KNIGHTS GAMEDAY

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP : OFFENSE

RUTGERS VS. CONNECTICUTGAME 3: High Point Solutions Stadium, noon TV: ESPNU RADIO: 1450 AM

SCARLET KNIGHTS (4-0, 1-0)

PASSINGG. Nova

RUSHINGJ. JamisonS. HugginsRECEIVINGT. WrightM. HarrisonB. ColemanDEFENSEK. GreeneJamal MerrellL. Ryan

YDS962

YDS491

70YDS228165207

AVG.240.5

AVG.4.83.3

AVG.12.7

9.717.2INT

011

INT.2

LNG6431LNG466043SCK

20.5

0

TD9

TD21

TD025

TKL413227

CMP59.7%

NO.102

21NO.181712

TulaneHowardSouth FloridaArkansasConnecticutSyracuseTempleKent StateArmyCincinnatiPittsburghLouisville

W, 24-12W, 26-0W, 23-13W, 35-26noonnoonTBA3:30 p.m.TBAnoonTBA7:30 p.m.

SCHEDULESept. 1Sept. 8Sept. 13Sept. 22Oct. 6Oct. 13Oct. 20Oct. 27Nov. 10Nov. 17Nov. 24Nov. 29

[CONNECTICUT (3-2, 0-0)

INSIDEthe

NUMBERS

Key MatchupRUTGERS OFFENSIVE LINE VS. UCONN FRONT SEVEN

Connecticut linebacker Yawin Smallwood leads the Big East in tackles and has a team-high 10 tackles for loss. The Huskies recorded 16 sacks in their first five games,while Rutgers’ offensive line has yet to allow a sack — barring intentional grounding.

BRANDONCOLEMANWIDE RECEIVERSophomore6’-6”, 220 lbs.

KALEBJOHNSONTACKLESophomore6’-4”, 300 lbs.

ANTWANLOWERYGUARDJunior6’-4”, 305 lbs.

BETIMBUJARICENTERSophomore6’-4”, 290 lbs.

ANDRECIVILGUARDJunior6’-3”, 275 lbs.

R.J.DILLTACKLESenior6’-7”, 310 lbs.

D.C. JEFFERSONTIGHT ENDSenior6’-6”, 250 lbs

TIMWRIGHTWIDE RECEIVERSenior6’-4”, 220 lbs

GARYNOVAQUARTERBACKSophomore6’-2”, 225 lbs

SAM BERGENFULLBACKSophomore6’-0”, 235 lbs

JAWANJAMISONRUNNING BACKSophomore5’-8”, 200 lbs

MARCUSTHOMPSONRIGHT ENDJunior6’-2”, 260 lbs

SCOTT VALLONETACKLESenior6’-3”, 275 lbs

JAMILMERRELLTACKLEJunior6’-4”, 255 lbs

KA’LIALGLAUDLEFT ENDSenior6’-2”, 230 lbs

JAMALMERRELLLINEBACKERJunior6’-4”, 220 lbs

STEVEBEAUHARNAISLINEBACKERSenior6’-2”, 230 lbs

KHASEEMGREENELINEBACKERSenior6’-1”, 230 lbs

MARCUSCOOPERCORNERBACKSenior6’-2”, 190 lbs

LORENZO WATERSSTRONG SAFETYSophomore6’-0”, 200 lbs

DURONHARMONFREE SAFETYSenior6’-1”, 200 lbs

LOGANRYANCORNERBACKJunior6’-0”, 190 lbs

]

UMassNC StateMarylandW. MichiganBuffaloRutgersTempleSyracuseSouth FloridaPittsburghLouisvilleCincinnati

W, 37-0L, 10-7W, 24-21L, 30-24W, 24-17noon1 p.m.8 p.m.TBA8 p.m.TBATBA

SCHEDULEAug. 30Sept. 8Sept. 15Sept. 22Sept. 29Oct. 6Oct. 13Oct. 19Nov. 3Nov. 9Nov. 24Dec. 1

PASSINGWhitmerMcEnteeRUSHINGL. McCombsM. HyppoliteRECEIVINGG. DavisN. WilliamsL. McCombsDEFENSEY. SmallwoodJ. JohnsonB. JonesINJURIES

YDS1051

6YDS452

65YDS268158129

INT.60

LNG2850LNG263043SCK

400

TD40

TD41

TD100

TKL533731

CMP61.9%

50%NO.122

10NO.191212

AVG.210.2

6AVG.

3.76.5

AVG.14.113.210.8INT

000

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP : DEFENSE

INJURIESProbable — DE M. Booker, RB S. Huggins,DT Kenneth KirkseyDoubtful — WR M. ShulerOUT — DT A. Page

GAMEDAY PAGE 2 OCTOBER 5, 2012

Probable — FS T. Brown, C A. Mateas

BY JOEY GREGORYASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

After watching Connecticut sin-gle-handedly destroy the Rutgersfootball team’s bid for its first evershare of a Big East Championshiplast season, sophomore safetyLorenzo Waters has one outstand-ing memory.

“A lot of points,” he said. “Toomany points. I remember just being aspectator on the sidelines just hope-lessly watching our defense.”

The Huskies (3-2) put up 40 ofthem, 23 more than any team cur-rently on Rutgers’ Big East schedule.

That point total would be consid-ered uncharacteristic for any gamefor the Scarlet Knights (4-0, 1-0), letalone when they were fresh off one oftheir best defensive performances ofthe season.

“[Defensive coordinator RobbSmith is] still trying to figure outwhat was going on in that game,” saidsenior linebacker Khaseem Greene.“That was just not us. That wasn’t us.In a nutshell, that wasn’t us.”

Rutgers managed 22 points, 12of which came in the fourth quar-

ter, when the game was largely outof reach.

Sophomore Gary Nova enteredthe game in the fourth quarter andthrew for 298 yards, with then-fresh-man receiver Brandon Colemancatching 178 of them, including a 92-yard touchdown connection.

“I was just trying to go in thereand … give a spark, anything,”Nova said. “Obviously Brandon, hemade me look really good. Brandonreally came onto the scene afterthat game.”

Despite the fourth-quarter effort,the Knights fell short and failed toreach their goal of a Big East title.

“That was hard for me to shakethat [loss] off,” Greene said. “Thatwas a stinging one.”

If head coach Kyle Flood were toask his players what kind of motiva-tion that game gives the team fortomorrow’s matchup with theHuskies, he would likely receivemixed responses.

Players like Nova prefer not to letit linger, stressing there is a differ-ence between the 2011 teams and thetwo that compete tomorrow at HighPoint Solutions Stadium.

Junior defensive lineman JamilMerrell has a different take.

“Just playing UConn itself, withwhat they did to use last year, justgives us motivation to just bring itSaturday,” he said. “That’s all themotivation we need, just know we’replaying UConn and how they’regoing to come in here and try andtake it from us.”

Greene has a similar mentality,having taken the loss personallybecause of his role on the team.

“As a player, as a leader, as a cap-tain, I’m not going to let … anythinghappen, whether it’s on offense,defense, special teams, while wepractice all week or during thegame,” he said. “That’s the approachthat I’m taking.”

He says it is more important tofocus on what the Knights do as a teamrather than what the opponent does.

Waters agrees, believing thedefense needs to keep things simple.

“We’re going to do what we can tolimit the run, of course,” he said, “andprevent them from having any bigplays, but we’re going to just use ourfundamentals and stick to ourdefense and do what we need to do.”

UConn game carries history

Senior linebacker Khaseem Greene tackles Arkansas tight end Brandon Tate on Sept. 22. Greene trailsUConn’s Yawin Smallwood by 12 tackles for the Big East lead. NOAH WHITTENBURG, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

KNIGHT NUGGETS

Connecticut punter ColeWagner averages only 40.1yards per punt this season,second to last in the Big

East. Only Rutgers punter Justin Doerner, a first-team Big East punter last season, is behind him.

40.1The Connecticut defense heldsophomore running backJawan Jamison to only 19rushing yards last season

before Jamison began a five-game streak withmore than 100 yards on the ground.

19The Knights have scored inthe first quarter only oncethis season — a touchdownby sophomore running

back Savon Huggins against Howard on Sept.8. They look to improve the trend tomorrow.

1Results from six gamesbetween Rutgers and theHuskies have come downto seven points or less

since 2001. Rutgers has won three of the lastfour games by four points or less.

6

RUTGERS WINS, 20-13The Knights manage to makemore plays through the air en

route to a third blackout victory.

KHASEEM GREENESenior Linebacker

CAN RUTGERS’ ‘O’MOVE THE BALL

EFFICIENTLY VERSUSUCONN’S DEFENSE?

GARY NOVASophomore Quarterback

The Huskies are first in the Big East intotal defense, surrendering only 242.6

yards per game. Rutgers failed to sustaindrives against UConn in last season’s40-22 loss in East Hartford, Conn.

“As a player, as aleader, as a captain

I’m not going to let ...anything happen,

whether it’s onoffense, defense ...

[in] practice all weekor during the game.”

IT FINDS WAYS TOLIMIT BIG PLAYSFROM MCCOMBS,UCONN RUN GAMEThe Knights lead the nation inrush defense, surrendering only62.5 yards per game. SophomoreLyle McCombs, meanwhile, hasstruggled after a strong season.

RUTGERS COMESOUT SLUGGLISHLYFOLLOWING ITS BYEWEEK LAYOFF Head coach Kyle Flood said hewas pleased with the Knights’focus during practice, but a slowstart — like last season — couldbe all UConn needs in its opener.

BY THE NUMBERS

BIG QUESTION

THE ADVANTAGE GOES TO...

OFFENSE

DEFENSE

Rutgers has far more options on the perimeter, and Lyle McCombs has not sustained his output from last year.

UConn posted twice as many sacks and has shown an ability to play behind the line of scrimamge.

RUTGERS WINS IF... CONNECTICUT WINS IF...

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

TARGUM’S FINAL VERDICT

COACHING

SPECIAL TEAMS

Head coach Kyle Flood has the Knights off to their bestfour-game start since the 2006 season.

Returner Nick Williams burned Rutgers in two previousmeetings and could determine this year’s outcome.

GAMEDAY PAGE 3OCTOBER 5, 2012

X-FACTOR

MOMENTUM

Rutgers’ defense faces a quarterback making his firstappearance in a Big East game in Chandler Whitmer.

A likely sell-out and blackout are in store for the Knightsat home following a banner win at Arkansas.

BY JOSH BAKANASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

The Rutgers football teammade its presence known by beat-ing Arkansas, 35-26, Sept. 22 topush itself into the national rank-ings for the first time since 2009and steal some of Arkansas’national prominence.

Now Connecticut has thechance to steal a little from theScarlet Knights tomorrow when itvisits Piscataway.

The Huskies enter High PointSolutions Stadium with a blank slatein conference play. Even thoughUConn’s first Big East test isagainst the second-highest rankedteam in the Big East, head coachPaul Pasqualoni is ready.

“Certainly you want to do well inyour conference. To say anythingless would be minimizing,”Pasqualoni said. “But when you talkabout the work to play any game, itdoesn’t matter who the program is.”

When the two teams lastfaced off, the Huskies beat theKnights, 40-22, in Rutgers’ regu-lar season finale.

That occurred in Pasqualoni’sfirst season with Connecticut, andRutgers has changed since thenunder an even newer head coach inKyle Flood.

Rutgers also had a differentstarting quarterback with then-sophomore Chas Dodd in the sec-ond-to-last game he started.

Dodd played only threequarters in the game, complet-ing 11-of-22 passes for 141

yards — an average of 6.4yards per pass.

Now-sophomore quarterbackGary Nova entered in the final quar-ter and threw for 298 yards, eventhough he threw two interceptionsafter Dodd only tossed one.

Now the Rutgers offense is inNova’s control, and he broke outagainst the Razorbacks for careerhighs of 397 passing yards, 25 com-pletions and five touchdowns in theKnights’ 35-point effort.

“They’re going to make someplays, and you have to be able totackle it and keep it in front of you,”

Pasqualoni said. “They have goodbalance, and they’re certainly put-ting up good numbers against, Ithink, some pretty good teams.”

UConn’s biggest tacking threatis linebacker Yawin Smallwood,who leads the Big East with 53 tack-les,12 tackles ahead of Rutgers sen-ior linebacker Khaseem Greene,who sits in second.

The Connecticut defense is alsothe best in the Big East when itcomes to yardage, and it is not even

close. UConn allows 242.6 yardsper game, and Rutgers holds sec-ond place with 310 yards allowedper game.

That is the least of Pasqualoni’sconcerns.

“We’re capable of playing prettygood defense, but we have areaswhere we need to continue toimprove upon,” he said.

Pasqualoni is the Big East’scareer leader with 112 wins and 65conference coaching wins — most-ly from his coaching stint withSyracuse from 1991-2004.

But Pasqualoni has not yet hadan opportunity to add to his BigEast win total this season. Rutgersbegins a chain of seven conferencegames for UConn.

Flood won his only Big Eastgame as a head coach in a 23-13 winSept. 13 at South Florida.

But all that matters for UConn isthis season, when it looks to equalRutgers’ Big East win total bydefeating the Knights.

Even though USF was Rutgers’most important victory since it wasin conference, the win againstArkansas was the one that got thenation to notice in a nationally tele-vised game that put the Knights inthe top 25

UConn can gain some glory inits own right with a win, and thewhole nation can witness it onESPNU.

“It’s an easy one to get up forsince we haven’t won in the BigEast, but I think there’s a lotmore to it,” Pasqualoni said. “It’sa big game.”

Huskies face changed team

“You want to do wellin your conference.

To say anything less would

be minimizing.” PAUL PASQUALONI

Connecticut Head Coach

Connecticut head coach Paul Pasqualoni is the Big East’s all-time winningest coach with 55 wins,and Rutgers is his first chance this season to add another to his total. GETTY IMAGES

GAMEDAY PAGE 4 OCTOBER 5, 2012

BY TYLER BARTOSPORTS EDITOR

As Mark Harrison peered intothe Arkansas night Sept. 22, hehad an opportunity to accomplishsomething he had not in nearlytwo years. The moment he hadwaited for since then lasted onlyeight seconds.

But after staring back to theline of scrimmage following a 60-yard touchdown catch against theRazorbacks, Harrison understoodits worth.

“I feel like it was something Ineeded and my team needed,” hesaid. “My team held my backthrough thick and thin with what Iwas going through. My confi-dence level now is really shootingto the sky.”

Through four games, Harrisonhas 17 catches for 165 yards and apair of touchdowns. He caughtonly 14 passes and scored as manytouchdowns last year in 12 games.

He struggled with confi-dence, purpose and most oftenthe deep pass.

And yet Harrison was only ayear removed from a career sea-son in which he led the Rutgersfootball team with 44 catches, 829yards and nine scores. So he bidedhis time in the offseason, when anew coaching staff took shapewith new evaluations.

“I stayed patient, waited on mymoment and my chance and myopportunity,” Harrison said. “Ireally felt like, ‘OK, this is my time.This is my year to really show peo-ple that I’m back, and I’m here formy team.’”

The Harrison that emerged in2010 was a perennial deep threat,averaging 18.8 yards per catch —second-best on the team — andbecoming a reliable target despiteworking with two quarterbacks.

But after Mohamed Sanu’s ban-ner 2011 season and a string ofdrops in meaningful games,Harrison was a shell of his formerself on paper. Despite setting acareer high with 22.8 yards percatch, he started only four games.

He dropped a pair of passes atLouisville — one a sure-firetouchdown — and promptlyanswered questions from the

CHANGINGHarrison, Knights wide receivers settle into roles as pass game develops under first-year offensive coordinator

GAME 2 GAME 4GAME 3GAME 1 9/1/12 @ Tulane9/1/11 vs NC Central

9/8/12 vs Howard9/10/11 @ North Carolina

9/13/12 @ South Florida9/24/11 vs Ohio

9/22/12 @ Arkansas10/1/11 vs Syracuse

Tim Wright3 receptions, 29 yards@ Tulane1 reception, 13 yardsvs NC Central

Mark Harrison6 receptions, 16 yards

vs HowardNo Receptions

@ NC

Tim Wright8 receptions, 125 yards@ South FloridaNo Receptionsvs Ohio

Brandon Coleman6 receptions, 89 yards@ ArkansasNo Receptionsvs Syracuse

Offense

A comparison of Rutgers’ threeleading receivers so far this seasonwith their performance from one year ago

Senior wide receiver Mark Harrison runs into the Arkansas end zone Sept. 22 following a 60-yard catch, his longest reception sincea stat-packed sophomore season. He says he now has the most confidence since then. NOAH WHITTENBURG, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

media afterward. He respondedthe next week against WestVirginia with a 45-yard touch-down, but those moments werefew and far between.

“I’m always confident, butsometimes there’s a little doubtwhen you miss a ball,” Harrisonsaid. “It’s how you build on it andhow you get through it. The lasttime I was that confident was mysophomore year, to be honest.”

Teammates continue to takenotice.

“Coming off the past years andthe success that he’s had, you justwant to … keep building on thethings you’ve done in the past,”said senior wideout Tim Wright. “Ifeel it’s very important for his con-fidence and pride, and for the teamto trust him.”

Wright, meanwhile, is enjoyingthe best season of his career.

He leads the Scarlet Knightswith 18 receptions for 228 yardsafter a 2011 campaign in which herecorded only 11 and 147. A kneeinjury in training camp cut his 2010season short.

He has become the Knights’most viable third-down receiver,Harrison said.

“Everybody’s getting theiridentities,” he said.

Sophomore Brandon Colemancontinues to emerge as one of theBig East’s most dangerous deepthreats. He has 11 touchdowns in17 career games, and he averages41.7 yards per score.

Junior Quron Pratt materializedas a steady receiver a year ago, andhe enjoyed his most productive

game of the season at Arkansaswith five catches for 85 yards.

And while Harrison’s identity isstill being scripted, his early show-ing is encouraging.

“It’s so reassuring when youknow doing your job is helpingyour team win,” he said. “Itgives you a better feeling aboutwhat you’re doing and howyou’re executing.”

Rutgers’ per-game pass aver-age still hovers around lastyear’s mark of 241.2, but theKnights have become more effi-cient. They rank third in the con-ference in pass efficiency andare on pace to cut their intercep-tions in half.

Offensive coordinator DaveBrock deserves the credit,Wright said.

“Coach Brock does a good jobof putting the receivers … in theirstrengths,” he said. “That’s howwe’re operating right now. I feellike we all bring some good stuffto the table.”None was more important thanHarrison’s re-introduction to thenational stage.

With Rutgers nursing a two-point lead, Harrison collectedsophomore quarterback GaryNova’s pass at Arkansas’ 35-yardline, evaded a diving tackle 20yards later and left a defenderbehind him.

Time will tell if his checkeredpast follows suit.

“That was clutch,” Colemansaid. “For him to come through isbig for his confidence. I was sohappy. That sealed the deal.”

GRAPHIC BY HAKAN UZUMCU

GAMEDAY PAGE 5OCTOBER 5, 2012

BY JOEY GREGORYASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

The Rutgers football team’ssecondary is among the mostexperienced groups on the field.

Of the starting four, sophomore safety LorenzoWaters is the only one not to have played in all 13 games last season.

Senior cornerback MarcusCooper, who backed up class-mate Brandon Jones a year ago,also appeared in every game ofthe 2011 campaign.

Cooper believes the unit is reap-ing the benefits of that experience.

“The more experience [and]the more game time you get, themore comfortable you are outthere, the more confident youare in the play,” he said. “Justthat everybody has that experi-ence level … it helps out theunit, definitely.”

Waters has undergone a differ-ent sort of season. He is the onlymember of the secondary new toa starting role.

He is undergoing an adjustmentperiod the others are far beyond.

The team’s last contest againstArkansas was a huge steppingstone in his growth, said juniorcornerback Logan Ryan.

“Your first year as a starter,there’s nothing like playing infront of 70,000 fans,” Ryan said.“That’s something everyone hasto get used to and he’s doing agreat job. He’s taking coaching,he’s getting better week to week.I think you should really gradehim after the season. No one isgreat after four weeks.”

Ryan, a preseason All-Big Eastfirst team member, has his own

role to play in defensive coordina-tor Robb Smith’s scheme.

He is largely regarded as oneof the best cover corners on theteam.

But head coach Kyle Floodstresses there is no such thing asa cover corner. All cornerbackshave to be able to stop the run aswell as the pass.

Ryan is no exception.“Logan [because of his place

on the field] has a lot moreresponsibility when it comes tothe run,” Jones said. “As a wholeunit we pride ourselves in being

IDENTITYExperienced Rutgers secondary prepares for balanced Connecticut attack, decreased number of pass attempts

9/1/12 Game 1 @Tulane254 Pass Yards182.2 Avg. Pass Yards

9/8/12Game 2 vsHoward

75 Pass Yards164.9 Avg. Pass Yards

9/13/12Game 3 @

South Florida242 Pass Yards

260.4 Avg. Pass Yards

9/22/12Game 4 @Arkansas419 Pass Yards310.4 Avg. Pass Yards

DefenseA look at how Rutgers’Pass Defense has fared against their opponents sofar in the 2012 seasoncompared to the average passing yards per game of each opponentin the 2012 season

Junior cornerback Logan Ryan intercepts a pass from Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson intended for wideout Cobi Hamilton inthe end zone. Ryan leads the Rutgers secondary in tackles this season with 27. NOAH WHITTENBURG, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

able to stop that pass and the run,and that’s been since Day 1, sincewe been here.”

Judging by statistics, the sec-ondary is having more success atstopping the run than the pass.

Rutgers ranks first in thenation in run defense while it is80th against the pass.

Part of that, Ryan believes,deals with where the defense’smain focus lies.

“Stopping the run is ourbiggest concern, and the sec-ondary needs to be involved inthat and we’re doing a good job,”he said. “That’s making peoplepass about 50 attempts, 40attempts, switch their game up,which we want [them] to do. Butwhen they are passing about 50times, we want to do a better jobof playing pass defense.”

The Knights’ last opponentdid not help the numbers, either.

Razorback quarterbackTyler Wilson was an all-confer-ence selection last year and wason target Sept. 22, despite tak-ing the loss.

But many of his passes wentin the direction of wide receiverCobi Hamilton, who caught halfof Wilson’s 20 completions for anSEC-record 303 yards.

In contrast, Connecticutquarterback ChandlerWhitmer, who the Knights facetomorrow, completed 15 passesto eight dif ferent receivers inhis last performance.

But the difference betweenthe two signal callers in termsof targets will not cause muchof a dif ference in the sec-ondary’s focus.

“We play each receiver hon-estly,” Waters said. “We’re notgoing to spend any special atten-tion to one specific receiver. We’llhave them all covered. Hopefullythat’ll take care of it.”

If statistics are any indica-tion, the Knights secondar ywill likely not face the sort ofair attack it did nearly twoweeks ago, as the Huskieshave 54 more rushing attemptsthan passing.

But UConn also has yet to face a defense ranked ashigh Rutgers’.

GRAPHIC BY HAKAN UZUMCU

OCTOBER 5, 2012GAMEDAY PAGE 6

GAME OF THE WEEK

1. RUTGERS2. Cincinnati3. Louisville4. Connecticut5. Temple6. Syracuse7. Pittsburgh8. South Florida

BIG EAST STANDINGS

TEAM RECORD PRE-RANK 2011Football

SYRACUSE

Syracuse, which joins Pitt

in the ACC next season,

looks to avenge a 33-20

loss to the Panthers in last

year’s season finale. Ray

Graham, who continues to

recover from a torn ACL he

suffered last season, is No.

4 in the Big East in rush

yards this season with 362

under Paul Chryst.

Key Matchup’Cuse QB Ryan Nassib vs. Pitt pass defense

The Panthers have allowed opponents to convert each time they enter thered zone this season, while Nassib, a senior under Doug Marrone, leads

the Big East in passing this season 1,367 yards and 10 touchdowns.

BIGEAST

PREDICTIONPITTSBURGH, 23-17

Chryst’s developing offense outlastsa reeling Syracuse program.

SOUTH FLORIDAat TEMPLE

Temple plays in its first Big East game since itsdeparture from the MAC against a South Florida

team that has lost three in a row. But a trip toPhiladelphia might cure the Bulls’ woes.PREDICTION: South Florida, 28-10

A trap game awaits the Bearcats after they upsettop-25 Virginia Tech last weekend at FedEx

Field in Washington, D.C. QuarterbackMunchie Legeaux continues to develop.PREDICTION: Cincinnati, 31-24

MIAMI (OHIO)at CINCINNATI

PITTSBURGH

Senior running back Ray Graham leads Pitt into Syracuseand the Carrier Dome tonight. DAILY TARGUM / OCTOBER 2011

4-0, 1-03-0, 1-05-0, 0-03-2, 0-01-2, 0-01-3, 0-02-2, 0-12-3, 0-1

3rd4th1st6th8th7th5th2nd

9-410-37-65-79-4*5-76-75-7

*Temple played in the Mid-American Conference last season before accepting aninvitation to rejoin the Big East beginning this season.

GAMEDAY PAGE 7OCTOBER 5, 2012

BY TYLER BARTOSPORTS EDITOR

Khaseem Greene earned BigEast Co-Defensive Player of theYear honors last year, posted acareer high in tackles and is theemotional leader of an undefeatedteam.

But for all of his exploits, thesenior linebacker still owes ScottVallone.

“I just told Scott the other dayin practice that I was going to takehim out to eat,” Greene said.“Some of the things he does upfront, and some of the problemshe presents … is stuff that doesn’tget penciled down on the statsheet.”

Greene credits the Rutgersfootball team’s front four for itsNo. 1 run defense nationally, butlike the Scarlet Knights’ 4-0 start,the answer runs deeper.

After entering the season asarguably the Knights’ biggesthole, the defensive line has foundits own answers. Vallone, a seniordefensive tackle, worked besidenew starter Isaac Holmes and ahost of rotating defensive ends.

Junior linebacker JamalMerrell emerged in the samebreath as Greene and senior SteveBeauharnais. And per Rutgers’defensive philosophy, its corner-backs enter the fold in rushdefense, as well.

But which level of defensedeserves the most credit remainsup for debate.

“[The linebackers are] alldoing a great job this year, andthat’s why I think we stop therun,” said senior defensive endKa’Lial Glaud. “If we mess up onone of our jobs, we always havepeople behind us that have ourback that are great tacklers.”

Glaud points to former headcoach Greg Schiano for settingrun defense expectations. Vallonesays it comes down from the cur-

Senior defensive tackle Scott Vallone, who has started 42 consecutive games, is a key cog in the Knights’ run defense, which hasheld its first four opponents under 100 yards for the first time since 1980. LIANNE NG, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Jury remains out on RU run ‘D’ catalyst

rent staff, which sets goals foropposing rush totals each week.

And Greene insists it is thedefense’s execution of coordinatorRobb Smith’s scheme.

The numbers, meanwhile, givethe most clarity.

“Sixty-two-and-a-half yards agame, that’s big stuff,” Vallonesaid. “We need to continue to dothat, but it’s only four games in.There’s times in games where wefeel like … we gave them runs.That number could be even less.”

By all accounts, there havebeen few opportunities to do so.

Of the top-10 rush defensesnationally, only Oregon State (74)has faced fewer rush attemptsthan Rutgers (102).

Of the 64 first downs theKnights have allowed this sea-son, only 19 came on the ground.Two of its opponents — Tulane

and Arkansas — ran fewer than20 times and threw the ball twiceas often.

The number figures to changein the final two-thirds of the season.

Seven of the Knights’ eightremaining opponents — andtheir final six — run more thanthey pass.

“We know the championshipdefenses as you look around thecountry are all top inside stoppingthe run,” Glaud said. “You stop ateam from running the ball, itequates to winning games.”

They will have to do so with-out Holmes.

The starting nose tackle suf-fered a season-ending wristinjur y Sept. 22 at Arkansas,leaving a position of strength toa host of questions. Holmes’emergence led to Vallone’sreturn to the three-technique,

but Vallone figures to play bothspots now.

Several Knights could enter thefold in Holmes’ wake, as well.

“They have to build it in prac-tice,” Vallone said. “Obviouslythose guys have been back for acouple weeks now. They need toshow they can add the depth, andthere’s not going to be a hugedrop-off when we come out.”

Holmes was one of those play-ers last year, spelling Vallonebetween series. His loss adds anew wrinkle after Holmes earneda bulk of the credit for demandingdouble teams against the run.

“Ike was playing top notch if youask me, that’s no bias,” Greene said.“I’ll be the first one to say it: I don’tmake 140 tackles [last year] withoutScott and guys like Ike. This year, Idon’t make as many tackles as Imake without those guys up front.”

Vallone estimates he sees 90percent of the team’s defensive snaps. He could be inline for more, depending onSmith’s approach.

Smith could turn to juniorJamil Merrell, whose 6-foot-4frame could warrant a return to a hybrid end-tackle role. He could also seek out junior Michael Larrow, whorecently returned from a four-game suspension.

And sophomore KennethKirksey, who has yet to see thefield because of a training campinjury, could earn a call.

“The toughness of your footballteam,” Glaud said, “is on your noseguard and on your three-tech-nique, the guys who are reallyinside to fight every single play.”

Whoever it is will have to earnGreene’s offer.

Linebackers Steve Beauharnais, top, and Kevin Snyder wrap up Howard running back William Parker in the Knights’ 26-0 win Sept. 8. Senior Ka’Lial Glaud creditsthe team’s active linebackers for its No. 1 national ranking against the run. JOVELLE TAMAYO / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF