience, but highly-recruited freshman Darius Hamilton could make a major splash in Piscataway.  He was the No. 69 ranked prospect according to ESPN and the No. 11 ranked recruit by Rivals.com.  

No matter how you slice it, this guy is extremely talented.  He shows excellent quickness off the ball and the vastness of his pass rush moves is a testament to Hamilton's focus and hard work.  

In the end, Flood may just decide to split time between multiple players.  The Knights certainly have the depth at defensive end to do so effectively.  

While the defensive end positions are in flux, the middle of the line is solidified with senior Scott Vallone in the trenches.  Vallone tallied 58 tackles last season, of which 8.5 were for loss.  He also sacked the quarterback 2.5 times.  Vallone will be flanked by first-year starter Isaac Holmes, who has had a tremendous spring.

Via NJ.com: "There's no doubt.  It's a big spring for Ike and he's responded well," said Flood.  

Holmes, in previous years, had been known as an extremely talented underachiever.  If he can carry his new attitude through the fall, he will become a force on the Knights' defensive line.  

With one of the most experienced and proven defensive backfields in the conference, a talented and hungry defensive line and a linebacking core that is unparalleled in the conference, the Rutgers Knights will field the most feared defense in the Big East.     

In 2007, the University of South Florida was something of an upstart power in the nation, rolling through their first six games of the season undefeated, including victories over Auburn, North Carolina and West Virginia. They had just crushed Central Florida by a score of 64-12, and now set their sights on the Rutgers Football team, the Scarlet Knights, who had just been beaten by Maryland and Cincinnati in successive weeks.

On October 18, 2007, the South Florida Bulls charged into Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, NJ, as the No. 2-ranked team in the nation. In quarterback Matt Grothe, the Bulls had a two-pronged threat who could beat an opponent with his arm or his legs, as not only did he throw for 14 touchdowns that season, but ran for 10 more.

When it wasn't Grothe, running backs Mike Ford and Benjamin Williams carried the ball, accounting for 18 more touchdowns between them.

After a Jeremy Ito field goal gave the Knights an early 3-0 lead, the Bulls scored twice, including a touchdown run of 18 yards by Grothe, and as the first quarter came to a close, the Bulls held a 10-3 advantage.

Rutgers tied the score 10-10 when quarterback Mike Teel found wide receiver Tiquan Underwood in the end zone, but they soon found themselves down again when Grothe (17-for-34, 247 yards passing) hit Jesse Hester with a 28-yard touchdown pass, giving the Bulls the lead, 17-10.

Rutgers subsequently put together a 10-play drive, and Jeremy Ito kicked a field goal with 0:05 left to cut the margin to 17-13 at the half.

The real story of the night then became Rutgers' ability to take over the game on the legs of running back Ray Rice. Rice pounded the ball 39 times in the game, amassing 181 yards on the ground. "When my number's called," Rice remarked after the game, "I'm going to do whatever it takes."

When it wasn't Rice, it was Teel hitting Underwood (five receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns), who caught a TD early in the third quarter to put the Knights ahead, 20-17.

But a key play came in the third quarter that seemingly sealed the fate of the Bulls. When kicker Delbert Alvarado trotted out to attempt a game-tying field goal, cornerback Devin McCourty blocked the kick. From there, Rutgers then drove down the field and lined up to try a 32-yard field goal.

But, to the surprise of everyone in the stadium, holder Andrew DePaola took the snap from center and instead of placing it down, sprinted to his right and hit tight end Kevin Brock for a 15-yard touchdown pass that put Rutgers up by 10 points, 27-17.

"We haven't done a lot of that around here," coach Greg Schiano said after the game. "Thank God it worked."

But the crowd of 44,267 were still on the edge of their seats when South Florida kicked a field goal, and as the third quarter came to a close, Rutgers was nervously holding on to a 27-20 lead.

Early in the fourth, Jeremy Ito again came out onto the field to attempt a 51-yard field goal to put his team back up by 10 points. Despite the distance, he drilled the kick through the uprights, but with 11:59 remaining on the clock, it would be up to the Rutgers defense to preserve the game.

The Bulls came storming back, and when Mike Ford scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 9:16 to play, Rutgers was clinging to its lead, 30-27.

The Knights looked to control the clock by handing the ball to Ray Rice, but when the star running back fumbled with 4:07 left in the game, USF took over at the Rutgers 40-yard line. However, when quarterback Matt Grothe was sacked on first down, the Bulls were effectively taken out of field goal range, and they could not get close enough to try for the tying score.

The Rutgers defense would again be called upon for the biggest series of the game when USF took over the ball on the Scarlet Knights' 45-yard line with just 1:31 left in the game.

Again, it would be a key sack, this time by defensive back Joe Lefeged, that resulted in a 12-yard loss.

"When you play against an athlete like [Grothe], a team like South Florida, and you're able to make plays like that," said Lefeged after the game, "it makes it that much more fun."

The final USF drive—and ultimately, the game—ended with a fourth-down interception by Zaire Kitchen. From there, the clock ran out, and the fans stormed the field to celebrate the defeat of the No. 2 team in the nation.

"We had the ball at the 50, down by three and their defense came up to play," explained USF coach Jim Leavitt said afterwards. "Give them credit. Give them a lot of credit. They did it twice."

"It was a great win for our program," said defensive lineman Eric Foster after the landmark victory.

Rutgers would go on to an 8-5-0 season record, culminating in a victory over Ball State, 52-30, in the International Bowl.

Ray Rice left Rutgers after his junior year for a productive NFL career with the Baltimore Ravens. In his four seasons as a pro, Rice has run for 4,377 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Joe Lefeged currently plays in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts and had 34 tackles and two interceptions in 2011.

Tiquan Underwood also went on to play in the NFL, catching on as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars. This season, he has been reunited with his old college coach Greg Schiano as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Rutgers holds an edge in the series all-time with a 5-2-0 record against the Bulls. But the biggest victory in this series occurred on a nationally broadcasted Thursday night game on October 18, 2007.

As a member of the Scarlet Knights football team, Patrick Kivlehan was a second-string defensive back for his entire four years (43 games) at Rutgers.

But, as a baseball player, to say Kivlehan excelled would be something of an understatement.

Kivlehan was drafted in the fourth round (131st overall) by the Seattle Mariners in the 2012 MLB draft. With 14 home runs and 50 RBI, the Scarlet Knights third baseman batted .392 with a .480 on-base percentage. Kivlehan was the 67th player in the history of Rutgers baseball to be drafted and the highest pick since Todd Frazier (who went 34th overall).

"We're extremely pleased," Rutgers baseball coach Fred Hill told Anthony Coleman of The Times upon hearing the news of Kivlehan's selection by Seattle. "It's great that he was taken in the fourth round by the Mariners."

"I'm excited and honored that the Mariners would select me," said Kivlehan, via Rutgers' official athletics website. "I'm basically just excited and ready to go."

The winner of the first ever Big East triple crown, he had 24 multi-hit games, and his prowess at the plate eventually landed him the position of clean-up hitter in the Rutgers lineup.

"I think it's just an outstanding story," said coach Hill of his third baseman. "He hadn't played in four years, so to be taken in the fourth round is a tribute to the young man. He worked hard this past season to be named conference player of the year, which is incredible."

In 2011, as a member of the Scarlet Knights football team, Kivlehan had one interception, one fumble recovery and 14 tackles. For his career, Kivlehan played in 36 total games for Rutgers.

"Coming into the game, I thought this was going to be a 17-10 game one way or the other. It's the most disappointing defensive performance we've had since I've been here.”—Dave Wannstedt.

Rutgers was struggling in the early part of the 2008 campaign, having lost 5 of their first 7 games of the season. That year was dominated by Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators in college football, while in cinema, Indiana Jones returned to the big screen chasing after crystal skulls, and Twilight was setting the hearts of teenage girls aflutter. Long before the world heard about "tiger blood," Charlie Sheen was still riding Two and a Half Men into a top-10 spot on television, and Barack Obama was Time magazine's Person of the Year.

With a record of 2-5, the Scarlet Knights limped into Pittsburgh in late October to face the Panthers who were ranked No. 17 in the nation. Pitt was led by their sensational tailback LeSean McCoy, who helped pace his team to a 5-1 record as they prepared to face Rutgers.

Early in the first quarter, McCoy ripped off a 33-yard touchdown run to put the Panthers up 7-0, and it appeared that Rutgers would suffer their sixth loss of the season. Instead of wilting on the road before the Panthers' faithful, the Scarlet Knights found their offensive stride, and quarterback Mike Teel directed a Rutgers team that seemingly scored at will from that point on, outscoring Pitt by 27 points for the remainder of the game.

Pittsburgh did close the gap at one point to 34-31 after LeSean McCoy's fourth touchdown of the day, but Rutgers' defense shut the door on the Panthers when they had to, preserving the win.

Fifth-year senior quarterback Mike Teel—whose early season performances on the field had drawn booing from the home fans in Piscataway—set a school passing record with six touchdown passes in the game, coupled with 361 yards passing.

"He's been taking the heat for every mistake we made as the entire offense," said Rutgers running back Kordell Young after the game, "and it really wasn't his fault most of the time. He deserves everything he got today."

Teel's targets had equally impressive days where receivers Tim Brown (four catches for 132 yards) snagged two of Teel's TD passes, and future 1st-round draft choice Kenny Britt (five receptions for 143 yards) pulled in three touchdown catches.

Mike Teel went on to be a 6th-round draft choice of the Seattle Seahawks, but he had a decidedly short NFL career. He currently holds the position of quarterbacks coach at Wagner College.

The win over Pittsburgh was the turnaround point of the 2008 season as Rutgers went on to four more wins, finishing with a 7-5 record and a berth in the Papajohns.com Bowl. In their postseason game, the Scarlet Knights topped North Carolina State 29-23 to finish with an 8-5 record for the season.

Pittsburgh still holds a 21-8-0 advantage in the series history against Rutgers, but for one day on October 25, 2008, the Scarlet Knights tallied one of the biggest wins in their history, beating the #17-ranked Panthers, 54-34.