INSIDE SLANT

The Scarlet Knights had a chance to wriggle into position for a quality bowl game, but likely squandered that opportunity Saturday with a disappointing effort against Syracuse.

Moreover, the 31-13 loss was more disturbing in that it exposed a weakness that could come back to haunt the team over its final three games.

Syracuse isn’t much of a team, but it was able to stifle the Scarlet Knights offense with constant pressure. That’s been a recipe for success in stopping the Rutgers attack all season, because it hits two of quarterback Tom Savage’s weaknesses: his inexperience, and his tendency to hold onto the ball too long.

One factor that might have stopped some of the team’s opponents is that the offensive line has a very good reputation, led by Anthony Davis, who is widely considered to be the best pro prospect among the five. But the line has been curiously disappointing this season, and hasn’t been able to consistently stop a dedicated pass rushing attack.

With a 7-3 record heading into the final two games, the Scarlet Knights are going to play somewhere in the bowl season. But the inability to stop the pass rush in Big East play is what will send the team to a spot like the St. Petersburg Bowl instead of the BCS or the Gator.

NOTES, QUOTES

• Syracuse hurt Rutgers badly with its constant blitzing, to the tune of nine quarterback sacks. The Scarlet Knights coaches said after the game that the team can expect to see those kind of defenses the rest of the season until it figures out how to stop the rush.

• Freshman WR Tim Wright got his first career start on Saturday, as fellow frosh Mark Harrison missed the game with an injury. However, he didn’t catch a pass.

• QB Tom Savage threw a pair of interceptions against Syracuse. That matched his total for the entire season up to this weekend.

Game Ball Goes To:   S Joe Lefeged—Lefeged had a pedestrian three tackles in the secondary, but he was a monster on special teams. He blocked both a punt and a field goal attempt, for two of the few bright spots in a disappointing defeat. In fact, the punt block turned into a safety and the first Rutgers points of the day.

Keep An Eye On:   CB Devin McCourty—The senior is well on his way to making an NFL roster next year—he’s such a special teams monster that he’ll be hard to keep off a roster as an extra cornerback. His blocked punt against Syracuse was the seventh of his career, and he also added a 50-yard kickoff return.

Quote To Note:   “Is there confidence shaken a little bit? I don’t know. It might be. You get sacked nine times it might be. We just need to go back to work, practice, prepare and go play with the focus that we’re capable of and that we have played with and I think if we do that then we’ll play a good football game. I don’t know how that will stack up compared to how Louisville plays. That’s why you play the game.”—Rutgers coach Greg Schiano told the Newark Star-Ledger.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Looking Good:   About the only unit to play well on Saturday was special teams. Rutgers blocked a total of three kicks, as Devin McCourty and Joe Lefeged each got their hands on a punt, and Lefeged knocked down a field goal attempt as well.

Tim Brown made himself the school’s all-time leader in touchdown receptions by catching a 38-yard scoring pass from Tom Savage in the second quarter. That was the 18th of his career, moving past Kenny Britt and Chris Brantley at 17.

LB Ryan D’Imperio did his part for the defense, setting a career high with 14 tackles.

Still Needs Work:   Rutgers looked totally unprepared to play football on Saturday. Whether that was because of a lack of preparation, motivation, or whatever, the Scarlet Knights got a harsh lesson that the team isn’t good enough to roll out the football and beat anyone. It got embarrassed by a team that was winless in the Big East and playing for nothing but pride.

The offensive line made Syracuse’s defensive front look like an NFL team’s instead of that of a last-place Big East club. It allowed the Orange nine quarterback sacks, including sacks on three consecutive plays in the fourth quarter.

Rutgers’ defense looked unprepared to see Syracuse spend so much time in the option rather than sending Greg Paulus out there in obvious passing downs. A defense that had been a turnover-generating machine this season didn’t get one on Saturday.

Roster Report:  

• WR Tim Brown suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter. He returned to the game briefly, but was unable to run without hobbling.

• WR Mark Harrison missed the Syracuse game with an undisclosed injury. He is expected to be ready for the team’s game this week against Louisville.

• K San San Te looked like he was seriously hurt at the end of the first half when a Syracuse player ran into him following a missed 46-yard field goal. However, he was back kicking in the second half.