PISCATAWAY, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Off to its best start in a decade, Rutgers has provided a glimmer of hope for a program that barely has been competitive in recent years.
But the Scarlet Knights could get a dose of reality Saturday when they host fourth-ranked Virginia Tech in the Big East Conference opener for both teams.
Justise Hairston ran for 161 yards and four touchdowns as Rutgers cruised to a 48-27 victory over Navy to improve to 3-1 for the first time since 1993.
But now the Scarlet Knights have to face a Virginia Tech team that scored in a variety of ways in last week's 47-13 victory over Connecticut.
Mike Imoh became the first Virginia Tech player in 11 years to return a kickoff for a touchdown while the Hokies also returned a blocked punt and interception for scores.
Virginia Tech will be without six players who are injured, including defensive tackle Jason Lallis, flanker Richard Johnson and split end Justin Hamilton, but star tailback Kevin Jones is healthy.
Jones chipped in with 105 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries against UConn, his second straight 100-yard game. He ran for a career-high 188 yards and three TDs the week before against Texas A&M.
Virginia Tech (4-0) did allow UConn's Dan Orlovsky to pass for 316 yards, although a large chunk of that total came after the Hokies had opened a 40-0 lead.
Virginia Tech leads the all-time series, 10-3, winning all 10 meetings since joining the Big East in 1993. Rutgers put up a respectable fight in a 35-14 loss last season after dropping the previous two meetings by a combined 99-0.
While Rutgers has matched the combined win total of coach Greg Schiano's first two seasons, the Scarlet Knights have dropped 22 straight Big East games.
