Orange Shines Brighter Than Scarlet, Savage Tamed

Rutgers fans expected a blowout, generated by a dominating defensive performance and efficient QB play.  Saturday, those same fans got exactly what they expected, but from the wrong team.

If you have a weak stomach, you might want to stop reading.  Rutgers' numbers are not pretty:

130 total offensive yards.

9 sacks allowed.

31 points allowed.  Syracuse has only scored 20-or-more points three times this year -- to the defensive powerhouses of Northwestern, Maine, and Akron.

13 points scored.  Syracuse had only held its opponent to under 20 points twice this year -- Louisville and Akron.

It was obvious what Syracuse set out to do on offense: pressure Tom Savage; hit him as many times as possible; and hit him as hard as possible.  The strategy worked wonders as Savage had the worst game of his young career, completing only 41% of his passes and throwing two interceptions.

Equally obvious was Syracuse's plan on offense: establish the run and take advantage of Rutgers' aggressiveness on defense.  Syracuse had 23 first downs and over 200 yards both on the ground and through the air.

The only highlight for Rutgers in this orgy of awfulness was the special teams' play: Devin McCourty had a 50-yard kick return, which turned out to be meaningless due to a Tom Savage interception; Joe Lefeged blocked a punt for a safety; Teddy Dellaganna dropped three punts inside the 20-yard-line; and a blocked field goal.

Still, if the Rutgers football team is anything, it is resilient.  Under the leadership of Mike Teel, the team won seven games in a row just last year after an anemic 1-5 start to the season.

What remains to be seen is how Tom Savage will react to such a poor performance.  Hoping to rebound, Louisville certainly isn't a bad team to be facing.  The Cardinals have let up 281 points this year and have given up over 200 yards passing on six separate occasions.

One thing is for sure: if the offensive line doesn't improve its play, John Constantine Unitas could be out there and it might not make a difference.  On the flip side, if the offensive line plays up to its potential and the coaching staff makes the proper adjustments to protect Savage, Rutgers still has a good chance to finish this season with ten wins -- including whatever bowl game Rutgers ends up going to.