Juiced
It's been a few hours since Rutgers was dismantled by Syracuse up at the dome, 31-13. And I gotta tell ya, it hasn't taken long to get over it, simply because the Scarlet Knights never made a game out of it. This was a baffling loss on many levels, but I could see how it could've happened.
Not that it's excusable, but this was the perfect scenario for a letdown. Syracuse looked horrible last week at Louisville in a battle of the Big East bottom feeders. Meanwhile, Rutgers blew up USF, at the time ranked No. 23 in the country. That win caused everyone to take for granted that RU would be 9-2 heading into the game against WVU on December 5.
Syracuse, on the other hand, was itching for its first Big East win and this game was basically their season, their bowl game. Rutgers has become the Orange's No. 1 rival because the rise of Rutgers has very much coincided with, and come at the expense of Syracuse.
Still, the Rutgers defense needs to be held to task for coming out so flat. Then the RU offense didn't help matters when Savage threw the interception on RU's first possession. Savage has been great with controlling the ball this season, but the Carrier Dome is a tough place to play, especially for true freshman. For that reason, I thought establishing the run would've been a better choice.
The coaches, too, need to answer for this. It is the responsibility of Schiano and the rest of the coaches to stop the team from having a letdown and also to make the necessary adjustments at halftime when the team starts slowly. Neither happened today.
About the only positives I can take from this were that the special teams play was stellar. And "Downtown" Tim Brown deserves special mention for setting the RU all-time record for TD receptions.
Other than that, the loss means getting to a bowl game will become much more difficult. The Louisville game is a must-win, and the West Virginia game needs to at least be a good show. If RU drops the game to Louisville or gets blown out by WVU the Knights can't expect to get to a bowl game of any significance or even at all. There are too many teams with the necessary number of wins to expect to get taken if you don't finish strong.
Not that it's excusable, but this was the perfect scenario for a letdown. Syracuse looked horrible last week at Louisville in a battle of the Big East bottom feeders. Meanwhile, Rutgers blew up USF, at the time ranked No. 23 in the country. That win caused everyone to take for granted that RU would be 9-2 heading into the game against WVU on December 5.
Syracuse, on the other hand, was itching for its first Big East win and this game was basically their season, their bowl game. Rutgers has become the Orange's No. 1 rival because the rise of Rutgers has very much coincided with, and come at the expense of Syracuse.
Still, the Rutgers defense needs to be held to task for coming out so flat. Then the RU offense didn't help matters when Savage threw the interception on RU's first possession. Savage has been great with controlling the ball this season, but the Carrier Dome is a tough place to play, especially for true freshman. For that reason, I thought establishing the run would've been a better choice.
The coaches, too, need to answer for this. It is the responsibility of Schiano and the rest of the coaches to stop the team from having a letdown and also to make the necessary adjustments at halftime when the team starts slowly. Neither happened today.
About the only positives I can take from this were that the special teams play was stellar. And "Downtown" Tim Brown deserves special mention for setting the RU all-time record for TD receptions.
Other than that, the loss means getting to a bowl game will become much more difficult. The Louisville game is a must-win, and the West Virginia game needs to at least be a good show. If RU drops the game to Louisville or gets blown out by WVU the Knights can't expect to get to a bowl game of any significance or even at all. There are too many teams with the necessary number of wins to expect to get taken if you don't finish strong.
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