Brandon Coleman caught two touchdowns for Rutgers (2-0), which improved to 9-0 all-time against the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. It was the final warmup for the Scarlet Knights, who open Big East play against South Florida next week.

Flood is a long-time Rutgers’ assistant who took over after Greg Schiano left to be the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after 12 seasons in Piscataway. It wasn’t pretty offensively, but the New York native watched his defense and special teams dominate Howard. Rutgers held the Bison to just 15 yards in the first half and 149 for the game.

Still, Howard ( 1-1) was more competitive than its last contest against Rutgers – a 45-7 loss in 2009.

The Rutgers’ offense sputtered for much of the first half, but it received a spark from Jamison’s 64-yard run on 3rd-and-34. Jamison's dash set up Savon Huggins’ 1-yard touchdown run with just over six minutes left in the first. The Scarlett Knights then took a 13-0 lead when Brandon Jones returned a blocked punt six yards for a score.

Nova’s 32-yard touchdown pass to Coleman made it 19-0 at the half. He hooked up with Coleman for a 16-yard touchdown late in the third.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Bison were outgained 113-1 in the first quarter, but only trailed by seven. … Howard had a golden opportunity to take the lead after Julien David intercepted Nova on the first series of the game, but William Parker fumbled at the Rutgers’ 3-yard line. ... It was the first time in 12 seasons that Schiano was not on the sidelines for a Rutgers home opener.