Rice, Rutgers top Pitt

Oct 22, 2006, 1:30 GMT

Pittsburgh, PA - Ray Rice rushed for 225 yards and a score as the 19th-ranked Rutgers Scarlet Knights remained undefeated with a 20-10 victory over Pittsburgh in a key Big East matchup at Heinz Field.

Tiquan Underwood caught five passes for 41 yards and a touchdown for the Scarlet Knights (7-0, 2-0 Big East), who are off to their best start since going 11-0 in 1976. Quarterback Mike Teel threw for just 72 yards and a score.

Tyler Palko completed 16-of-26 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers (6-2, 2-1), who entered the contest with a four-game winning streak.

LaRod Stephens-Howling rushed 12 times for 55 yards while also catching two passes for 26 yards.

The Scarlet Knights stymied the Pittsburgh offense in the first half, holding the Panthers to just 58 yards of offense as Rutgers led just 6-0 at halftime thanks to two Jeremy Ito field goals.

With Pittsburgh buried in its own zone in the first quarter, Wille Foster returned a punt 13 yards to the Panthers 38-yard line. Two runs by Rice brought the Scarlet Knights to the 20-yard line, but the drive stalled and Rutgers had to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Ito with 1:28 left in the quarter. Faced with a 3rd-and-5, Teel had Underwood open for a sure first down, but the throw was off and Underwood couldn't come up with the grab.

Teel then led Rutgers' offense downfield on their first possession of the second quarter, but Ito's 32-yard attempt sailed directly over the right post. The Panthers offense then started to pick up some momentum after runs of eight and seven yards by Stephens-Howling.

Derek Kinder then made an acrobatic catch that would have given Pittsburgh a first down on the Rutgers 39-yard line, but the receiver coughed up the ball and the Scarlet Knights recovered.

Rutgers responded with a 13-play, 57-yard drive that was capped by Ito's 21- yard field goal with 29 seconds left in the half. Teel found Clark Harris for a 15-yard catch and a first down at the Pittsburgh five yard line. Then, after two failed Rice rushes, Denni Campbell dropped Teel's third-down pass in the end zone and Rutgers had to settle for the field goal.

Sparked by Stephens-Howling's 18-yard rush on their first play of the second half, the Panthers finally got on the scoreboard with Conor Lee's 46-yard boot.

The Scarlet Knights responded with a nine-play, 72-yard scoring drive. Brian Leonard sparked the march, rushing up the left sideline for a 21-yard gain. Leonard was hit out of bounds on the play, and the personal-foul penalty gave Rutgers a first down on the Pittsburgh 24-yard line.

Then, faced with a 3rd-and-7, Teel found Underwood over the middle for a 14- yard gain and a first down on the seven-yard line. One play later, Teel connected with Underwood for a score on an almost exact replica of the third- down conversion to give Rutgers a 13-3 lead.

Palko then led the Panthers on an impressive counter-attack to start the fourth quarter. Long Completions by Kinder, Oderick Turner and Darrell Strong quickly brought Pittsburgh to the Rutgers 10-yard line. Then, faced with a 3rd-and-goal on the eight-yard line, Palko scrambled to his left and, with defenders closing in on him, found Turner in the back of the end zone to bring the Panthers back within three points with 13:23 left in the fourth.

Rice then took over for the Scarlet Knights, bursting up the middle for a 63- yard gain on Rutgers' first play of their drive. After a short run by Leonard, Rice broke out for a 21-yard run and a face-mask penalty tacked on five yards. On the next play, Rice forced himself across the goal line to make it 20-10 with 11:13 left to play. Rice, to his credit, accounted for 75 of Rutgers' 80 yards on the drive.

Pittsburgh appeared ready to respond later in the quarter as Stephens- Howling's 16-yard run gave the Panthers a first down at the Rutgers 40-yard line. However, after Jamaal Westerman sacked Palko for a seven yard loss, Palko threw three straight incompletions and Pittsburgh turned the ball over on downs.

Rice and the Scarlet Knights were able to kill the clock thereafter.

Game Notes

Kinder finished with six catches for 70 yards for Pittsburgh.

Despite the loss, the Panthers still hold a 19-5 advantage in the all-time series with Rutgers.

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