The Knights Watchman

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 o...

Last night's 31-0 thrashing of the South Florida Bulls by the Scarlet Knights was a huge win for the program . With South Florida having recently defeated West Virginia and sitting pretty with a No. 23 ranking, Rutgers can make a case that it's the third best team in the Big East. Of course, RU will have to prove that over the next three weeks. Here's my breakdown of some of the things on game night as I saw it: The Atmosphere It was bone chillingly cold in the upper level where I sit. I think many fans elected to stay in the parking lot and drink or keep the grill going to stay warm. I can't say I completely blame them. Many people sitting around me left at halftime because they simply couldn't take it anymore. I bought a pair of what appear to be women's gloves from the merchandise trailer on my way in just to keep warm, looking manly be damned. Sure there should have been more fans there and more fans should have stayed. But the weather report and the way the...