Rutgers Football's Recipe for Disaster

For three quarters it looked like the Rutgers football team brought back all of the ingredients that made for such a special recipe in 2006 and 2007, at least in a lesser form. Rutgers had a big special teams play, a great running game, a solid defense, and a quarterback who could manage the game.

Scratch those last two and cross out that win in RU's win column after a game most thought would be a gimme.  The Scarlet Knights came so close, but the fourth quarter proved to be their downfall.

Rutgers took a 21-20 lead when surprise starting running back Jourdan Brooks scored on a 12-yard touchdown run. That was with 7:38 remaining. Navy did not need the entire clock to go 63 yards down the field from the ensuing kickoff and re-take the lead, a 23-21 advantage that would last.

Left with essentially a two-minute drive to win the game, it only took Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel 30 seconds to put that thought to rest.

On the second play of the drive Teel dropped back to pass, looked right, and thought he had Kenny Britt down the sideline for a first down. Instead, Navy linebacker Ross Pospisil jumped the pass and made the interception. Game over.

The interception was the sixth of the season for the senior, to only one touchdown. Once again an offense that was expected to be explosive could not make a play when it was needed most. The Knights have now been held to 13 points per game after averaging almost 33 last year. The 20 points scored are a season high.

Of course, the game-saving drive would not have been necessary if the defense, the lynchpin of previous Greg Schiano teams, and how the coach made his name, could have made a crucial stop.

Instead, the Midshipmen ran their patented triple-option to perfection. Eric Kettani picked up 40 yards on the drive, before kicker Matt Harmon nailed a 24-yard field goal through the uprights to put his team up 23-21.

More proof arose that the recipe Rutgers used so many times to win big games over the last three years may need to be torn out of the cookbook, especially if two of the ingredients go sour. Unfortunately for the Knights, this was a huge game that the team could not win, as struggling Rutgers dropped to 0-3.

This is the first time Rutgers has lost its first three games to start a season since 1999. That team went on to finish 1-10. An unfathomable thought for Rutgers fans, yet remarkable for a program that seemed to be on the rise.

The lone bright spot for Rutgers on the day came from its backfield. No, not that it took Teel over 58 minutes to make his first mistake, but the running backs. Brooks received his first career collegiate start and made the most out of it.

He rushed for 134 yards on 22 carries, a 6.1 yards-per-carry average, and twice reached the end zone. The redshirt freshman showed speed, power, and vision, adding a dynamic aspect to a stagnant offense.

Joe Martinek received time as his backup and was also impressive. New Jersey's all-time leading rusher gained 61 yards on only eight carries and scored RU's first touchdown of the game, tying the game up at seven in the first quarter.

Now Rutgers heads back to Piscataway, beaten and winless. A weekend that was supposed to include an easy win to a team that lost to Duke only a week ago, instead ended dourly.

It might be time for a new recipe.