Rutgers gets back on track against Villanova

[bullwark]

A week after Rutgers saw its bandwagon empty following an emotionally wrenching loss, the Knights find themselves in exactly the same position they were in last year after playing a Big Ten school and a 1-AA opponent.

They're 1-1 and still have their sights set on the program's first winning season in 13 years.

Funny the way a single victory -- even one that was often lacking in aesthetic value -- can change perspective.

For the most part, Rutgers did exactly what it was supposed to do yesterday in rolling to a 38-6 victory over Villanova at Rutgers Stadium in a performance that alternated between impressive and worrisome.

The bottom line is, despite some shoddy tackling, leaky pass defense and an inconsistent running game, they took all the suspense out of a game against a 1-AA opponent.

"It's nice to win again," quarterback Ryan Hart said. "This team needed this."

It had been almost a year -- last Oct. 16 -- since the Knights won a game, with yesterday's victory snapping a six-game losing streak.

There's plenty to work on, of course, but having that 1-1 record heading into a game on Saturday against hapless Buffalo means the season suddenly isn't as far off-track as it appeared to be following the meltdown loss to Illinois.

"I said last week after we lost that I like this football team. The only difference was that we were 0-1," coach Greg Schiano said. "I still like this football team, except we're 1-1 now."

Willie Foster's 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the game's opening play set the tone and Rutgers never allowed the Wildcats to even consider an upset after building a 24-6 halftime lead.

"The hole opened pretty wide," Foster said of his return, the longest at Rutgers Stadium in 14 years. "The wedge opened up everything and really made it easy."

Hart, who didn't throw an interception for the third straight game, was solid from start to finish, going 16-of-22 for 234 yards with a touchdown. Even heralded backup Mike Teel made an appearance, directing the Knights to an 88-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter.

The running game was still shaky -- though Brian Leonard did score on a pair of 2-yard touchdown runs while also going airborne over yet another unsuspecting defensive back -- with 96 yards on 33 carries, but it was more the uneven play of the defense that raised the biggest concerns.

"The goal on defense is to keep them out of the end zone and we did that," said defensive end Ryan Neill, who recorded two sacks. "We have a lot to work on, but you feel a lot better trying to correct things after a win. This team needed to get its confidence back a little, and I think we did."

The Wildcats did manage to roll up 444 yards, doing so despite losing quarterback Marvin Burroughs to a shoulder injury with 13:04 to play in the third quarter on a hit by Rutgers safety Ron Girault. Burroughs was taken off on a stretcher, with sophomore Frank Jankowski, who had never attempted a pass in college, replacing him.

But Jankowski was facing a 24-6 deficit that immediately grew to 31-6 after Villanova failed on a fake punt on fourth-and-1. Three plays after the defensive stop, Hart found tight end Clark Harris on a 15-yard touchdown to push the lead to 31-6.

If there was a tense moment early, it came with Rutgers holding a 14-6 lead and Villanova facing a third-and-15 from the Knights' 26. Neill pressured Burroughs, forcing him to step up in the pocket and Val Barnaby tomahawked the ball loose from behind. Neill recovered to eventually set up a 44-yard field goal by Jeremy Ito.

Teel followed by engineering an 88-yard drive on his first college series, with Leonard's 2-yard touchdown run pushing Rutgers' lead to 24-6.

"We needed something to get started. This can get us started," Leonard said. "Last week was a tough loss. But we knew what we had to do (yesterday) and I think we did it."

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1126419657299980.xml&coll=1&thispage=2

[smazza]

big deal