08/31/07 - Junior RB Ray Rice finished with 184 yards in the 38-3 opening win over Buffalo, topping the century mark for the 16th time in his career. He now stands just 16 yards shy of the school's all-time rushing yardage record (Terrell Willis; 3,114) with 3,098 yards. With a 34-yard first-quarter TD run, Rice movedinto second place in the Rutgers career rushing record book (past JJ Jennings). Rice's three rushing touchdowns gives him 28 in his 26-game Rutgers career, putting him into a tie for fifth place (Harvey Grimsley,1946-49) on the school's all-time list. The three touchdowns tonight marked Rice's third career three-touchdown performance. He also achieved the feat at North Carolina (9/2/06) and at home against Howard (9/23/06). Rice's 78 first-quarter yards are the most for the junior running back in the opening quarter in his career. - Rutgers Sports
08/30/07 - PLAYERS TO WATCH: RB Ray Rice is the team's Heisman hopeful, and the key to the Scarlet Knights' offense. If he can pick up yards at the pace he did last season, it will give quarterback Mike Teel and the Rutgers air attack room to maneuver.
08/30/07 - Rice rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns, Underwood had 10 catches for a school-record 248 receiving yards and two TDs and Teel passed for a career-best 328 yards as the Scarlet Knights opened their most anticipated season with a 38-3 win over Buffalo on Thursday night. Coming off an 11-2 season and its first bowl victory, Rutgers gave the crowd of 43,091 -- the third largest at home in school history -- plenty to cheer about, scoring touchdowns on its first three series and rolling up 563 yards in total offense against a Buffalo team that won two games last season and is picked to finish around the bottom of the Mid-American Conference again this year. Rice, who rushed for 1,794 yards last season, scored 20 touchdowns and finished seventh in the Heisman voting, scored on runs 34, 12 and 41 yards. - AP Sports
08/26/07 - At 5-9 and 200 pounds, Rice still has that kind of debilitating effect on opposing teams. He rushed for 1,794 yards - second most in the country - and 20 touchdowns last year when the Scarlet Knights became one of sports' feel-good stories, finishing 11-2 and 12th in the country. Rice raced into the Heisman picture, finishing seventh in the balloting. Rutgers' campaign for Rice this year is well underway. The school launched the Web site SeeRayRun.com and sent out sets of binoculars to media members so they can get a closer look. Binoculars aren't needed to watch the promotional video Rutgers is airing in Times Square on a 1,000 square-foot screen more than a hundred times a day through October. Rice is the biggest name in Eastern college football. Given the fact there are so many legitimate Heisman candidates, if Rice goes off again and Rutgers has a huge season, the power of the influential New York media could help push him over the top. Rice got a taste of the Heisman four years ago when he was invited to the Heisman high school breakfast and got a chance to meet 2004 winner Matt Leinart of USC. He wears 27 because Eddie George, the 1995 winner from Ohio State, wore the same number and was his favorite player growing up. - Dick Weiss, New York Daily News
08/22/07 - 2007 Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List: Rice has been named a preseason All-American by several media outlets after a record-breaking sophomore campaign in 2006. Rice finished second nationally with 1,794 rushing yards last season en route to consensus second team All-America honors. The 1,794 yards. a school record, also established a new BIG EAST single-season record. Rice finished seventh in the voting for the Heisman Trophy and was also one of three finalists for the Maxwell Award. - Rutgers Sports
