The Scarlet Knights’ home opener against Buffalo wasn’t expected to be much of a contest, and, in the end, it wasn’t:
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) -No. 16 Rutgers has more offense than Ray Rice running the ball. There’s also Tiquan Underwood catching and Mike Teel throwing.
Rice rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns, Underwood had 10 catches for a school-record 248 yards and two TDs and Teel passed for a career-best 328 yards as the Scarlet Knights opened their most anticipated season with a 38-3 win over Buffalo on Thursday night.
”If I am running the ball, we can really play-action and hit Tiquan over the top on those deep balls,” Rice said. ”That’s what happens when the running game is going. We can obviously get better this season. What you saw today was us hitting on both cylinders.”
Coming off an 11-2 season and its first bowl victory, Rutgers gave the crowd of 43,091 - the third largest at home in school history - plenty to cheer about. It scored touchdowns on its first three series and amassed 563 yards in total offense against a Buffalo team that won two games last season and is picked to finish around the bottom of the Mid-American Conference again this year.
Rice, who rushed for 1,794 yards last season, scored 20 touchdowns and finished seventh in the Heisman voting, scored on runs 34, 12 and 41 yards.
”To have a great running attack with Ray in the backfield, it just opens it up for the passing game,” said Underwood, who had 23 catches for 290 yards in 12 games last season.
Teel, who completed 16-of-23 passes, and Underwood combined on scoring pass plays of 65 and 66 yards. Teel’s final pass was a 20-yard fourth-quarter pass that pushed Underwood past the old school mark of 237 yards set by Jack Emmer against Holy Cross in 1966.
That’s when Rutgers wasn’t a very good football program. All that has changed under coach Greg Schiano. The Scarlet Knights are now as big as Bruce Springsteen in New Jersey and they didn’t need long to show why against Buffalo.
Schiano was thrilled with the sellout in one of eight games Rutgers has at home this season.
Next up, Navy on September 7th.
