Jersey Actually Proves It's Worth... Again!
Well, rag on the New Jersey people all you want (for good reason I might add), but the boys from Piscataway came through when it counted. The Scarlet Knights (5-2, 1-1) knocked the #2 South Florida Bulls (6-1, 1-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten last night to the tune of 30-27. The game was hardly a thing of beauty, with both teams committing special teams blunders, lots and lots of penalties, and ill-timed turnovers.
This win really shouldn't have come as much as a surprise as one might think, either. USF, while very good, was hardly ever great this season. They achieved their now-defunct #2 ranking simply because they were winning in a season where everyone else is losing. Now, don't dismiss that. Give the Bulls their just do credit for doing exactly where they were supposed to. But, you knew they were going to get tagged at some point. The Bulls' lack of a true, consistent running game (outside of a Matt Groethe draw up the middle) cost them this game. The Bulls had three separate leads, but without any real threat of a consistent, clock-draining rushing attack, the Rutgers defense was able to line-up on the line of scrimmage and blitz and blitz and blitz. They sacked Groethe six times, and forced him to scramble and hurry several more. The Bulls' O-line offered little resistance. The results were USF being behind in downs and distance, especially through the second half.
Meanwhile, Rutgers continues to have the luxury of a guy named Ray Rice. USF's vaunted defense has had no success against Rice since he started at running back. Last year, Rice shredded the Bulls' D for 202 yards, and last night had 181 yards on 33 touches. He also lost a fumble that ended up not mattering. Rutgers QB Mike Teel certainly didn't have a great game, with numerous over-thrown balls and wrong reads, but be made plays when he had to. That said, a lot of credit goes to his receivers, most notably Taiquan Underwood. He finished with five catches for 114 yards and two scores. Also, give credit to Rutgers head boss Greg Schiano for some uber-ballsy play calling. Twice, twice he went for it on fourth down, each time lining up in a special teams formation and running a gadget play. These plays led directly to ten points. They're the kind of decisions a coach is lauded for, or riled against. But, they worked, and they're timing was superb.
So where do we go from here?
Pretty or not, this is exactly what WVU needed, as now the conference is back to square-one (MathNet not included). Rutgers' win not only puts the Mountaineers right back into Big East Conference title contention, but now one can realistically begin to fantasize about bigger dreams. The way this college football season has been going, no one is safe, but you knew that by now.
Don't be surprised if Ohio State goes down tomorrow at Michigan State. By this point, truly anything can happen. Boston College and Arizona State may have the luxury of waking up Monday morning ranked #1 and #2 simply because they don't play this weekend.
WVU got the first big step back into the BCS. Now, with an impressive win over a improving Mississippi State team (they did beat Auburn and Arkansas) on homecoming weekend, be ready to watch WVU begin a slow and methodical climb up the rankings. Just win, baby, just win, and things will be fine. The Mountaineers CANNOT afford to lose another game. However, win out, and those lofty preseason expectations aren't far behind.
This win really shouldn't have come as much as a surprise as one might think, either. USF, while very good, was hardly ever great this season. They achieved their now-defunct #2 ranking simply because they were winning in a season where everyone else is losing. Now, don't dismiss that. Give the Bulls their just do credit for doing exactly where they were supposed to. But, you knew they were going to get tagged at some point. The Bulls' lack of a true, consistent running game (outside of a Matt Groethe draw up the middle) cost them this game. The Bulls had three separate leads, but without any real threat of a consistent, clock-draining rushing attack, the Rutgers defense was able to line-up on the line of scrimmage and blitz and blitz and blitz. They sacked Groethe six times, and forced him to scramble and hurry several more. The Bulls' O-line offered little resistance. The results were USF being behind in downs and distance, especially through the second half.
Meanwhile, Rutgers continues to have the luxury of a guy named Ray Rice. USF's vaunted defense has had no success against Rice since he started at running back. Last year, Rice shredded the Bulls' D for 202 yards, and last night had 181 yards on 33 touches. He also lost a fumble that ended up not mattering. Rutgers QB Mike Teel certainly didn't have a great game, with numerous over-thrown balls and wrong reads, but be made plays when he had to. That said, a lot of credit goes to his receivers, most notably Taiquan Underwood. He finished with five catches for 114 yards and two scores. Also, give credit to Rutgers head boss Greg Schiano for some uber-ballsy play calling. Twice, twice he went for it on fourth down, each time lining up in a special teams formation and running a gadget play. These plays led directly to ten points. They're the kind of decisions a coach is lauded for, or riled against. But, they worked, and they're timing was superb.
So where do we go from here?
Pretty or not, this is exactly what WVU needed, as now the conference is back to square-one (MathNet not included). Rutgers' win not only puts the Mountaineers right back into Big East Conference title contention, but now one can realistically begin to fantasize about bigger dreams. The way this college football season has been going, no one is safe, but you knew that by now.
Don't be surprised if Ohio State goes down tomorrow at Michigan State. By this point, truly anything can happen. Boston College and Arizona State may have the luxury of waking up Monday morning ranked #1 and #2 simply because they don't play this weekend.
WVU got the first big step back into the BCS. Now, with an impressive win over a improving Mississippi State team (they did beat Auburn and Arkansas) on homecoming weekend, be ready to watch WVU begin a slow and methodical climb up the rankings. Just win, baby, just win, and things will be fine. The Mountaineers CANNOT afford to lose another game. However, win out, and those lofty preseason expectations aren't far behind.
Labels: Sports
posted by P. Ehland at 12:04 PM
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