• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Big second quarter helps Rutgers to rout

Sep 16, 2007 - 1:16 AM PISCATAWAY, New Jersey (Ticker) -- After a slow start, Ray Rice and Rutgers had no problem making Homecoming 2007 a success.

Rice ran for 72 yards and three touchdowns and Mike Teel threw three scoring passes as the 13th-ranked Scarlet Knights rode an explosive second quarter to their 10th straight home win, a 59-0 triumph over Norfolk State on Saturday.

The margin of victory was the largest for Rutgers since posting an identical 59-0 win over Buffalo in 2000.

After becoming the school's all-time leading rusher last week, Rice did not let up against the Spartans, gaining 39 yards on nine carries in the first quarter and erupting for three consecutive touchdowns during Rutgers' 42-point second period.

"They were doing things up front that were giving us problems in the first quarter," Rice said. "The coaches did a good job making the adjustments. The most important thing today is that we got through this game without anybody getting hurt."

"I've been a part of something like that a couple of times, but never in college," Teel said of the huge second quarter. "When you get it going, it's special, and it was important for our offense to put it in the end zone when you have the opportunities."

Rice, who was one of many regulars rested in the second half, climbed within one of J.J. Jennings' school record of 34 rushing touchdowns. He also increased his school-record rushing yards total to 3,345 on 12 carries overall.

Teel used only two receivers to compile 269 yards in the first half, including 244 in the second quarter on 7-of-8 passing. He hooked up with junior Tiquan Underwood on four occasions for 148 yards and one TD and completed another four passes to Kenny Britt for 121 yards and two scores.

"We weren't frustrated in the first quarter, but we knew we were not playing up to our potential," said Underwood, who tied the school mark with his third straight 100-yard receiving game. "In the second quarter, we got on a roll, and you can see how explosive our offense is and that we have some great players. The sky's the limit with this team."

The Scarlet Knights (3-0), who have not lost at home since a setback to South Florida on November 5, 2005, continued their trend of putting points on the board, reaching the 30-point mark for the sixth consecutive game. The second-quarter surge was the largest in school history for one period.

"That was the longest quarter I've experienced in my 39 years of coaching," Norfolk State coach Pete Adrian said. "We knew going in we would have trouble with (Underwood and Britt). They have great speed and are big-time receivers. We had nobody on our football team that could cover them, and they obviously broke it open."

It took just over a quarter for Rutgers to get started in this one, as the Football Championship Subdivision Norfolk State team held it to just a 30-yard field goal by Jeremy Ito in the first 15 minutes.

"It was 3-0 at the quarter and it's a football game," Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. "We were working hard on offense, but it just was not happening. I'm glad they kept chopping away."

But Teel began the onslaught in the second quarter, hitting Britt with a 43-yard scoring strike just 14 seconds into the period for a 10-0 lead. Teel connected with Underwood for a 28-yard TD less than a minute later and capped the quarter's scoring binge with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Britt with 2:17 remaining in the half.

"Michael was on the money, and not with 10- to 12-yard passes," Schiano said. "These were downfield passes. It's great when you get the plus-25 plays."

Between Teel's final two TD tosses, Rice ran for scores of 22, seven and four yards. The junior Heisman Trophy candidate gained all but eight of Rutgers' rushing yards in the first half, helping his team to a 98-yard edge in the category before intermission.

The Scarlet Knights owned possession for just 9 1/2 minutes in the first half.

Jabu Lovelace ran for a pair of 16-yard touchdowns in the second half while completing 2-of-3 passes for 28 yards for Rutgers.

Casey Hansen went 12-of-26 for 108 yards with an interception for Norfolk State (1-1), which was outgained, 537-122, in total yardage.