PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Gary Nova threw four touchdowns and halfback Paul James had his second-straight three-touchdown game to lead Rutgers to a 38-25 victory over Howard Saturday.

Nova connected with James on scoring passes of 69 and 31 yards and added tosses of 38 yards to Leonte Carroo and 19 to John Tsimis as the Scarlet Knights (2-0) scored 31 straight first-half points to overcome an early deficit.

James, who had three TDs in the season-opening win over Washington State, also scored on a 7-yard run for Rutgers, which will play its first Big Ten Conference game here next weekend against Penn State.

Howard (0-2) got touchdown runs of 20 yards from Aquanius Freeman, 11 from William Parker, 12 from Greg McGhee and 70 from Terrance Tusan.

The last few minutes of the game were finished as lightning fell nearby but officials let the game continue despite some audible concern by the crowd.

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