Rutgers Football: Impeccable Defense and RB Joe Martinek Propel RU To a Win

The Rutgers football team, along with their plethora of fans amidst home crowd with 46,311 in attendance, expected to dominate Norfolk State from the opening drive forward.

Norfolk State had other plans. Despite being considerably outmatched on paper, Norfolk State held Rutgers to a measly 3-0 with about a minute left in the first half.

A number of factors contributed to this conundrum.  For one, star sophomore quarterback Tom Savage was having a really tough time finding rhythm on offense. Savage was a putrid five-for-12 for just 55 yards in the first half, granted he was the victim of a number of receiver drops throughout the game. 

Despite showing off his running skills early in the second quarter with a 20 yard scramble off of a play action gone wrong, Savage was subsequently sacked three times. Two of the three sacks occurred due to Savage holding onto the ball way too long, holding onto the pigskin for upwards of 10 seconds before being dragged down on these plays. 

To make matters worse, field goal kicker San San Te missed from 40 and 47 yards out, respectively, a very deflating turn of events for an offense.

Nevertheless, Rutgers caught a huge break at the end of the half with an extremely controversial play that worked in their favor.

Sophomore standout Mohamed Sanu caught a bomb from Savage along the left sideline for a 26 yard gain.  However, just four seconds remained on the clock and the Knights were out of time outs.

Norfolk State was happy to head to the locker room at this point, feeling like they dodged a bullet.  The referees had other plans though.The refs reviewed the play and decided that although Sanu definitely did not make it out of bounds, the clock would be stopped since it was a first down. 

This allowed Te to kick what was basically a glorified extra point, a 20 yard field goal before the half ended.  Needless to say, the NSU bench was livid. Make no mistake about it though; the play was sloppy for both offenses in the first half.  RU was just one-for-7 on third down, while NSU was a ridiculous zero-for-6.

The reality though, was that there was never any reason to panic for the Scarlet Knights, as their defense looked as sharp as ever.

This defense that was first in tackles for loss and fourth in sacks last year picked up right where they left off. This unit is currently being led by senior defensive tackle Alex Silvestro, who had a career-high four tackles for a loss and a sack on the night.  This game also marked his 30th career start.

Silvestro demonstrated a great combination of power and quickness, and seemed to be around the ball on just about every defensive play.

The pass defense was immaculate as well, limiting Norfolk State quarterback to just eight-for-17 and 111 yards at halftime.  These stats make Walley’s performance look better than it actually was, as NSU wide receiver Victor Hairston had a 48 yard catch over the middle. 

Other than that, the Spartans were forced to settle for dink and dunk type of passes, as the run game was nothing more than abysmal.

The Spartans finished with an unheard of 24 yards rushing when the game was in the books.  Their star running back DeAngelo Branche averaged just 1.8 yards a carry with a long of nine, as he just could not find space to move amidst this RU defense. 

Furthermore, the majority of the fans in the newly renovated Piscataway stadium were able to breathe easy, as Rutgers came out in the second half looking like the team they expected to see. 

The running game was adequate for the Knights in the first half, true freshman Jordan Thomas had 59 all purpose yards, but junior starter Joe Martinek was a big difference maker in the second half.

Martinek, a bruising back with a reputation of getting stronger as the game does on, broke off a 35 yard run in the middle of the third quarter. The back then scored from six yards out on the subsequent play for the games first touchdown. 

Martinek finished with 20 carries for 109 yards, and of course the aforementioned score.

Despite missing a fourth down conversion in the first half, RU remained aggressive here and went for two. 

Sanu converted out of the Wildcat formation, bulldozing a NSU defender on the goal line.  Replays showed that Sanu’s knee very well could have been down before the ball crossed the plane of the end zone, but the Spartans did not challenge the play.

This may have been a costly mistake that put the nail in the coffin for Norfolk State, as it was all red and white from here on out. 

As NSU prepared to punt after another failed drive, the punt was blocked by cornerback Brandon Bing.  Safety Joe Lefeged then had no problem scooping the ball up at the three and diving into the end zone. 

This marked two scores in just 2:10 of game time for Rutgers.

The home team did not relent there, as the starters stayed in until they capped off a 74 yard drive with Sanu making a 10 yard touchdown reception.

Sanu finished with three catches for 65 yards, as well as four rushes for 19 yards.  While Savage was not as impressive as many had hoped, he manged not to turn the ball over and finished 10 for 19 with 148 yards and a score. 

Both teams back ups came in for clean up duty.  Each quarterback led a largely run based attack to get the game over with, highlighted by a 36 yard run by Rutgers back De’Antwan “The Rocket” Williams. 

Rutgers back up Chas Dodd is a true freshman who completed the first pass of his college career with a six yard strike to tight end Paul Carrezola.  He also capped off his drive with a field goal. 

The only offensive player with any stats worth mentioning for Norfolk State was wide receiver Victor Hairston, who finished with five catches for 82 yards. 

Rutgers finished just fifth out of eight in a preseason poll for the Big East, their sloppy play in the first half exhibits one reason why many feel they will not take it to the next level this year.

However, their showing in the second half shows why many could be wrong.