What a fantastic game. If you missed this one, please bend over and kick yourself right now. Rutgers trailed 25-7 in the second quarter, mostly on the strength of an amazing 100-yd KOR TD, and then a funky 2-pt. conversion when Rutgers blocked the extra point, but then stood around and let a Louisville player pick it up and run it in for 2. You could have gotten 5000-1 odds betting on Rutgers to win at that point.

The Rutgers defense--a bunch of no names, none of whom will be drafted this year--put on the most incredible defensive performance in the 3rd quarter that I have ever seen, allowing the high-powered Cardinals offense 24 total yards in the quarter. Soph. HB Ray Rice brought the team back in the 3rd quarter as they scored 18 unanswered to tie it 25-25. Louisville QB Brian Brohm will be a high draft pick, but he could not handle the pressure from Ramel Meekins and Co. tonight, as he was repeatedly sacked and harrassed. It didn't help that his older brother Jeff kept screaming at him on the sidelines as UL's championshiop dreams slipped away. RU kicker Jeremy Ito missed a game-winning field gold with 21 seconds left, but UL CB William Gay was OFFSIDES ON THE PLAY. Ito nailed the second attempt from 5 yards closer, and New Jersey went beserk. CONGRATS JEFF WEST!!!

SCOUTING SUMMARY:

College: Rutgers Conference: Big East Columnist: Steve Martin
Name # Ht Wt Speed Pos Class Game Notes

Clark Harris 81 6' 5.3" 255 4.80 TE 2007: Didn't have a catch. Dropped the one catchable pass thrown at him. But, RU did a great job pass blocking for Teel who made just enough big plays to allow Ray Rice to get the job done. Harris was part of that. GRADE: Neutral

Brian Leonard 23 6' 1.0" 235 4.52 FB 2007: Brian continues to block like a god. He caught only one pass. I swear I called it to...3rd and 6 from about the 45 yard line with 2 minutes to go, Brian took the pass in the flat and picked up 26 to basically give RU the win. The guy is so multi-faceted and selfless. No Leaonard Leaps tonight. GRADE: Positive

Willie Foster 84 5' 9.3" 170 0.00 WR 2007: Surehanded on receiving the punts, but that was all he did. Was not in offensively. GRADE: Neutral

Ramel Meekins 60 5' 11.0" 275 0.00 DT 2007: Amazing quickness off the ball tonight. Blocked a kick, 1.5 sacks, a dozen QBHs (or so it seemed). Was also solid in the running game. Very impressed with his pursuit down the line. I dunno...can he be drafted??? GRADE: Very positive

Derrick Roberson 11 5' 9.5" 172 0.00 CB 2007: didn't see him do anything positive or negative. GRADE: Inc.

Devraun Thompson 55 5' 11.0" 220 0.00 LB 2007: Best game yet from Thompson. He was all over the place. Effective on the blitz, forced a fumble, had an interception. A very versatile athlete who just doesn't have an NFL position. GRADE: Positive

Darnell Stapleton 53 6' 2.7" 305 0.00 C 2007: Did a decent job on Okoye, but had plenty of help. Amobi did push him back a couple of times, but the RU pass blocking was FAR, FAR better than I expected it would be tonight, and Darnell certainly deserves his share of the credit for that. GRADE: Slightly positive

Ron Girault 0' 0.0" 0 0.00 S 2008: Saw him make a tackles and he had a PD, but I still wonder why he is in the database. Maybe we'll see next year...GRADE: Neutral

Joe Radigan 30 6' 4.0" 220 4.99 P 2007: Did not do any "wow" punts, but was solid throughout. Decent hang time. No shanks. No low liners that were returned. GRADE: Neutral

College: Louisville Conference: Big East Columnist: Steve Martin
Name # Ht Wt Speed Pos Class Game Notes

Michael Bush 19 6' 2.7" 250 4.54 HB 2007: Out for the season

Brian Brohm 12 6' 3.5" 224 4.90 QB 2008: Looked unstoppable early, but then got reamed out heavily on national TV by his brother on the sideline after throwing a pick in the second quarter. Was never the same guy after that. That has got to be tough--having an older brother as a coach. I am not worried about this kid though. He has too much talent, and his brothers can't follow him to the next level. Needs to focus less on the pressure and just step up and either deliver the ball or launch it out of bounds. Did OK scrambling to beat the tremendous RU onslaught in the 4th quarter. GRADE: Neutral

Amobi Okoye 91 6' 0.5" 317 5.20 DT 2007: Was the best Louisville defender again. Gets great pressure on every other play or so, with the straight bull rush. Imagine how good he will be when he is no longer a teenager??? Had a sack and was in on a bunch of plays. The guy has just incredible quickness and power for a 19-year old college senior. GRADE: Positive

Brandon Sharp 35 5' 11.0" 190 0.00 S 2007: Was very active in run support, also had a sack on a blitz. I like Sharp more and more. Doesn't have any outstanding feature, but looks like a smart player who can contribute on STs at the next level and be a dime back for somebody because of his tackling and play awareness. GRADE: Positive

Abe Brown 43 6' 3.0" 240 4.69 LB 2007: Was he out there?? if so, where??? ANother guy I am not sure why I am even scouting. GRADE: Inc.

William Gay 21 5' 10.6" 184 4.50 CB 2007:Such an up and down night for Gay. Played great in run support. Was in on a bunch of tackles and also forced a fumble. Was not burned--most if Teel's completions went across the middle or to the other side. The huge offsides penalty was a killer, but it was just something that happens...GRADE: Slightly positive

OTHER NOTES: #56 Eric Foster--a 260-pound junior DT for RU was HUGE in this game--even more disruptive than Meekins. He got banged up repeatedly but kept coming back and making huge plays. WHAT CAN WE DO WITH A 260-pound DT though?? Manny Collins was not as active tonight as he has been over the last 3-4 ballgames.

RU DEFINES TEAM DEFENSE. NO STARS. NO STUDS. JUST WINNERS.

WOW this should really mix up the BCS standings. Any predictions?

I'm looking forward to watching the tape of this one. Huge victory for the program and I feel like I deserve it after supporting much of the dreck I've been watching for the past 18 years.

Unfortunately I don't think that RU will get the respect of the pollsters. Sure, this helps their BCS standing (as do their victories over Pitt and South Florida and Navy), but I don't see them moving up any higher than #10 or so. They've still got a couple tough games against Cincy and WVU, so they've got more to prove.

Jeff, I agree. #10 or #11 I would guess.

The unfortunate thing is even if they run the table they won't be higher than #5.

But then again, we know Boise will run it, and they will not even break the top 10...

Good report, Steve, and yes.. it was an UNBELIEVABLE game! It was one of the best football experiences I've ever had. Rutgers D really tightened things up after Louisville put points up so quickly early in the game.. so hats off to the D!
Our seats were 3 rows from the field in the endzone where Ito made the game-winning FG so we were right in the middle of the frenzy. I was about to run onto the field like everyone else until I saw an unfortunate Rutgers fan snap his lower leg in half when landing on the turf after making the 6 foot jump from the stands to the field. Other than that grotesque sight, the game and the whole experience was a blast!!

Wow...that must have been awful. What a shame for that person. I wondered where you were sitting, Dave. Glad you had a great view of the winning FG!

Glad to see Thompson getting props

Yea, Devraun played an awesome game. It's just so frustrating from a scouting perspective not knowing where to project a guy like him at the next level...

What defensive adjustments were made by RU after Louisville got up to that 25-7 lead?

They just started blitzing a lot more, and UL's line didn't seem to be able to slow it down. Brohm does not handle pressure all that well.