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Saturday, September 20, 2008

Rutgers at Navy

Greetings from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, where Rutgers is set to play Navy in search of its first win. The Knights have won three straight and six out of seven in the series, and they badly need a win today. 

Today's paper has a story previewing the game and our gameday page. 

The game is on the CBS College Sports Network, and per usual, on the Rutgers radio network. We'll have tidbits here throughout the game, which will hopefully help folks who don't get CBS college sports (or those who do but want to follow here anyway) follow the action. 

Guests here include Ray Rice and Brandon Renkart on the Rutgers sideline, and Navy alum John McCain, who's here for his class' 50th reunion. McCain is hoping to become part of an answer to the greatest trivia question of all time: which four schools have produced a President of the United States and a Super Bowl winning QB? 

The Midshipmen, of course, have produced Jimmy Carter and Roger Staubach, while Michigan has given us Tom Brady and Gerald Ford, Stanford has produced John Elway, Jim Plunkett and Herbert Hoover, and Miami of Ohio has given us Ben Roethlisberger and Benjamin Harrison

Update, 3:20: The Midshipmen are in formation on the field, and we're 10 minutes from kickoff. Pitt held off Iowa 21-20, so the Big East is 3-1 this week. The Panthers joined Louisville and UConn, both of whom knocked off Big 12 teams, in the win column. We'll see if the Scarlet Knights can make it four. 

Update, 3:29: Jourdan Brooks will start at tailback for Rutgers in place of Kordell Young. It's the first career start for Brooks, a redshirt freshman from Germantown, Md. who's making his first collegiate appearance in his home state. It's the second straight game Knights has been held out with a sore knee. 

Update, 3:49: After Rutgers went three-and-out on its opening drive, Navy drove 11 plays and 50 yards to set up a 36-yard field goal by Matt Harmon, and the Mids lead 3-0 with 8:25 left in the first quarter. 

Update, 4:05: All of a sudden, Rutgers has a running game. Jourdan Brooks had six carries to help set up Joe Martinek's first career touchdown on a five-yard run that put the Knights up 7-3. 

Update, 4:12: Emmet Merchant's 57-yard kickoff return put the Mids on the Rutgers 34 yard line, and six plays later, Matt Harmon kicked a 26-yard field goal to make it 7-6 with 24 seconds left in the first quarter. 

Update, 4:43: Devin McCourty's punt block put Rutgers on the Navy 14, and Jourdan Brooks' first career touchdown -- on a six-yard run -- gave the Knights a 14-6 lead with 5:16 left. The drive: Three plays, 15 yards, 2:01. 

Update, 4:57: Rutgers blew a scoring opportunity when Tiquan Underwood fumbled a Mike Teel pass at the four-yard line and Navy recovered in the end zone for a touchback. The pass was initially ruled incomplete, but video replay showed Underwood had the ball, spun around and lost it, giving the Mids the ball back and sending the Knights to the locker room with a 14-6 lead at the half. The 1958 Navy Cotton Bowl team is being honored on the field. 

Update, 5:24: Kaip-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada found Tyree Barnes in the corner of the end zone a 22-yard touchdown pass that capped a seven-play, 82-yard scoring drive, and the Mids are within a point at 14-13 with 11:37 left in the third quarter. Navy had 77 passing yards on the drive, 33 more than it had for the entire game last year against the Knights. Barnes moved into seventh place on the all-time Navy receiving touchdown list with seven. 

Update, 5:51: Eric Kettani's two-yard touchdown run put the Mids on top 20-14 with 3:55 left in the third quarter. The Mids' 94-yard drive was their longest since 2004. 

Update, 5:59: Navy leads 20-14 at the end of the third quarter. Navy has the ball facing fourth and one from its own 40. Rutgers needs a comeback to avoid its first 0-3 start since 2001. 

Update, 7:38: To say the least, it's been a breakout game for Jourdan Brooks, who scored on a 12-yard touchdown run to put Rutgers ahead 21-20 with 7:38 left in the game. Brooks has 22 carries for 134 yards and two TDs, this all coming from a converted fullback who never had more than three our four carries in a game in high school. Brooks is the first Rutgers freshman with more than 100 rushing yards in a game since Ray Rice in 2005. 

Update, 6:33: OK, Mike Teel. Time to show us what you're made of. Matt Harmon's 26-yard field goal gave Navy a 23-21 lead with 2:06 left and it'll be up to Teel to lead the Knights on a do-or-die drive in the two minute drill. 

Update, 6:38. Ross Popisil intercepted Mike Teel's pass with 1:34 left and Navy beat Rutgers 23-21. The Knights are 0-3 for the first time in nine years and will need a minimum of four Big East wins just to be bowl eligible. 


1 Comments:

Anonymous TOM SAVAGE CAN'T COME SOON ENOUGH said...

END THE SEASON NOW!!!!

September 20, 2008 7:30 PM 

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