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Rice, Rutgers kick off 2007 campaign vs. Buffalo

Aug 30, 2007 - 10:23 PM Buffalo at No. 16 Rutgers 7:00 pm EDT

PISCATAWAY, New Jersey (Ticker) -- After a breakthrough season, Ray Rice and Rutgers are looking for more this year.

Star running back Rice and the 16th-ranked Scarlet Knights begin their 2007 campaign against likely overmatched Buffalo on Thursday.

The Scarlet Knights won their first nine games in 2006, including handing Louisville its lone defeat, and just missed out on winning the Big East Conference, losing at West Virginia in triple overtime.

Rutgers then crushed Kansas State in the Texas Bowl, 37-10, to finish an 11-2 campaign and build momentum for a potentially greater season this year.

Leading Rutgers' cause is Rice, who finished third in the nation in rushing and scored 20 touchdowns as a sophomore last year; junior quarterback Mike Teel, who came on strong at the end of the season; and a speedy defense headed by tackle Eric Foster.

This will be the first of five straight home games to begin the season for the Scarlet Knights, who went 6-0 here last year.

Buffalo won just two of its 12 games in 2006, its first campaign under former Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill.

The Bulls went just 1-7 in the Mid-American Conference but did manage to post their first defeat of a team with a winning record (Kent State) since joining the league in 1999.

Junior Drew Willy, who missed the final four games of 2006 with a thumb injury, is back to lead Buffalo's offense for a third straight year. Helping his cause will be running back James Starks, who was named second-team All-MAC as a freshman last year.

Rutgers has won the last two meetings with Buffalo, most recently a 17-3 triumph in 2005.