Four Interceptions Not Enough For Rutgers
Defense Gives Up Over 300 On The Ground, 500 Total
10/28/2007
Written By: Kirk Herbstreit
ESPN NCAA Football Analyst
[New Brunswick, New Jersey]-- If there was any argument over who had the best featured back in the NCAA, Steve Slaton sure did only help his cause with his performance against Rutgers this past Saturday. Slaton would rush for over two hundred yards, including touchdown runs from ninety-five and ninety-six yards out, helping number four West Virginia topple Rutgers, 28-26.
It looked good for Rutgers for a while, as they survived the first quarter up 6-0 after two
Jeremy Ito field goals. However, at the start of the second, West Virgninia quarterback Pat White rushed a touchdown in from five yards out. Then, perhaps the biggest blow of the day came next for the Rutgers football team. Running back
Ray Rice went down after rushing the ball for a four yard gain. After x-rays were recovered, it was discovered that Rice broke his collarbone, and will miss the remainder of the season.
Yet, as sophomore
Kordell Young has done all season, he stepped in and delivered. Young scored from three yards out on the same drive that Rice went down, giving Rutgers the lead back at 13-7. After both teams swapped possessions, a
Teddy Dellaganna would land the West Virginia offense starting at their own five. However, only one run later and West Virginia had a one point lead again, as Slaton marched it ninety-five yards down the field for the score.
"He's good," admitted linebacker
Blair Bines.
"He made us miss a lot of tackles, broke a lot of tackles, he caught the ball.. He's the complete package, can't wait to see him in the NFL."
The third quarter started with yet another West Virginia touchdown, as Pat White ran in his second touchdown of the day, this time from three yards out. After the Rutgers offense was stopped, the defense picked off Pat White for the third time of the day, setting Rutgers up with the ball on the West Virginia twenty-four. Unbelievably,
Mike Teel's very next pass would wind up in the West Virginia defenders hands, giving them the ball back on their own four yard line. The very next play, a pitch to Steve Slaton, where ninety-six yards later would end in another touchdown run.
West Virginia had increased it's lead to 28-20, and was in all control. After all, all they had to do was hand the ball off to Slaton and he was seemingly an automatic first down.
After a fourth quarter, for the most part, in which both defenses had been dominating, Pat White dropped back to pass. His pass went right into the hands of junior cornerback
Jason McCourty, where it was returned fifty-two yards for the touchdown, giving Rutgers the slightest hope for a comeback. They had to go for two points to tie it.
Head coach
Greg Schiano elected a pitch to Kordell Young, but Young was stuffed at the one, setting Rutgers up with no other choice but to onside kick the ball.
With only one time out left, and under two minutes to play, Ito's kick would have to be perfect. Perfect it was, but it went in and out of wide receiver
James Townsend's hands, and into the hands of West Virginia freshman halfback Noel Devine's, seemingly putting the game out of reach for the Rutgers football team.
With the loss Rutgers drops to 7-1, 3-1 in the Big East, and fell to number twelve in the BCS Standings. Next week Rutgers will travel to UConn, to take on the 3-5 Huskies.