Offense Can't Get It Going, Defense Leads R U To Win
Teel Throws Three First Half Interceptions
11/18/2007
Written By: Kirk Herbstreit
ESPN NCAA Football Analyst
[New Brunswick, New Jersey]-- The Rutgers offense seems to have been in a funk ever since the loss to West Virginia. They didn't appear to be coming out of it anytime soon when they faced the 6-3 Pittsburgh squad.
Mike Teel, who got off to a tremendous start to the season, struggled mightily early on. He threw three first half interceptions, leading to several oppertunities for the University of Pittsburgh. Fortunately, yet another missed field goal by an opposing team kept the scored notched at 0 entering the second quarter.
Teel would throw his second and third interceptions of the game during the second quarter, neither of which ended up doing any harm to the scoreboard.
Teel did create one drive during the second half however that proved to be pivotal. It was a third down and three, when the playaction was called, where Teel scrolled out to the right and hit a dragging
Tiquan Underwood for the first down. Three plays, and thirty-four yards later, Rutgers had a first and goal from the eight.
Teel handed the ball off to sophomore
Kordell Young who went untouched into the endzone to give the Scarlet Knights a 7-0 lead.
After the rest of the period went scoreless, and
Devin McCourty intercepted his seventh pass of the season, we entered halftime, where both teams hoped to find an offensive gameplan that would succeed.
However, both teams didn't. The third quarter would end scoreless, keeping it a seven point Rutgers lead.
McCourty would intercept another pass, his second of the game, and set Rutgers up with the ball in Pittsburgh territory. Five plays later, after the drive stalled,
Jeremy Ito came out and nailed the forty-four yard field goal, making the score 10-0 Rutgers.
Pittsburgh answered on the ensuing drive with a field goal, bringing them back within seven with just over five minutes remaining to play.
Rutgers got the ball back, no onside kick attempted, and continued to hand the ball of to Young, who drove into Pittsburgh territory. Ito would add antoher field goal and with only a minute and thirty-three seconds remaining, put the Scarlet Knights up by ten.
The defense held on for a win, forcing Pittsburgh three and out, and improving the Scarlet Knights to 10-1 on the season, 5-1 in the Big East. Next week they will travel to Louisville to take on the #14 team in the nation.