Previewing the 2011 New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers & Iowa State Season Recaps

Both Rutgers and Iowa State have seen great success and unfortunate fails throughout the course of this 2011-2012 football season.

Rutgers was selected last in the Big East, only to finish a mere one game behind the conference champion. Iowa State also got the shaft in the preseason, only to burst Oklahoma State's BCS bubble and upset other foes. Today's article we will relive the 2011-2012 season for both teams.

Rutgers

To start the season, the North Carolina Central Eagles came to New Jersey looking to knock off a Big East team for the first time—to no avail.

Rutgers struck first and never looked back.

During the game, five different Scarlet Knights reached pay dirt including: Savon Huggins (2), Mohamed Sanu, Scott Vallone, Duron Harmon and Brandon Coleman. It was a great start to the season, giving the Scarlet Knights some much needed momentum heading down to Chapel Hill.

In Week 2 Rutgers went south of the Mason Dixon line to face off against North Carolina. On the Tar Heels' first drive, Bryn Renner connected with Dwight Jones for a 66-yard score. Rutgers rebounded to take the lead, but later relinquished it and lost.

Despite forcing five turnovers, the Scarlet Knights couldn't manage to get past UNC and lost their first game of the year, 24-22.

Two weeks later, MAC opponent Ohio University came to town. Ohio had yet to lose up to that point and were riding high. Don't tell that to Rutgers though, as they forced four more turnovers, rushed for 159 yards and held the ball for nearly double the time Ohio did.

Savon Huggins scored again and Mohamed Sanu nabbed 16 balls for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Rutgers improved to 2-1 on the year and 2-0 at home.

Week 4 saw RU head to upstate New York to face the Orange of Syracuse. Syracuse was 3-1 at this point and a very promising team.

During the game, freshman QB Gary Nova entered for Rutgers and helped lead the team to overtime. In the first frame, both teams traded field goals. In the second OT, San San Te blasted a 47-yarder to seal the win. It was RU's first road win of the year and a fantastic back-and-forth battle.

The defense for the Knights really stepped up—a coming out party of sorts.

Seven days later, Pitt came to town for the first of a two-game home stand for Rutgers. Even though Pitt struck first, the Scarlet Knights continued to play. When it was all said and done, RU crushed Pitt 34-10. QB Gary Nova had two touchdown passes to go along with two Te field goals and another Savon Huggins rushing TD.

Rutgers improved to 4-1 overall with a 2-0 Big East record.

Following an emotional Pitt win, the Scarlet Knights welcomed the Midshipmen to High Point Solutions Stadium. It was a very close game all the way through, and was ultimately decided when Brandon Jones blocked a Navy field goal with only minutes remaining. Nova had another multiple touchdown day and led Rutgers to another victory. They were still undefeated at home.

The latter half of October was not so nice to the men in red.

Rutgers traveled to Kentucky to play a strong-willed Louisville Cardinal team that was broadcast on ESPN. Both teams had highly-touted defenses and they did not disappoint. RU allowed just a little over 300 yards and Louisville allowed just under 300 yards.

When it was all said and done, the Scarlet Knights suffered yet another two-point defeat. San San Te missed two field goals and the RU receiving core failed to produce when needed. Rutgers fell to 5-2, 2-1.

The Scarlet returned home to face longtime nemesis West Virginia. Up 10 at halftime, the Scarlet Knights relinquished that lead as the Mountaineers rallied to score 20 unanswered points. The loss was critical when it came to Big East terms. They fell to 2-2 and were losing on multiple tie-breakers.

After a crucial loss, it was interesting to see how RU would respond when facing a reeling USF football team. Down 10 at halftime, big plays became part of the formula and Rutgers rallied to tie the game. In the third quarter Te hit a field goal.

In the fourth frame, Jeremy Deering took a kickoff 98 yards to the house and Brandon Coleman caught a Chas Dodd pass and scored from 34 yards out. In OT, Te hit the game-winning field goal. Rutgers improved to 6-3, 3-2.

Following another victory, RU met Army at Yankee Stadium for a neutral-site meeting. Army hit some big plays throughout the game, but the guys in red held strong. Rutgers eventually scored to take the lead and not look back. The game was sealed with a long run late. RU won 27-12.

A week later, the Bearcats of Cincinnati came to town for the biggest game of the season up to that point. Behind Jawan Jamison's 200 rushing yards and a defense that stymied the Bearcats offense all day, the Scarlet Knights won convincingly, 20-3. At this point, RU controlled their own destiny.

The final week of the season was a huge one for the Knights because a share for the Big East crown was at stake. The game told a different story however, as turnovers and pressure buried the Rutgers offense. Their defense was also at a loss, as Uconn regularly had great field position and didn't have to go far to score. Rutgers got trounced 40-22, bringing their final regular season record to 8-4, 4-3.

Iowa State

The Cyclones kicked off their season in a game versus FCS power Northern Iowa. Northern Iowa took a six-point lead early, but an end of the half touchdown gave the Cyclones a 7-6 lead. It was a back-and-forth affair and with only 0:40 left, Steele Jantz rushed for his second touchdown giving Iowa State the lead and the win, 20-19.

The guys in red looked for their second consecutive home victory against in-state rival Iowa. The Cyclones have seen limited results against their rivals in past years, but they were looking to change the tide. The game went into three overtimes and the Cyclones edged the Hawkeyes 44-41 with a late James White touchdown scamper.

During the game, Sophomore RB Shontrelle Johnson rushed for over 100 yards and QB Steele Jantz threw four TDs. The Cyclones improved to 2-0.

In Week 3, Iowa State headed east to battle an even Connecticut Huskie team. Uconn took an early 10-0 lead but the Cyclones battled back. Iowa State had three second-half scores and Darius Reynolds caught four balls for 128 yards and two touchdowns. The Big 12 team improved to 3-0 entering conference play.

Their first Big 12 test was against No. 17 Texas. The Longhorns were undefeated and it showed. Texas jumped out to a whopping 34-0 lead before Iowa State could even answer. They scored two late touchdowns, but it did not affect the outcome. Iowa State stumbled for the first time and fell to 3-1, 0-1 in conference play.

Iowa State traveled south to play another Texas team, this time in the form of No. 25 Baylor. Darius Reynolds caught the first of two TD passes early and Steele Jantz threw another TD in the next frame, but RGIII and the Bears were too much. At one point Baylor scored 28 unanswered points and Iowa State was unable to make up the deficit. They lost 49-26 but had solid play from Jantz, James White and Darius Reynolds.

Following two straight losses, the guys wearing red and yellow traveled to Missouri to face yet another tough foe. The Tigers' James Franklin scored five total touchdowns and Iowa State failed to menace, turning the ball over three times and punting another six. Another blowout loss (52-17) saw the Cyclones drop to 3-3, 0-3 in the conference.

Iowa State returned home only to play their third ranked opponent in four weeks. The Aggies rolled into town and steamrolled the Iowa State defense. Iowa State gave up 100-plus rushing yards to two ball carriers and lost convincingly, yet again.

Jared Barnett took over under center and played very well. Iowa State had two 60-plus yard rushers and gathered momentum early.

Unfortunately, they lost their fourth straight.

The Cyclones traveled to Texas again only to see yet another ranked team. This time, they would not be beaten. Iowa State scored 21 first quarter points en route to blowing out a Top 25 Texas Tech team. Barnett had another solid game and Iowa State totaled an astounding 368 yards on the ground. The win was their first in over a month, their first over a ranked team and their first in the conference. They finally improved to 4-4, 1-4.

Enter Kansas.

After such an emotional win, ISU was looking to pound the Kansas Jayhawks. Jared Barnett threw for 175 yards and rushed for another 125. A late Zach Guyer field goal helped put ISU on top 13-10. It was their second straight win and they were riding high waiting for Oklahoma State.

To say the Cyclones had a tough schedule is an understatement. After already playing four ranked teams, they had their final quarter of the schedule against all ranked opponents.

The No. 2 OSU Cowboys came to town not knowing what was about to ensue. Jared Barnett threw three touchdowns and Albert Gary had over 100 yards receiving for the first time this year. A late TD pass from Barnett and the extra point tied up the game at 24-apiece, and the game was headed to overtime.

In the first extra stanza, both teams traded touchdowns. In the second and final, Jeff Woody's four-yard TD run sealed the game. It was Iowa State's biggest win in years and burst the Cowboys' BCS bubble.

After the big win, they didn't have time to celebrate long. They traveled to Norman, Oklahoma and Manhattan, Kansas in successive weeks. Both times ISU came out on the short end of the stick. At the time, OU was ranked No. 9 and KSU No. 11.

Oklahoma won by 20 and the Wildcats barely squeaked one out, winning by seven.

The consecutive losses dropped Iowa State to 6-6, 3-6.