If you are a Rutgers fan, you hate yellow and blue, think the West Virginia Mountaineer is a dumb mascot and especially hate the song “Country Roads.” There were many blowouts, a few heartbreakers and very few wins for the Scarlet Knights all-time against WVU, but here are my top five most memorable games against the Mountaineers.
Honorable mentions:
November 10, 1984 — RU beats No. 18 WVU 23-19 at Giants Stadium.
November 11, 1989 — RU loses to No. 19 WVU 21-20 on a last-second field goal as the Mountaineer’s musket goes off before the ball makes it through the posts.
October 27, 2007 — The “black uniform” game. Pat White dismantles RU 31-3 on a rainy afternoon on national TV.
5) October 30, 2004 — No. 13 WVU 35, RU 30
The Chris Henry game — Ryan Hart threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns, but it was the West Virginia showboat Henry who stole the show at Rutgers Stadium. Henry got two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and was tossed from the game. Henry scored after jumping over Rutgers corner Joe Porter for a 39-yard touchdown. Henry stood up, kicked Porter’s leg and threw the ball at him. As Henry was leaving the field, he taunted the Rutgers bench and then tried to go into the stands looking for a fight. After the game, angry head coach Greg Schiano made his feelings clear, “Don’t worry about the team downstairs,” he said. “Don’t worry about this coach. Contrary to some of the popular opinion in the great state of New Jersey, people — instead of trying to build this thing — they are trying to tear it down.”
4) September 10, 1994 — RU 17, WVU 12
“Forest Gump” was the hit movie, OJ Simpson was in the news and Boise State played Division I-AA football at the time. This was the Scarlet Knights’ last win over the Mountaineers. It was the year Rutgers Stadium reopened, Doug Graber was the coach, Ray Lucas was the quaterback and Alcidis Catanho had the interception to win the game. Rutgers was off to a 2-0 start but would finish the year 5-5-1. This season featured a close 37-36 loss at Syracuse and a 7-7 tie at No. 22 Boston College where Lucas threw a shovel pass for a touchdown to Marco Battaglia.
3) November 14, 1992 — RU 13, WVU 9
Ray Lucas got the start instead of Brian Fortay, and it was Marshall Roberts who tackled WVU fullback Jim Freeman inside the 10 yard line as the Mountaineers looked to score in the last minute at the old Rutgers Stadium. It was the first time all year West Virginia was held without a touchdown. RU running back Bruce Presley had 105 yards and The New York Times ran a headline the next day “Rutgers has shot at bowl.”
2) November 3, 2001 — No. 19 WVU 80, RU 7
At home, the Mountaineers punted on their first drive and then scored on their next seven. WVU had 59 points at the half and probably could have scored 120 at the game’s end. Ryan Cubit threw three interceptions for the Knights, who suffered their worst lost since 1883. It was Schiano’s first year as head coach and the team finished 2-9. It got even worse at season’s end when the Knights lost to 0-10 California at home 20-10.
1) December 2, 2006 — No. 15 WVU 41, No. 13 RU 39 (3OT)
It wasn’t the end that Rutgers fans hoped for. The Knights had a chance to earn the conference’s Bowl Championship Series berth and first ever Big East title, but Mike Teel’s two-point conversion was batted down in the end zone and Louisville earned the BCS bid. Backup quarterback Jarrett Brown started for the injured Pat White, and Steve Slaton had 112 yards and two touchdowns. James Townsend dropped a touchdown pass that would have put the Knights up 27-20 with four minutes to play. Instead, Jeremy Ito made it 23-20 and Pat McAfee tied the game at 23 with just 53 seconds left. RU would go on to win its first Bowl game ever this year beating Kansas State in the Texas Bowl.
— Adam Helfgott hosts “The Scarlet Pulse” on 88.7 WRSU FM and is an employee of the University as an announcer for “Knight Vision.”
