Rutgers 19, Connecticut 3
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Jawan Jamison rushed for 110 yards and Gary Nova threw for 157 yards and a touchdown to lift No. 22 Rutgers to a 19-3 win over Connecticut on Saturday afternoon.
Jamison eclipsed the 100-yard plateau for the fifth time in as many games for Rutgers, which
improved to 5-0 for the seventh time in its 143 years of college football and first since 2006.
Nova's 14-yard touchdown pass to Mark Harrison six minutes into the third quarter increased
Rutgers' three-point halftime lead to 13-3, and the Scarlet Knights' defense showed why it's the Big East's top-rated unit by limiting its conference foe to 240 yards of total offense.
Rutgers capitalized on two Connecticut first-quarter turnovers to take 6-0 lead. After Logan Ryan intercepted a Chandler Whitmer pass, Rutgers moved 17 yards in seven plays before Kyle Federico drilled a 45-yard field goal. The ensuing kickoff was fumbled by Nick Williams and the Scarlet Knights then went 15 yards in six plays before their freshman place-kicker booted a 31-yard field goal.
Connecticut (3-3) capitalized on Rutgers' bid to make it 9-0 as Shamar Stephen blocked Federico's 51-yard field goal attempt. The Huskies marched 43 yards to the Rutgers 2 but were forced to settle for a Chad Christen 19-yard field goal.
The Huskies hardly threatened the rest of the way, missing a 51-yard field goal try to close the
first half and never getting beyond Rutgers' 37-yard line in the second half.
After outgaining Connecticut 108-106 in total yardage through the first 30 minutes, Rutgers
dominated the second half with a 172-134 advantage. Jamison did plenty of the damage, rushing for 72 of his 110 yards in the second half.
Rutgers won the turnover battle 5-1, with three of its interceptions coming in the game's final
four minutes.
Wayne Warren capped the scoring with a 25-yard touchdown return after an interception, and
Khaseem Greene and Marcus Cooper each got into the act with picks as Whitmer finished his day with 191 yards and four interceptions on 13-of-31 passing.
Notes: Connecticut played the opening quarter without its leading rusher, Lyle McCombs, who was benched for violating team rules. The Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported on its web site Saturday morning that McCombs was arrested early Friday morning on campus on a second-degree breach of peace misdemeanor charge and released on a $500 bond. McCombs, the Big East's leading rusher last season, entered the game ranked fifth in the conference with 452 rushing yards and finished with 32 yards on 12 carries Saturday. ... For the third time in the program's 143 years of college football, the Scarlet Knights wore all-black uniforms in what the school billed as a "blackout'' affair. With much of the crowd of 50,870 following suit with the all-black attire, Rutgers' players had its mantra, F.A.M.I.L.Y., etched across the back of their jerseys rather than their individual names. ... Connecticut fell to 1-18 all time against ranked opponents, with its only upset occurring over then No. 11 South Florida on Oct. 27, 2007. ... With Rutgers' first victory as a nationally ranked team since 2007, Kyle Flood became the second coach in program history to start his tenure 5-0 and the first since John Bateman in 1960.
