The Rutgers Scarlet Knights won their Big East opener on Thursday night, riding a punishing defense and running back Jawan Jamison to start the season 3-0 for the first time in five years.
Jamison ran for 151 yards and had a touchdown as Rutgers defeated South Florida 23-13 on the road.
The game marked the fourth straight 100- yard game for the running back, who at 5-foot-8 has similar size and speed to former Rutgers star Ray Rice, the current starting running back for the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. It's the longest streak for a Rutgers player since Rice did it seven times in 2007.
"That's cool. I'm trying to get where he's at," Jamison told the Associated Press about Rice, who has developed into one of the top running backs in the NFL with the Ravens. "That's all I can say. I'm trying to get where he's at."
He had 41 carries in the game, which is a single-game record for the school.
"I told him during the week to get ready for 35," Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said. "I did not anticipate 41, but he did an excellent job with it."
Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova had a solid game, passing for 277 and a touchdown with no interceptions.
USF got off to an early lead off two field goals, but Rutgers came back and scored three times, including on a 6-yard pass to Mark Harrison to take a 13-6 lead.
In the fourth quarter USF tied the game on a one-yard run from Demetris Murray, but that was all they would be able to get the rest of the way. Murray had only nine carries for 27 yards in the game.
Kicker Kyle Federico put Rutgers up for good, breaking a 13-13 tie on a 22-yard field goal with just under three minutes remaining.
Rutgers is playing its first season without head coach Greg Schiano since 2001 and hoped to get off to a fast start in the Big East. Flood replaced Schiano after he left Rutgers after last season to take the head coaching job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The former coach was able to make it to the game and even got to speak to the team in the locker room afterwards.
South Florida had trouble offensively and couldn't hold onto the ball, turning it over three times. The Bulls have lost six of the past seven games against Rutgers and also drop to 0-9 in Thursday night game appearances.
Quarterback B.J. Daniels only completed 15 of 33 passes and threw three interceptions. Rutgers outgained the Bulls by nearly 100 yards on offense.
"What it boiled down to is we turned the ball over ... and we couldn't get off the field third down defensively," South Florida coach Skip Holtz said. "We just made too many mistakes to come away with a victory."
Daniels made some big plays, but not enough to bring USF close in the fourth quarter. He 40-yard and 50-yard passing plays in the game, but on both of those drives, Rutgers stopped the Bulls for no points.
"You don't ever stop B.J. Daniels. He made some spectacular plays today, some deep completions," Flood said. "He makes plays out of broken plays. He makes the plays he should. We were fortunate to hold that team to the points that we did. It was a great effort by our defense."
Receiver Tim Wright had a big game for Rutgers, adding eight receptions and 125 yards.
Rutgers is set to take on Arkansas on Sept. 22, while USF plays Ball State.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
