Aug 31, 2002
Final Stats
By TOM CANAVAN
AP Sports Writer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) - Brett Gordon passed for 321 yards and three touchdowns and Villanova beat Rutgers 37-19 on Saturday night for its first win over a Division I-A team since restoring football in 1985.
Gordon threw a game-clinching 6-yard touchdown pass to Phil DiGiacomo after leading an 80-yard fourth-quarter march, and also connected with Brian White on a 45-yard scoring pass and Shaz Brown on a 50-yarder on a flea flicker.
DiGiacomo also had a go-ahead 18-yard touchdown run and Terry Butler, who rushed for 121 yards, had a 41-yard TD run for the Division I-AA Wildcats, who had lost their previous seven meetings against I-A programs.
White finished with 12 catches for 165 yards in the season-opening game as Villanova outgained Rutgers 476-269.
Rutgers' Ryan Cubit ran 2 yards for a touchdown and threw TD passes of 6 and 21 yards to tight L.J. Smith in an embarrassing start to coach Greg Schiano's second season.
The Scarlet Knights went 2-9 in Schiano's first season and this was supposed to be season where they started to make progress. They lost to a Division I-AA team for the first time.
Villanova, which posted an 8-3 record in sharing the Atlantic 10 championship last season, had the better plays. All three of Rutgers' scores were set up by Wildcats mistakes. Gordon threw two interceptions and the Scarlet Knights' first touchdown was set up when a punt bounced off the leg of a Villanova player.
Despite being badly outplayed, Rutgers still was in position to win in the second half.
Trailing 24-13, an interception by linebacker Brian Hohmann set up Cubit's TD run with 1:30 left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 24-19. The Scarlet Knights missed the 2-point conversion.
Rutgers' defense held on the next possession and the Scarlet Knights got the ball back at their own 47.
They failed to get a first down, and Gordon, who hit 24 of 39 passes, drove the Wildcats 80 yards in 13 plays on a drive they overcame a second and 20 at their own 10-yard line.
Butler, who is replacing record-setting halfback Brian Westbrook in the Villanova backfield, scored in the final minutes to make the score even more embarrassing.
Villanova dominated the first half but only led 17-13 because it committed two costly turnovers that led to two touchdown catches by Smith.
The Wildcats scored on their opening possession, going 63 yards in six plays. White went the final 45 yards on a short swing pass.
Smith tied the game with a 6-yard TD catch with 4:54 left in the quarter. It capped a three-play, 17-yard drive that was set up when Nathan Jones recovered a punt that hit off the leg of Aaron Smith.
DiGiacomo's second-quarter run capped a 69-yard drive and gave Villanova the lead for good. James' field goal stretched the margin to 17-7.
Linebacker Gary Brackett got Rutgers back in the game, intercepting a questionable pass with 37 seconds left in the half. Cubit hit Smith for the TD with 13 seconds before halftime.
Butler took a handoff on the flea flicker and tossed it back to Gordon, who found Brown all alone on the 50-yard trick play for a 24-13 lead.
