RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS
at
Tulane Green Wave

Saturday, September 1 • 8 p.m. • CBS Sports Network
Mercedez-Benz Superdome (72,000/FieldTurf)
New Orleans, La.

Television
CBS Sports Network — Brad Johansen, Doug Chapman and Tammy Blackburn

Rutgers Radio
WOR-AM 710 (flagship)

THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the sixth meeting between Rutgers and Tulane in a series that began in 1976 … Rutgers holds a 3-2 series lead, though Tulane has won the last two meetings … The teams last met in the 2010 season, when the Green Wave took a 17-14 win in Piscataway, N.J. … Rutgers’ last trip to New Orleans was in 1995, when the Scarlet Knights were 45-40 winners … Rutgers is 2-0 against Tulane in road games.

RUTGERS (0-0)

Head Coach
Kyle Flood (Iona ’93) - LISTEN TO TELECONFERENCE
0-0, first season

NOTES
Saturday’s game will mark the head coaching debut of Kyle Flood, who took over after Greg Schiano stepped down to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers … Flood had been an assistant at Rutgers since 2005 … Rutgers was picked third in the BIG EAST preseason media poll, matching its highest preseason projection in league history (2007) … The Scarlet Knights were picked eighth in last year’s preseason poll, but had a chance to win a share of the BIG EAST title in their final regular-season game … Rutgers returns 15 starters from last year, including eight from a defense that ranked 13th nationally in yards allowed (314.4 ypg) and 12th in scoring (18.8 ppg) … LB Khaseem Greene, who led the BIG EAST with 141 tackles, was the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year last season … S Duron Harmon earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors, while CB Logan Ryan was a second team choice … Flood has named QB Gary Nova his Opening Day starter … Nova made five starts as a true freshman last year and threw for 1,553 yards and 11 touchdowns with nine interceptions … Rutgers returns its top three rushers from 2011, including RB Jawan Jamison, who led the team with 897 yards and nine touchdowns … Rutgers will have to replace Mohamed Sanu, who set the BIG EAST single-season (115) and career (210) receptions records last season … WR Brandon Coleman averaged 32.5 yards per catch in 2011 and had six touchdown catches.

TULANE (0-0)
Head Coach
Curtis Johnson (Idaho ’85)
0-0, first season

NOTES
Tulane enters the 2012 season on the heels of a 2-11 campaign as the Green Wave try to rid themselves of a nine-game losing streak … First-year head coach Curtis Johnson spent the past six seasons as an assistant coach with the New Orleans Saints and spent time in the BIG EAST as an assistant at Miami from 1996-2005 … Johnson has a Super Bowl championship (2009) and a BCS National Championship (2002) in his time as an assistant … Tulane’s two wins last season came in its first three games — a 47-33 victory against Southeastern Louisiana in the season-opener and a 49-10 decision against UAB in Week 3 … LB Trent Mackey — the preseason Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year —was suspended indefinitely from the team in mid-August … QB Ryan Griffin threw for 2,502 yards and 13 touchdowns with 10 interceptions last season … RB Orleans Aarkwa rushed for 13 TDs and 924 yards on 210 carries … CB Ryan Travis had a team-high four interceptions last year.