Rutgers v. Louisville

Friday, November 11, 2005

8:00 EDT

Papa John's Cardinal Stadium

TV: ESPN-2

Radio: WHAS-840 AM.

TONIGHT'S GAME: Rutgers, with a 6-3 record and assured of a winning regular season, plays its first road game in nearly three weeks, traveling to Louisville, KY, to face the No. 23/23 ranked Louisville Cardinals in a Friday night contest, televised nationally on ESPN2. The Scarlet Knights had their three-game winning streak snapped last Saturday when a second-half rally fell short in a 45-31 loss to BIG EAST foe South Florida st Rutgers Stadium in the first ever meeting between the two schools. Despite the setback, Rutgers is off to its best nine-game start since 1980, when RU was also 6-3 en route to a 7-4 season. Louisville, ranked No. 23 in both the Associated Press and USA Today national polls, is 6-2 overall with a 2-2 mark in its first season in the BIG EAST Conference. Louisville played last Thursday night, posting a 42-20 home victory over Pittsburgh. The Cardinals possess a potent offense that is near the top of the national rankings in nearly every offense category. They enter tonight's game averaging 46.2 points per game and 495.8 yards of total offense per contest.

SCARLET KNIGHTS AT A GLANCE: Rutgers presents a powerful one-two punch, headed by dynamic junior FB Brian Leonard, a Doak Walker Award candidate who is the nation's leading fullback in all-purpose yardage. In addition to leading the Knights in allpurpose yardage (969), he also leads the team in receptions (38) and scoring (78 points), and is second on the team in rushing (573 yards).

Ray Rice is emerging as one of the most productive true freshman running backs in the country. The 5-9, 195-pound speedy halfback, who was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll on Monday, leads the Scarlet Knights' ground attack with 780 yards rushing this season. He is averaging 134 yards per game in his last four contests after posting his third 100-yard plus effort of the season with 158 yards against South Florida last Saturday. Senior WR Tres Moses is Rutgers' all-time leader in career receptions (184) and receiving yards (2,391). Moses, who is third in the BIG EAST in receiving yards/game (69.7), amassed 117 yards on five catches against USF last Saturday. He is currently tops on the team in receiving yards with 627 and is second in receptions with 37.

Defensively, senior DE Ryan Neill is ranked third in the nation in tackles for loss (2.00/game) and is 25th nationally in sacks (0.78/game). True freshman DB Courtney Greene leads the Knights in tackles with 89 and is coming off a 12-tackle performance vs. South Florida. He is second in the BIG EAST in tackles/game (9.6). Junior LB Devraun Thompson is tied for third in the BIG EAST in tackles (7.8/game). Sophomore DB Ron Girault is third on the team with 68 tackles, and is tied for fifth in the BIG EAST with 7.6 tackles per game. Girault has also recorded three interceptions.

LOUISIVLLE WINS BIG EAST HOME OPENER: The Cardinals won their first BIG EAST Conference home game in impressive fashion with a 42-20 win over Pittsburgh last Thursday at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. The win was the Cardinals' second straight league win to even their mark at 2-2.

Michael Bush registered his fifth 100-yard rushing game and the eighth of his career with a 115 yards on just 16 carries before leaving with a foot injury. He scored two

touchdowns to tie the school record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 20. Kolby Smith returned to the lineup after a knee injury and rushed for 58 yards and a score. Brian Brohm was efficient, completing 21-of-31 passes for 247 yards.

Sophomore placekicker Art Carmody tied a school record with four field goals, including a career-long 47-yarder right before the half to give the Cardinals a 22-20 lead at the half. The Cardinal defense yielded the Panthers just 260 yards of total offense, including just 101 yards in the second half.

After giving up 19 points in the first half, the Cardinals pitched a shutout in the second half. Senior defensive end Elvis Dumervil who didn't record a sack in the first 59 minutes, recorded a sack in the final minute and set an NCAA record when he recorded his ninth forced fumble of the season.

DUMERVIL HAVING MAGICAL SEASON: Senior defensive end Elvis Dumervil has been unblockable in his first eight games this season. The 6-0 end set an NCAA record for sacks in consecutive games with nine and added 1.0 last Thrsday to give him a nation's best 20.0 in 2005 — just 4.0 from tying the national record of 24. Dumervil set an NCAA record for sacks in a game with six against Kentucky on September 4 and picked up three against Oregon State and Florida Atlantic. His 20.0 sacks are are a new school record breaking the old mark of 17 sacks set by Joe Johnson in 1993. Dumervil also has 32.0 for his career which is second in the school annals. The 6-0 senior has 23.0 tackles for loss which is the fourth-best single-season total in school history. He has 42.5 for his career, which places him third all-time in school history.

RU 3-2 IN BIG EAST: Despite a 45-31 setback to BIG EAST newcomer South Florida last Saturday, Rutgers, with victories over Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Connecticut, owns a 3-2 record in the BIG EAST for the second time in its history in the league. The Scarlet Knights are off to their best five-game start in the league since 1992, when they were also 3-2. RU ended the 1992 season with a 4-2 BIG EAST mark. Rutgers' 37-29 victory over Pittsburgh on Sept. 30, which was televised to a national audience on ESPN2, marked the Scarlet Knights' first win to open BIG EAST play since the 1994 season, when they knocked off West Virginia, 17-12, on Sept. 10, 1994, at Rutgers Stadium. The 31-9 road win over Syracuse was Rutgers' first at the Carrier Dome since 1986. The wins over Syracuse and Connecticut marked the first time that Rutgers has ever won consecutive BIG EAST road games.

RUTGERS' LAST WIN OVER A RANKED TEAM: The last time Rutgers defeated a ranked opponent was on September 24, 1988 when the Scarlet Knights won at No. 15 Penn State, 21-16. Two weeks prior, on September 10, 1988, RU had knocked off Michigan State (also ranked No. 15 at the time), 17-13.

HOME COOKING; CARDS LOOKING FOR 11TH STRAIGHT AT HOME: In three seasons under head coach Bobby Petrino, the Cardinals are an impressive 14-1 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and have dominated the opposition. This season, Louisville has won four straight games and 10 in a row dating all the way back to the 2003 campaign. It's the longest streak since the Cardinals won all 10 home games during the 1992-94 campaigns. Louisville has scored 60 or more points in three of four home games, including 69 against North Carolina on October 8. Louisville scored more than 40 points at home for 11th time and the eighth straight time at PJCS. The Cards went 5-1 in 2003 and finished 2004 at 5-0. Louisville is averaging 58.8 ppg at home and 519.8 yards of total offense at PJCS this season. The opposition has averaged 56.8 yards rushing in four games at home.

GROWING UP IN THE NFL: Three members of the 2005 Rutgers football team have NFL pedigrees. Senior DE Ryan Neill is the son of Bill Neill, a standout defensive lineman with the NY Giants, while DT Carl Howard is the son of former Jets DB Carl Howard Sr. and r-freshman DB Chazz Lynn is the son of Johnnie Lynn, who played for the NY Jets and is now the secondary coach with the Baltimore Ravens.

JONES DOES IT ALL: Senior wide receiver and return specialist Montrell Jones has done a tremendous job in the passing game and taking over all the returns. Jones is second on the team with 29 receptions for 397 yards and averages 13.7 yards per catch. He also is averaging 12.3 yards a punt return and 25.1 yards a kick return. He's second on the team in all-purpose yards with 782 and averages 97.8 yards per game. Against Pittsburgh, Jones recorded 137all-purpose yards, including 110 in the return game, which included a 40-yard punt return.

Senior WR Tres Moses became Rutgers' all-time leader in career receptions vs. Syracuse, passing former All-American TE Marco Battaglia. He then became Rutgers' all-time leader in receiving yards vs. Navy, when he moved past Andrew Baker, Moses now has 184 career receptions entering the Louisville game and 2,391 career receiving yards. In addition, Moses, with 15 TDs, is two shy of Chris Brantley's school mark of 17. He is coming off a five-catch, 117-yard performance against South Florida.

CARDS 3RD IN NATION IN RUSHING TDs: The Cardinals set a school record last season for rushing touchdowns in a season with 47 and are on pace to break that mark again. Louisville rushed for three scores in last Thursday's 42-20 win over Pittsburgh to give them 30this season. With those 30scores, the Cardinals are now third in the country in rushing touchowns behind Texas (37) and USC (32). The Cardinals are on pace to rush for 43 touchdowns, which would be the second-best in school history.

RICE AMONG TRUE FRESHMAN NATIONAL LEADERS: True freshman running back Ray Rice's total of 780 yards entering tonight's game ranks fourth nationally in yards among true freshman this season. Coming off a 26-carry, 158-yard performance last week against South Florida, Rice is averaging better than five yards per carry. His best effort of the season came in the Scarlet Knights' victory at Connecticut when the true freshman totaled 217 yards on 27 carries against the Huskies. The mark is the third-best by a true freshman this season. His three touchdowns this season are tied for fourth-most by a true freshman nationally this season.

MORE FLORIDIANS IN GARDEN STATE THAN THE VILLE: There are currently 24 Florida natives on the 2005 Scarlet Knights roster, with 16 of them having earned starting assignments last season. Florida standouts accounted for 44.6% of the receiving yards last season (led by Tres Moses' 1,056 yards) and 40.1% of the team's tackles, led by Jarvis Johnson, who paced the team with 75 stops.

BROHM RANKS 2ND IN PASSING EFFICIENCY: Despite going 21-of-31 in the win over Pittsburgh, sophomore quarterback Brian Brohm dropped to number two in the country behind USC's Matt Leinhart. Brohm, who leads the BIG EAST in passing efficiency and total offense, dropped to 165.39, while Leinhart leads the country at 170.51. Brohm's 6-2 as a first-year starter, but has been very efficient in running Bobby Petrino's offense. Brohm has just thrown three interceptions in 247 throws and is second in the country in interception percentage. He owns a 1.21 percentage, which is just behind Drew Olson of UCLA, who stands at 1.02.

RED-ZONE SUCCESS: The Cardinals have been one of the best in the country in the red zone this season. Louisville is has scored on 88 percent (42-of-48) of their chances in the red zone this season and have scored 35 touchdowns in 48 tries, which translates to 73 percent of their opportunities. Louisville has scored 28 rushing scores inside the opposition's 20-yard line. They have converted on 25-of-27 opportunities in the red zone, including 20 touchdowns.zx