Rutgers Opens Season With Tough Overtime Loss: Why Not Blog About It On Patch?

The Rutgers University football team got the 2013 season started in exciting fashion Thursday night, in a 52-51 loss to Fresno State in overtime. The Scarlet Knights had the chance to go for the tie and force a second overtime, but head coach Kyle Flood elected to go for two points and the win. The Bulldogs broke up the play and sent Rutgers home with a loss in a hard fought game neither team deserved to lose.

This came after the Scarlet Knights jumped out to a 20-7 loss, and came in a game in which quarterback Gary Nova threw four touchdown passes, including three to Edison native Leonte Caroo and one to Brandon Coleman.

Kyle Federico kicked three field goals, including a 48-yarder. True freshman Janarion Grant erased the bad taste of an opening Fresno State touchdown drive that lasted just under three minutes and went 74 yards with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

And Paul James provided a strong running threat for Rutgers, a team struggling to find a running game leading into the season with 22 carries for 182 yards.

Yet in the end, it was Fresno State that found a way to win behind quarterback Derek Carr (David Carr's younger brother) and his 456 yards passing and five touchdowns.

It could be worse. Rutgers could've been UConn on Thursday night.

Did you watch the game? Do you feel passionately about Rutgers football? Do you have strong opinions and want Patch readers to know what they are? Why not blog about Rutgers football on Patch?

To share your thoughts, you'll need to log-in (or create an account if you're new) in the upper right-hand corner of the site. Once signed in, head to the blog and at the top, click inside the box that says "Write a new post." Then select "article" at the top and you'll be on your way to posting your thoughts. It's that simple!