The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey • 38

PAGE C6 www.MyCentralJersey.com Home News TUibune SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2009 COLLEGE FOOTBALL Questions We have winners in our Rutgers ticket giveaway! tryman; Steven Pelszynski; Ed Schwab; Peggy D'Zio; Karen Clifford; John Kendzu-lak; Anthony Olivieri; Bill Becker; and David Iacovone. And don't forget to check both newspapers this week for more chances to win! We will be giving tickets away to the Sept. 12 Rutgers game. Pick up a Home News Tribune or Courier News from Sept. 7-10 to find our hidden ad.

Score a touchdown, that is. "We need to be better," Schiano said of his return game. "Middle of the pack isn't good enough. I've said that before. The amount of time and resources we commit to it, that's not good enough.

If we didn't commit those resources, I'd be fine with it. We spent too much time, we allocate athletes to that, we have to have better results." 5 Can Rutgers "one-game-at-a-time" it all the way to the Big East title? Sure it was boring to us media folks, but once Rutgers' adopted that familiar cliche, it resulted in the seven-game winning streak to close the season. "At midseason, the light came on," said Schiano, whose team became just the seventh in major college football history to rebound from a 1-5 start to make a bowl. "As a staff, we asked, 'When have we been at our "We've been best when we just were on-task, pouring everything we got into this next game and not worrying about anything else. We just got caught up in results a little too much, and when you worry about the results you're going to be in trouble.

We got right back to that core process, and it helped us get back on that track." Rest assured, P.utgers will be adopting that ma ltra throughout the season, nevei looking past the next game on the docket. Said middle linebacker Ryan D'Imperio: "It's always 'one game at a We just worry about preparing for that next one-game season. And we have to pick up right where we left off." Keith Sargeant: ksargeantMyCentralJersey FROM PAGE CI Heading into this season, Rutgers may still employ a committee approach, but the backfield appears in better hands with Joe Martinek and Jourdan Brooks carrying the load. The redshirt sophomores may split the workload, but Schiano likes the dimensions both can offer. "I think these two guys are a little different," he said.

"Although they're both big backs, they can give you a different look." Can the two-headed approach work? Certainly. Remember, in 2005 Rice and Brian Leonard were both featured prominently and the Scarlet Knights rushed for nearly 2,000 yards as a team. Factor in the big-play potential of De'Antwan Williams a true freshman nicknamed "The Rocket" for his speed and the possible return of Young, and there's no reason to believe Rutgers shouldn't surpass last year's paltry results. 3 Will the freshman class pay instant dividends this season? The 2009 recruiting class was widely hailed as the best in Schi-ano's tenure, and several of the now-freshmen showed glimmers of promise this summer. Chances are Tom Savage won't start Monday's opener.

The consensus top 10 quarterback prospect might not even play against Cincinnati. But with every dart he throws in practice, it seems like a matter of when not if Savage takes the reins of Rutgers' of- it yi TOP 25 ROUNDUP Rolie pick helps Ohio State win Brian Rolle intercepted a potential two-point conversion in the closing minutes and returned it for two points the other way, helping No. 6 Ohio State hold off pesky Navy 31-27 on Saturday. A crowd of 105,092 the largest ever to see the Buckeyes open a season sat in stunned silence after the Midshipmen scored twice in just over 4 minutes to cut a 29-14 deficit to two points with 2:23 left in the game. Navy went for the conversion and the tie, but Rolle stepped in front of Ricky Dobbs' pass and rumbled up the sideline to preserve the win in the Midshipmen's first trip to Ohio Stadium since 1931 and keep the luster on next week's showdown between the Buckeyes and No.

4 Southern Cal. Terrelle Pryor ran for a touchdown and passed for another to help Ohio State build its lead early in the fourth quarter. No. 9 OKLAHOMA STATE 24, No. 13 GEORGIA 10: Zac Robinson threw two touchdown passes to star receiver Dez Bryant and also scored on a quarterback sneak as Oklahoma State proved itself deserving of its highest preseason ranking ever.

The Cowboys capitalized on a fourth quarter fumble by new Georgia starting quarterback Joe Cox to seal the season-opening win on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Robinson to Bryant. The two also hooked up on an impressive 46-yard score in the first half that got Oklahoma State's offense going after a sloppy start. Robinson finished with 135 yards on 11 for 22 passing, and Bryant made the most of his three catches for 77 yards. Cox was 15 for 30 for 162 yards with one touchdown and one interception. No.

1 FLORIDA 62, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 3: Florida opened its most anticipated season in school history with a near-perfect performance. Tim Tebow accounted for two touchdowns, Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps had scoring runs, and Brandon James ended the school's longest special-teams drought in a victory over Charleston Southern. Florida, an overwhelming favorite to repeat as national champs, accomplished everything it wanted to in the opener. The Gators unveiled some new wrinkles, won the game in convincing fashion and avoided any major injuries. No.

2 TEXAS 59, LOUISIANA-MONROE 20: Colt McCoy passed for 317 yards and two touchdowns and No. 2 Texas romped past Louisiana-Monroe. Last season's runner-up for the Heisman Trophy connected with Jordan Shipley for a 78-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Cody Johnson scored Texas' first three touchdowns on short runs and freshman D.J. Monroe returned a first-half kickoff 89 yards for a TD.

No. 4 USC 56, SAN JOSE STATE 3: Matt Barkley passed for 233 yards after a slow start to his Southern California debut, and the Trojans' fleet of tailbacks ran for six touchdowns. Barkley, the first non-redshirt freshman to start a season opener at USC, shook off a rocky first quarter to go 15 for 19 with no interceptions. He was at his best handing off to his fellow Trojans, who pounded the Spartans with six consecutive TD drives after trailing 3-0 early in the second quarter. No.

15 GEORGIA TECH 37, JACKSONVILLE STATE 17: Jonathan Dwyer ran for two touchdowns, and Georgia Tech had 335 yards rushing. The Yellow Jackets rested many of their starters in the second half of the opener with Clem-son visiting Bobby Dodd Stadium on Thursday. Dwyer, the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, scored on the first play from scrimmage, taking an option pitch for a 74-yard touchdown. He finished with 95 yards rushing on seven carries, including a 5-yard touchdown later in the first quarter. No.

22 IOWA 17, NORTHERN IOWA 16: Jeremiha Hunter made up for a mental mistake moments earlier by blocking Northern Iowa's second field goal try in the closing seconds. The Panthers lined up for the potential winning field goal with 7 seconds left, but Broderick Binns blocked Billy Hallgren's 40-yard attempt on a first down. Believing the game was over, Hunter and several Hawkeyes allowed UNI to recover the ball with a second left. After officials reviewed the play to make sure there was time on the clock, Hunter got his hand on Hallgren's second attempt to end the game. No.

24 NEBRASKA 49, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 3: Roy Helu Jr. ran for 152 yards and three touchdowns and Zac Lee passed for 213 yards and two scores in his first start as No. 24 Nebraska defeated Florida Atlantic. The Huskers won their 24th consecutive opener, the longest streak in the nation. Lee threw touchdown passes of 28 yards to Menelik Holt and 49 yards to Curenski Gilleylen and then led a 15-play, 82-yard drive that Helu finished with a 1-yard run.

All week, we have been hiding ads throughout the Courier News and Home News Tribune that tell you where on MyCentralJersey.com we have an entry form for you to win tickets. We have 12 winners who will be going to the Rutgers game on Monday, Sept. 7. The game starts at 4 p.m. Congratulations to: Rubye Csehi; Bernadette Brozowski; Diane Pastrick; Paul J.

Coun- fense this season. "Don't know if he's ready yet," Schiano said Thursday. "I think we're going to find that out." If Savage plays, he will have another true freshman as one of his primary targets. Mohamed Sanu, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound wide-out from South Brunswick, is slated to become the first player on Rutgers' roster to start his first game as a true freshman. Also among the three true freshmen on the two-deep is Steve Beauharnais, a St.

Joseph-Montvale graduate who's currently backing up Damaso Munoz at strongside linebacker. Other '09 recruits who may contribute this season sooner rather than later are De'Antwan Williams (possibly as a third-down tailback), defensive tackle Antwan Lowery, defensive end Andre Civil, cornerback Logan Ryan and defensive end Michael Larrow. rl ti, No. 20 BYU 14 No. 3 OKLAHOMA 13 BYU a 14-13 victory over No.

3 Oklahoma on Saturday night. The Sooners' last hope to recover ended when Tress Way came up short on a 54-yard field goal with 1:23 left. BYU players exchanged flying chest bumps right away, then celebrated wildly when their upset was complete, a stunning end to the first college football game and first regular-season game ever played at the nearly $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium. One Saturday into the college can't COLGATE 35, MONMOUTH 23 quarterback Greg Sullivan threw for 136 yards and two scores to preseason All-America wideout Pat Simmonds. The junior quarterback also rushed for 99 yards.

In the first half Monmouth alternated quarterbacks Andrew Mandeville, a redshirt junior graduate of Raritan High School; and redshirt freshman Kyle Fraier from Damascus, playing in his first collegiate game. Mandeville, making his first collegiate start, played much of the second half. But he fumbled in Colgate territory, then fumbled again with the ball going eep 4 Can the special teams actually be "special." If they're not, it won't be for a lack of trying. In fact, Schiano said he spent more time this preseason on refining his special-teams units than ever before and he hopes it reflected particularly in a return game that ranked in the middle of the Big East pack last fall. "Special teams, I think we've gotten better," Schiano said.

"We went more live special teams at this camp than we've ever done in my coaching career." While Rutgers has proven commodities in placekicker San San Te, a third-year sophomore who made 12 of his final 15 field-goal attempts last year, and punter Teddy Dellaganna, its punt- and kick-return units will be looking to accomplish something they haven't done since 2005. 'Si. i' -1 i -w i.i.i. i .,1 --j, football season and already the national title race and Heisman Trophy race have been thrown for a loop. Cougars fans made up only a small portion of the crowd of 75,437, but they all stuck around long after this one.

The team stayed on the field so they could all enjoy it together, cheerleaders waving flags and players pointing to friends and family in the crowd. Hall's uncle, former Cowboys quarterback Danny White, was expected to be among them. "I don't know if we can measure it now," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, who opened out of bounds and was lifted with 5 minutes, 47 seconds remaining. Frazier guided Monmouth 63 yards in 10 plays when tailback David Sinisi, Monmouth's Walter Payton Award candidate, floated a 9-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Tyler George. Mandeville was 7-for-9 for 97 yards and one touchdown, and rushed for 33 yards.

Frazier finished 6-for-9 for 38 yards. Sinisi rushed for 102 yards and a score. He also snagged three passes for 56 yards, including turning a Mandeville screen pass into a 50-yard touchdown in the second quarter that got Monmouth within 14-13. up with BYU wide receiver O'Neill Chambers, left bottom, and Oklahoma cornerback Quinton Carter (20) reach for a loose ball fumbled bv Chambers on the goal line in the first half. No.

20 BYU liO's Bradford, No. 3 Sooners 4 4V i i 1 -j s. A his fifth season with his biggest victory and one of the best in program history. "All I can say is I'm very proud of this football team." The Cougars won at least 10 games each of the last three years, helping regain some of their national profile, but they'd lost 12 straight to ranked non-conference foes. Their last such win was over No.

1 Miami in 1990. "This is unbelievable, playing a game like this, having a chance to drive down the field and score," Hall said. Hall was 26 of 38 for 329 yards and two touchdowns. The Hawks fell to 4-15 in season openers, including a 2-11 mark on the road. Monmouth took a 16-14 half-time lead when Eric McCut-cheon, who had missed the extra point after Sinisi's score, kicked a 23-yard field goal with 16 seconds left in the second quarter.

But the game quickly got away from Monmouth in the third quarter. After Eachus, 5-foot-10, 206 pounds, scored from the 4 to give Colgate a 21-16 lead, Monmouth muffed the ensuing short kickoff and Colgate's Zach Lasavage recovered on the Monmouth 36. One play later Eachus ran 35 yards to the goal line as Colgate widened its lead to 28-16. with 6:41 left in the third quartp" Colgate THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ARLINGTON, Texas Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford stood helplessly on the sideline, wearing a T-shirt, a sling and a towel around his neck. All he could do was watch as his Oklahoma Sooners lost their chance for a perfect season and the BYU Cougars launched their bid to become the latest BCS busters from the Mountain West.

Max Hall threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to wide-open McKay Jacobson in the back of the end zone with 3:03 left, giving No. 20 awlts By TONY GRAHAM STAFF WRITER HAMILTON, N.Y. The Monmouth University football team gave defending Patriot League champion Colgate all it could handle Saturday night. But in the end the Raiders handled Monmouth. Sophomore running back Nate Eachus of Colgate, the 2008 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, rushed for 139 yards and scored two touchdowns in less than a minute in the third quarter, wiping out a two-point Monmouth halftime lead and powered the Raiders past the Hawks, 35-23, before 5,263 fans.

In the first night game in 119 years of Colgate football, Raiders.