Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Washington State Cougars Match Player Stats On Aug 28, 2014

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Aug 29, 2014

Rutgers 41, Washington State 38: Paul James rushed for 173 yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead 3-yard run with 3:24 left, as the visiting Scarlet Knights overcame a pair of second-half deficits.

Rutgers' Gary Nova was 16-of-27 for 281 yards and two touchdowns, including a 78-yard score to Leonte Carroo on the first play from scrimmage. The Scarlet Knights (1-0) sealed it when Johnathan Aiken, whose forced fumble set up the winning score, broke up a pass near midfield on fourth-and-13 with 53 seconds left.

Connor Halliday, who passed for a school-record 4,597 yards last season, was 40-of-56 for 532 yards and five touchdowns for Washington State (0-1). Isiah Myers caught a pair of TD passes, Vince Mayle recorded a game-high 12 catches for 124 yards and a score, while River Cracraft and Rickey Galvin also caught TD passes.

Halliday came up limping after he was sacked by Kemoko Turay to create a 3rd-and-goal at the 14 and after Rutgers called timeout, the 6-4 senior drilled a slant pass to Myers to give Washington State a 31-24 lead with 3:56 left in the third quarter. The Scarlet Knights settled for a 25-yard field goal on the ensuing drive and after forcing a three-and-out, Nova capped a six-play 73-yard drive with a 29-yard touchdown strike to John Tsimis to put Rutgers ahead 34-31 with 10:50 remaining.

Washington State answered with Halliday's 5-yard touchdown to Galvin - set up by a 43-yard pass to Myers - to move in front 38-34. Rutgers caught a break when Anthony Cioffi recovered Cracraft's fumbled punt at the 50 with 7:13 remaining and cashed in eight plays later when James burst into the end zone.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Carroo finished with six catches for 151 yards as Rutgers improved to 1-4 against the Pac-12. ... Halliday, who connected with 10 receivers, has thrown for five touchdowns four times and for more than 500 yards on three occasions. ... James' 56-yard touchdown run in the second quarter gave Rutgers a 21-10 lead.