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Scoreboard

Big Ten Conference
Raheem Blackshear
(Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics)
7
Texas State TXST 0-1
35
Winner Rutgers RU 1-0
Texas State TXST
0-1
7
Final
35
Rutgers RU
1-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
TXST Texas State 0 0 7 0 7
RU Rutgers 7 14 7 7 35

Game Recap: Football |

Football Cruises to 35-7 Season-Opening Win over Texas State

RUTGERS 35 (1-0), TEXAS STATE 7 (0-1)
HIGHPOINT.COM STADIUM • PISCATAWAY, N.J.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2018 • ATTENDANCE: 40,124

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers football (1-0) cruised to a 35-7, season-opening win over Texas State (0-1) on Saturday afternoon at HighPoint.com Stadium. The Scarlet Knights claimed the lead five minutes into the contest and never relinquished the lead or momentum.

Freshman quarterback Artur Sitkowski went 20-for-30 with 205 passing yards in his debut as a Scarlet Knight, including the first passing touchdown of his career. He became the 11th true freshman to start a game at quarterback for RU and third since WWII to start the season opener.  
 
Sophomore running back Raheem Blackshear and senior running back Jonathan Hilliman each contributed a pair of touchdowns, while sophomore linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi added one of his own on a fumble recovery.
 
Overall, Blackshear paced the offense with 150 all-purpose yards, rushing for 62 yards and receiving for 56 yards. Freshman running back Isaih Pacheco led the team on the ground with 76 yards rushing. 
 
Senior linebacker Trevor Morris guided the defense with nine tackles followed by senior defensive back Isaiah Wharton and senior Deonte Roberts with six each. Junior lineman Elorm Lumor fueled the defense with a blocked field goal, a sack, two tackles-for-loss and a recovered fumble. Rutgers had 11 tackles-for-loss, paced by two apiece from Lumor, senior defensive back Blessuan Austin and lineman Julius Turner.  
FIRST QUARTER
Rutgers raced to an early 7-0 lead five minutes into the contest, as Blackshear rushed for nine-yard touchdown. It took 11 plays and 71-yards for the Scarlet Knights to claim the advantage.

 With less than two minutes in the opening frame, Lumor blocked a Texas State field goal attempt to control the lead and the momentum.
SECOND QUARTER 
Moving into the second stanza, an eight-play, four-minute drive would set up a Hillman scoring rush, pushing the Scarlet Knight lead to 14-0 with a 3-yard rush.
 
The Rutgers defense was fueled by the offensive energy, halting Texas State's following two drives with an interception by Austin and a forced fumble by junior linebacker Rashawn Battle. Lumor recovered the fumble forced by Battle with a 14-yard run, setting the Scarlet Knights three yards from the end zone. Sitkowski connected with Blackshear for his first passing touchdown of his career. Blackshear's second score of the day would set the RU advantage at 21-0.
THIRD QUARTER 
Late into the third quarter, the Bobcats registered their first points of the game. Texas State's Kordell Rodgers intercepted an RU pass, returning it for 51-yards and cutting into the Scarlet Knights lead, 21-7. Rutgers responded by extending its lead to 28-7 on the following drive. A 13-play, 75-yard drive culminated with an 8-yard rush for touchdown Hilliman.  
FOURTH QUARTER 
Midway through the final frame, a Texas State fumble in the end zone resulted in a touchdown for RU. Fatukasi recovered the muffed snap to give the Scarlet Knights a 35-7 lead.
UP NEXT
Rutgers hits the road for back-to-back road contests starting at No. 5 Ohio State on Sept. 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET. The Scarlet Knights then visit Kansas on Sept. 15.
PARTICIPATION TEAM NOTES
  • Rutgers picked up 23 first downs, the most against an FBS opponent since tallying that many versus Illinois in 2016.
  • Rutgers held an opponent to one third down converted for the first time since the 2014 game against Indiana.
  • Rutgers held its season-opening opponent to under 100 rushing yards for the eighth consecutive year.
  • DL Elorm Lumor blocked a field goal in the first quarter. Rutgers has 50 blocked kicks since 2009.
  • Rutgers opened its 149th season of football and earned the 650th win in program history.
  • Largest margin of victory over an FBS opponent since defeating No. 23 USF, 31-0, on Nov. 12, 2009.
  • Rutgers improved to 76-64-9 all-time in season openers and 98-39-10 in home openers. The Scarlet Knights have played a home game in every season except 1880 and 1885.
  • Rutgers beat Texas State in the first meeting, moving to 104-67-1 all-time when playing a team for the first time. It was also the Scarlet Knights' first game against a team in the current configuration of the Sun Belt, but RU did beat FIU in 2009 and 2010 when the Panthers were in the league.
  • Rutgers is now 3-3 against teams from Texas.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
  • DB Blessuan Austin
    • Recorded fourth career interception.
  • RB Raheem Blackshear
    • Scored a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown to make it seven career scores.
    • Led the team with a career-high seven receptions. Totaled seven receptions in 11 games last year.
    • Had a game-high 150 all-purpose yards to top 100 for the fourth time in career. Led the team in all-purpose yards for the fourth time as well.
  • LB Olakunle Fatukasi
    • Recovered a fumble in the end zone for first career touchdown. First fumble recovery for a score since Darnell Davis in 2016 versus Indiana.
  • RB Jonathan Hilliman
    • Scored first two touchdowns for Rutgers to raise career total to 30 (28 rushing, two receiving).
    • Now has nine career games with two rushing touchdowns.
  • WR Bo Melton
    • Led the team in receiving yards for the third time in career with 57.
    • Picked up four receptions to match total from 12 games last season.
  • LB Trevor Morris
    • Led the team in tackles for the 10th time in career with nine stops.
    • Recorded a career-high two pass breakups.
  • RB Isaih Pacheco
    • Led the team with 76 rushing yards in collegiate debut.
  • QB Artur Sitkowski
    • Completed 20-of-30 passes for a 66.7 percentage, the best by a Rutgers true freshman in their debut.
    • The 20 completions were the second-most in the situation behind Mike McMahon's 26 in 1997.
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