Rutgers Stuns No. 24 South Florida 31-0

Sports News - November 13th, 2009 - Written by Scott

No. 24 South Florida had been talking all week about getting revenge from last year's embarrassing loss to Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights were accused by the Bulls of running up the score in their 49-16 win a year ago. Rutgers did everything they could to prevent South Florida from getting that revenge and handed the Bulls their first ever regular season shutout 31-0. Rutgers quarterback Tom Savage threw 2 touchdown passes and the Scarlet Knights defense forced 4 turnovers in the win. Rutgers (7-2, 2-2 Big East) is now bowl eligible for the fifth straight season and has beaten South Florida for the fourth straight year.

"Give Rutgers a lot of credit, they just beat the dog out of us," South Florida coach Jim Leavitt said. "They did a nice job. We haven't fared well against Rutgers over the years. They have just done a very good job, especially the last two years, they've beaten us pretty good."

Rutgers set the tone early and went 80 yards on their opening drive as Savage found Mohamed Sanu from 2 yards out to give the Scarlet Knights a 7-0 lead. Place kicker San San Te would hit two field goals, including one with 44 seconds remaining in the first half, to give Rutgers a 13-0 lead heading into halftime. South Florida did everything they could to aid Rutgers in the first half. Quarterback B.J. Daniels threw two interceptions, lost a fumble, and the Bulls had a punt blocked late in the half.

"This is something we're definitely not used to, that I'm not used to either," Daniels said. "We have a lot of weapons on our offense, we're explosive and they just really did a good job of containing us and shutting us down."

The second half did not get any better for South Florida. Midway through the third quarter, Savage connected with Tim Brown on a 26 yard touchdown pass, his second touchdown toss of the nigh,t to put Rutgers ahead 21-0 after a 2-point conversion failed. Te would then add his third field goal of the game in the fourth quarter and running back Joe Martinek, who finished with 128 yards rushing, would score from 37 yards out to give the Scarlet Knights their 31-0 win.

The story of the night was Rutgers' defense. They held South Florida (6-3 ,2-3) to just 159 total yards and only 30 yards rushing. Daniels, who was spectacular in their upset win over then No. 20 West Virginia, was held to just 129 passing and had just 11 yards rushing on 16 carries.

"Give Rutgers a lot of credit, they just beat the dog out of us," South Florida coach Jim Leavitt said. "They did a nice job. We haven't fared well against Rutgers over the years. They have just done a very good job, especially the last two years, they've beaten us pretty good."

For those of you interested in some College Football Betting be sure to drop by our page on all of the College Football Odds to get the latest information and lines on the upcoming NCAA games.

To discuss this and other Sports related stories be sure to check out our new forum at:
https://www.usaplayers.com/forum