A Quarter For My Thoughts: Impressions on the 1st Quarter

1. Fans Give RU Cold Shoulder - It was announced as a sell-out, but there are lots of empty seats, make that bleachers, at Rutgers Stadium. The student section was only 2/3 full at kickoff and there is a lot of West Virginia yellow here. With the best group of recruits taking official visits this game, the atmosphere is less than ideal. Yes it is cold, but it is senior day, against a ranked opponent, on national television and it’s the last game of the year. Pitiful.

2. Mountainous Opening Drive - It took West Virginia just five plays to cover 86 yards for their opening drive, capped off by a nifty scamper by Noel Devine. The 7-0 lead took what little atmosphere and momentum Rutgers carried into this game. How good was West Virginia’s drive? They didn’t have a single third down en route to a touchdown.

3. Rutgers Responds, Sort Of - After West Virginia went up 7-0, Rutgers pieced together a nice enough drive, going nine-plays for 47 yards. It wasn’t pretty, but Rutgers needed to answer the Mountaineers somehow. Good to see San San Te nail a 38-yard field goal in wet conditions after he has struggled with consistency this season.

4. Rutgers In The Valley - The Mountaineers put away the game near the end of the 1st quarter. Utilizing a methodical, nine-play drive to move 80 yards, the Scarlet Knights looked outmanned and slow against the West Virginia offense. There was no pressure from any edge rush and the visitors’ offensive line easily handled the overmatched Rutgers’ defensive tackles. Rutgers needs to make halftime adjustments at the end of the 1st quarter.

Extra Point: Jarrett Brown started the game with a pretty impressive line:

C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT
6/6 85 14.2 0 0