Rutgers rides high
Somewhere in the sea of red-clad bodies that spilled out onto the field at Rutgers Stadium Thursday was the most unlikely national title contender college football has seen.
Ray Rice, Brian Leonard and the Scarlet Knights had just pulled off the greatest victory in Rutgers history, and it looked as if all 44,111 fans at Piscataway, N.J., had left the stands to join them on the field after the Scarlet Knights’ 28-25 victory over No. 3 Louisville.
On his second chance, Jeremy Ito kicked a tiebreaking 28-yard field goal with 13 seconds left and the second consecutive primetime showdown between Big East unbeatens went to No. 15 Rutgers (9-0, 4-0).
“This is the new Rutgers,” said Leonard, the senior fullback who was a redshirt freshman on a team that finished 1-11. “This is a dream of mine.”
Just a week ago, it was Louisville (8-1, 3-1) celebrating the biggest win in school history, a 44-34 victory over West Virginia that vaulted the Cardinals into the thick of the championship race.
This time, it was Rutgers’ turn to party.
The Scarlet Knights shut out the high-scoring Cardinals in the second half and erased an 18-point deficit.
After the game, Rutgers fans flooded the field and swarmed the players. The 185-pound Ito got lifted right off the ground.
“It was a little scary at the end with the mob scene,” said Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. “But it was fun. This is the way college football is supposed to be.”
And the way it’s never been at Rutgers. There are four undefeated teams in the country – No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Michigan, No. 14 Boise State and – it’s probably hard for many to believe — Rutgers.
Rice, the Heisman Trophy candidate – yes the Scarlet Knights even have one of those – ran 22 times for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
Louisville’s Brian Brohm, who looked like the Heisman contender last week, went 13 for 27 for 163 yards with a TD and an interception. He also was sacked five times, twice each by Jamel Meekins and Devraun Thompson.
(25) BYU 55, Wyoming 7: John Beck passed for 313 yards and two touchdowns and moved up to second on Brigham Young’s career passing list as the Cougars (8-2, 6-0 Mountain West) clinched a share of their first conference title in five years by defeating the visiting Cowboys (5-6, 4-3)
Akron 31, Buffalo 16: Luke Getsy threw for four touchdowns and 272 yards to help the Zips (5-5, 3-3 MAC) defeat the visiting Bulls (2-8, 1-6).