PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Rutgers arrived — and kicked no. 3 Louisville right out of the national championship scramble.

The program that once set the standard for college football futility jumped into the national title picture Thursday night with a 28–25 victory over no. 3 Louisville.

On his second chance, Jeremy Ito kicked a 28-yard tiebreaking field goal with 13 seconds left and the second consecutive primetime showdown between Big East unbeatens went to no. 15 Rutgers (9–0, 4–0).

Just a week ago, it was Louisville (8–1, 3–1) celebrating the biggest win in school history, a 44–34 victory over West Virginia that vaulted the Cardinals into the heart of the national championship race.

This time it was Rutgers’ turn to party.

The Scarlet Knights shut out the high-scoring Cardinals in the second half, erased an 18-point deficit and got the ball with 5:28 left in the fourth quarter at their own 9.

Brian Leonard went 26 yards with a pass in the flats to get Rutgers into Louisville territory and Ray Rice broke a 20-yard run to get into field-goal range. Ito missed a 33-yarder with 18 seconds left but Louisville was offside and Ito got another shot — and it was perfect.

The final play, appropriately, was a sack of Brian Brohm by a Rutgers’ defense that proved itself as one of the best in the country.

Fans flooded the field, hardly a yard marker could be seen, engulfing their heroes.

Rice, the Heisman Trophy candidate, yes the new Scarlet Knights even have one of those, ran for 22 times for 131 yards and two touchdowns.

Brohm, who looked like the Heisman contender last week, went 13-for-27 for 163 yards and was sacked five times, twice each by Jamel Meekins and Devraun Thompson.

When coach Greg Schiano took over at Rutgers in 2001 the program was as bad as it got in college football, and it didn’t get much better in the former Miami assistant’s first few seasons.