Play of the Day
Rutgers'
fake field goal. The Scarlet Knights dipped
into their bag of tricks when the field goal
unit came out and lined up for a would-be
44-yard field goal attempt late in the
second quarter. But they quickly switched
formations and J.T. Tartacoff took a shotgun
snap and completed a 26-yard pass to Tyler
Kroft which set up a 1-yard touchdown pass
to Kroft on the following play.
Runner
up:
Louisville had a host of plays to pick from
on the night. It could be any one of the Cardinals' four
interceptions or eight
sacks of Gary Nova. There were also plenty of Teddy
Bridgewater passes to open receivers.
The Turning Point
Gary
Nova's second quarter interception. Rutgers was down 3-0 and
driving in Louisville territory to start the second quarter
after its defense had picked up a bit of momentum. But Nova
and Brandon Coleman were out of sync and the result was an
interception right in the hands of James Burgess. Two plays
later Louisville scored and started to open up a double-digit
lead. That set the tone for Nova's night which ended with
four interceptions. He just wasn't able to make clutch
throws although he did face his fair share of pressure. But
for Rutgers to have beaten Louisville, it would have taken a
solid performance by Nova.
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Moment:
Anthony
Cioffi's sack of Teddy Bridgewater. Cioffi came
from Bridgewater's blind side and nailed him to
jar the football loose deep inside Rutgers
territory. The play could have set up the
possibility for a dramatic game-tying drive. But
it was a drive that would not be.
Forgettable Moment:
Rutgers'
secondary was beaten badly as Tejay Johnson and
Nadir Barnwell let wide receiver Kai DeLa Cruz
get behind them and was wide open for a 34-yard
touchdown catch which pushed Louisville to a
10-0 advantage.
Quotables
Gary Nova on Rutgers' failed fourth quarter
comeback:
Kyle Flood on Gary Nova's play and getting sacked eight
times:
Nadir Barnwell on what he has to do better playing
cornerback:
Scarlet
Nation whack of the game:
In
the early stages of the third quarter, Louisville
wide receiver James Quick caught a short pass and as
he was trying to make a move, defensive lineman
David Milewski chased him down from behind and
provided a bone-jarring hit that even made the home
crowd let out a collective shriek.
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Anthony Cioffi.
The
true freshman took over for an ineffective Nadir
Barnwell and played well in coverage. Cioffi also
recovered a fumble and caused one with a huge sack
of Bridgewater in the fourth quarter.
Stock Down
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Tejay Johnson. He had trouble all night in
coverage and seemed to always be a step or two
behind the Louisville receivers.
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Injury update
Senior
cornerback Lew Toler left the game during the first
series as he was carted off the field. Head coach
Kyle Flood offered an update on his status.
"He broke his arm. His parents were here and they
were at the hospital with him. I don't have more of
an update than that but that's the situation."
Inside the Numbers
Ruhann Peele set a career high wirth five catches for 58
yards.
The crowd of 55,168 was the fourth largest crowd ever to watch
a game at Papa John's Stadium.
At the end of the first half safeties Lorenzo Waters and Tejay
Johnson were Rutgers' second leading tacklers with four and
three tackles respectively behind Steve Longa, who had seven
tackles. Longa finished with 11 tackles.
Up until Rutgers' first scoring drive, the offense had run 16
plays for a total of 31 yards.
Gary Nova threw four interceptions and was sacked eight times
on the night.