After leaning on their defense to pull off an upset in its season opener at Boston College, Rutgers had to do the same on Saturday to avoid a letdown of its own.
The Scarlet Knights offense never found the end zone, but a pick six and a containment of freshman quarterback E.J. Warner (son of Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner) and company helped Rutgers avoid disappointment with a 16-14 win over Temple at Lincoln Financial Field.
The win puts the Scarlet Knights at 3-0 for the second straight season, but win number three came in much different fashion than its predecessor, a 66-7 rout of Wagner.
The Rutgers defense, so dominant through the first two games of the season, had its hands full with Temple and senior wide receiver Adonicas Sanders on the Owls' second drive of the game, as Temple took an early 7-0 lead behind a 12-play, 73-yard drive punctuated by a 1-yard designed run from quarterback Quincy Patterson.
Sanders hauled in three receptions for 48 yards and added a 10-yard rush to pace the productive drive and put the Scarlet Knights in a surprising early hole after Rutgers forced a quick three-and-out to start the game.
Rutgers avoided disaster and got on the board late in the first quarter, as Jude McAtamney drilled a perfect 45-yard field goal after Johnny Langan ran a direct snap 29 yards and fumbled in Owls territory, but Rutgers was able to recover and keep the eventual scoring drive alive.
Still, the underdog Owls outgained Rutgers 110-48 in a surprising opening quarter.
The offensive struggles of the Scarlet Knights continued into the second quarter, as the team's first four drives resulted in three points and three 3-and-outs, just one week after pouring 66 points on Wagner in RU's home opener. So the defense stepped up to grab the lead when Shaquan Loyal tipped a Warner pass and hauled in his first career interception, taking it 43 yards to the house to give Rutgers a much-needed jolt and a 10-7 lead with 6:05 to go in the first half.
The Scarlet Knights looked to add to their lead at the end of the half by converting on fourth down and turning down a 43-yard field goal, only for McAtamney to miss from 38 shortly after to keep the score 10-7 heading into the break.
Temple continued to keep Rutgers out of the end zone in the second half, but a pair of McAtamney field goals stretched the lead to nine before the Owls answered right back after the second field goal when Warner beat a Scarlet Knights blitz and hit Jordan Smith over the middle for a 47-yard strike to pull Temple to within two at the start of the fourth quarter, and closer to a potential upset.
But once again, it was the Rutgers defense standing tall, forcing a turnover on downs after three straight Warner incompletions near midfield to take back possession with 2:29 left in the game, sealing the win and guaranteeing an undefeated record heading into conference action against Iowa next weekend.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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