PAYBACK SATURDAY...
Rutgers 16 Penn State 21
1988...
Mike Botti, a senior running back for Rutgers, said that the prospect of beating Penn State had been in his thoughts since he first began playing for the Scarlet Knights.
Today, he made the most of his opportunities, scoring two touchdowns in Rutgers' suprising 21-16 victory over the Nittany Lions.
The last time Rutgers defeated Penn State was Nov. 4, 1918. Since then, the Scarlet Knights had dropped 15 in a row to Penn State, including defeats here the previous two seasons.
A Beaver Stadium crowd of 85,531 sat stunned as Botti scored on touchdown runs of 11 and 57 yards in the third quarter.
Rutgers (2-1) withstood a fourth-quarter rally, stopping the Nittany Lions on its 3-yard line with 12 seconds left.
''It was the best feeling of my life,'' said Botti, a 6-foot fullback from Lake Ronkonkoma, L.I. ''I've been dreaming about this since I came here. It's been so long since we've beaten them.''
''They were a better team than us,'' said Joe Paterno, the Penn State coach, whose team fell to 2-1. ''They played hard on the line of scrimmage. They hustled, tackled well and mixed up their defenses well.''
Rutgers defeated Michigan State, the Big Ten champion last year, 17-13, in its first game this season. But several players said the victory over Penn State meant more.
''It was our biggest win,'' said Jeff Newman, a strong safety. ''The first one this year was a big win, but this one was even bigger. Hopefully, this one will put us on the map.''
Dick Anderson, a former Penn State offensive coordinator who became Rutgers's head coach in 1984, declined to rate the victory.
''Every time we win a big game I'm asked that,'' he said. ''It was a big win for us. It was an important win for us. But no single win makes your program and no single loss makes your program go the other way.''
Rutgers led by 21-10 after three quarters on the strength of Botti's two runs. Sputtering Offense
Penn State mixed up its defenses, occasionally deploying five linebackers, in an attempt to take away Rutgers' short-passing game. Rutgers responded by running the ball more than Penn State had anticipated, a total of 38 times. Botti carried 18 times for a career-high 112 yards, after rushing for only 99 yards in the first two games this season.
Penn State, which sputtered on offense all afternoon, appeared to be sunk when Tom Bill, the starting quarterback, left the game late in the third quarter with a kneecap injury.
Bill was replaced by Tony Sacca, a freshman quarterback from Delarn, N.J., who nearly brought the Nittany Lions back with his running and passing. He drove Penn State 90 yards in 9 plays, ending with Gary Brown's 4-yard touchdown run, to pull the Nittany Lions 5 points down, at 21-16. Penn State went for a 2-point conversion, but Sacca's pass was incomplete.
On a drive that began with 3 minutes remaining, Sacca led Penn State from its 10-yard line to a first down at the Rutgers 3. There the Scarlet Knights stiffened. Penn State ran twice for no yards, then turned to the air. Too High, Too Low
Sacca rolled out to the right on third down and had Dave Jakob wide open, but threw a high pass that glanced off the tight end's hands. On fourth down he tried to connect with the wide receiver, Michael Timpson, but the pass was too low and Rutgers took over with less than a minute remaining.
Scott Erney, the quarterback for Rutgers, completed 9 of 20 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown, a 38-yarder to Eric Young that gave the team a 7-0 lead only three and a half minutes into the game.
Erney, a senior from Mechanicsburg, Pa., needed 15 completions to move into second place on the career completion list.
''For me personally, it was a bigger win than Michigan State,'' Erney said. ''Being from Pennsylvania, Penn State was always the team.''
The touchdown pass was the only reception of the day for Young, who started the game as the No. 2 receiver in the nation.
Rutgers 16 Penn State 21
1988...
Mike Botti, a senior running back for Rutgers, said that the prospect of beating Penn State had been in his thoughts since he first began playing for the Scarlet Knights.
Today, he made the most of his opportunities, scoring two touchdowns in Rutgers' suprising 21-16 victory over the Nittany Lions.
The last time Rutgers defeated Penn State was Nov. 4, 1918. Since then, the Scarlet Knights had dropped 15 in a row to Penn State, including defeats here the previous two seasons.
A Beaver Stadium crowd of 85,531 sat stunned as Botti scored on touchdown runs of 11 and 57 yards in the third quarter.
Rutgers (2-1) withstood a fourth-quarter rally, stopping the Nittany Lions on its 3-yard line with 12 seconds left.
''It was the best feeling of my life,'' said Botti, a 6-foot fullback from Lake Ronkonkoma, L.I. ''I've been dreaming about this since I came here. It's been so long since we've beaten them.''
''They were a better team than us,'' said Joe Paterno, the Penn State coach, whose team fell to 2-1. ''They played hard on the line of scrimmage. They hustled, tackled well and mixed up their defenses well.''
Rutgers defeated Michigan State, the Big Ten champion last year, 17-13, in its first game this season. But several players said the victory over Penn State meant more.
''It was our biggest win,'' said Jeff Newman, a strong safety. ''The first one this year was a big win, but this one was even bigger. Hopefully, this one will put us on the map.''
Dick Anderson, a former Penn State offensive coordinator who became Rutgers's head coach in 1984, declined to rate the victory.
''Every time we win a big game I'm asked that,'' he said. ''It was a big win for us. It was an important win for us. But no single win makes your program and no single loss makes your program go the other way.''
Rutgers led by 21-10 after three quarters on the strength of Botti's two runs. Sputtering Offense
Penn State mixed up its defenses, occasionally deploying five linebackers, in an attempt to take away Rutgers' short-passing game. Rutgers responded by running the ball more than Penn State had anticipated, a total of 38 times. Botti carried 18 times for a career-high 112 yards, after rushing for only 99 yards in the first two games this season.
Penn State, which sputtered on offense all afternoon, appeared to be sunk when Tom Bill, the starting quarterback, left the game late in the third quarter with a kneecap injury.
Bill was replaced by Tony Sacca, a freshman quarterback from Delarn, N.J., who nearly brought the Nittany Lions back with his running and passing. He drove Penn State 90 yards in 9 plays, ending with Gary Brown's 4-yard touchdown run, to pull the Nittany Lions 5 points down, at 21-16. Penn State went for a 2-point conversion, but Sacca's pass was incomplete.
On a drive that began with 3 minutes remaining, Sacca led Penn State from its 10-yard line to a first down at the Rutgers 3. There the Scarlet Knights stiffened. Penn State ran twice for no yards, then turned to the air. Too High, Too Low
Sacca rolled out to the right on third down and had Dave Jakob wide open, but threw a high pass that glanced off the tight end's hands. On fourth down he tried to connect with the wide receiver, Michael Timpson, but the pass was too low and Rutgers took over with less than a minute remaining.
Scott Erney, the quarterback for Rutgers, completed 9 of 20 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown, a 38-yarder to Eric Young that gave the team a 7-0 lead only three and a half minutes into the game.
Erney, a senior from Mechanicsburg, Pa., needed 15 completions to move into second place on the career completion list.
''For me personally, it was a bigger win than Michigan State,'' Erney said. ''Being from Pennsylvania, Penn State was always the team.''
The touchdown pass was the only reception of the day for Young, who started the game as the No. 2 receiver in the nation.
