(AP photo)

By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

PISCATAWAY — In a quick media session Tuesday as Rutgers entered the Big Ten, Kyle Flood reflected on his first conference memory, Rutgers' 2005 season opener at Illinois.

It was Flood's first game on staff after coaching at Delaware.

"It was certainly an exciting game and one we would've liked to come out on top of," Flood said inside High Point Solutions Stadium. "There were a lot of plays on both sides of it. To coach your first game at this level in that stadium was a great experience."

"There was a (Brian) Leonard leap in that game. It was actually outside zone to the left. There was '11' personnel, two by two, and we pushed back the safety and Leonard jumped over the corner and went 80 yards for a touchdown, in case you forgot."

It was also the origin of "chop", former head coach Greg Schiano's buzzword that became entrenched in the program's identity.