
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Joe Martinek scored on a 1-yard run in overtime and Rutgers rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit behind freshman quarterback Chas Dodd to beat penalty- and mistake-prone Army 23-20 on Saturday.
Dodd threw second-half touchdown passes of 3 yards to Kordell Young and 16 yards to Mark Harrison to tie the game at 17. Dodd also hit Keith Stroud on third-and-6 to reach the 3 in overtime, setting up Martinek's winning run two plays later.
San San Te kicked a 19-yard field goal for Rutgers (4-2) in the first half.
Army (4-3) had to settle for a 26-yard field goal from Alex Carlton in overtime after quarterback Trent Steelman was taken down for a 1-yard loss on a broken play on third-and-3 at the 7. Army, which outgained Rutgers 404-250, got its first 17 points in the first half.
Dodd, who led Rutgers to 10 points in the final 4 minutes in a win over Connecticut last Friday, finished 18 of 30 for 251 yards in a game in which he was sacked eight times for 76 yards in losses.
Steelman rushed for 102 yards for Army, which was called for eight penalties for 94 yards, including two major ones that kept Rutgers' second-half touchdown drives alive.
Limited to 65 yards in the first half and trailing 17-3, Dodd engineered penalty-filled drives of 77 and 93 yards on Rutgers' first two second-half possessions to tie the game.
Dodd capped the 15-play, six-penalty first drive with a 3-yard TD pass to Young on the first play of the fourth quarter. It was the Scarlet Knights' second fourth-down conversion on the drive, one kept alive by a third-down horse collar penalty and a pass interference.
The tying drive featured a 53-yard pass to tight end D.C. Jefferson on a second-and-13 play from the Scarlet Knights 4.
Army seemed to end the drive when Donovan Travis intercepted Dodd at the Black Knights 41, but linebacker Steve Erzinger was flagged for a dumb helmet to helmet on the quarterback well after the pass left his hands.
Given a second life at the Army 26, Dodd hit Mohamed Sanu for 14 yards before eventually finding Harrison in the right corner of the end zone.
Rutgers actually had to chances to win the game. The recovered a Steelman fumble at the Army 45 with 3:42 but turned the ball over.
The Scarlet Knights got the ball back at its own 43 and moved to the Army 28 with about 40 seconds to play. On a second and 3, Dodd lost three yards centering the ball, but Rutgers was called for delay of game after a Black Knights' time out and Dodd was sacked on the next play.
Army dominated the opening half, outgaining Rutgers 287-65 in taking a 17-3 lead.
The Black Knights got contributions in all three phases with a blocked punt by Zach Wells, setting up a three-play, 12-drive scoring drive that Steelman capped with a keeper.
The drive also got a favorable review after Steelman fumbled at the Rutgers 3 and Khaseem Greene recovered at the 1. The play was reviewed and Steelman was ruled down at the 3. He scored on the next play.
Rutgers had a chance to tie the game on the next series with its only drive of the half, moving from its own 38 to inside the Army 1. Instead of pounding the ball on third down, coach Greg Schiano put Sanu in the wildcat and he lost almost two yards on third down. Te kicked his field goal on the next play.
Army came right back and drove 89 yards in seven plays -- all on the ground -- to take a 14-3 lead. Hassin set up the touchdown with a 50-yard run to the 7 and scored two plays later by running over linebacker Antonio Lowery on a 5-yard scamper.
The final three points came on a 13-play, 94-yard march on the final drive of the half with Steelman completing consecutive passes of 17 and 30 yards to Brian Cobbs to set up Carlton's 21-yard field goal.