SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 22, 2012
Rutgers 35, Arkansas 26: Gary Nova threw a career-high five touchdown passes as the visiting Scarlet Knights won a shootout to remain undefeated.
Nova completed 25 of 35 passes for a career-best 397 yards for Rutgers (4-0).
Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson returned to action after missing time with a concussion, completing 20 of 39 passes for 419 yards and three touchdowns. Cobi Hamilton caught 10 passes for a school-record 303 yards and three scores for Arkansas (1-3).
Wilson hit Hamilton for touchdown passes of 10 and 80 yards early in the fourth quarter, bringing the Razorbacks within 28-26. Nova responded with a 60-yard touchdown to Mark Harrison to push Rutgers’ lead to 35-26 with 7:18 remaining.
Down 10-0 after one quarter, Nova threw touchdown passes to Jawan Jamison (10 yards), Brandon Coleman (19 yards) and Coleman again (38 yards) as Rutgers built a 21-10 advantage five minutes into the third quarter. Nova found Paul Carrezola for a 2-yard touchdown with 2:24 to go in the third to give the Scarlet Knights a 28-13 advantage.
Three Rutgers receivers – Brandon Coleman (89 yards), Mark Harrison (87 yards) and Quron Pratt (85 yards) – combined for 15 receptions.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Arkansas finished 2-for-11 on third-down conversions. … Rutgers finished with 526 yards of total offense while the Razorbacks had 492. … Jamison rushed for 119 yards, the fifth game in a row he has rushed for more than 100 yards.