Revamped Rutgers is gunning for WVU

MORGANTOWN - When the college football season began in September and his team lost 47-15 at home on national television, it sure looked like a laborious season awaited Rutgers Coach Greg Schiano. "Certainly not what my visions were of what today was going to be like," he said after the Labor Day loss to Cincinnati. Rutgers then disappeared into a non-conference abyss and defeated the likes of Howard, Florida International, Texas Southern and unusually bad Maryland (2-10). The combined score of the four games was 166-35. When the Scarlet Knights reappeared for a Friday night ESPN game against Pitt, they equipped themselves far better than before and played close to the Panthers until the end of a 24-17 loss. "I wish (the season) wouldn't have started the way it did," Schiano said at the time, "but we've improved as any team hopes to improve as you play more games." Something was developing and Rutgers beat Army and then Connecticut in the final minute before putting everything together in a 31-0 win over South Florida. A team with a true freshman quarterback and receiver and a sophomore running back learned how to win. True, it was against overmatched opponents, but the lessons were not to be overlooked. "Good football teams always find ways to get better," WVU Coach Bill Stewart said. "That's what I stress to our people and that's what they did at Rutgers University . I think their quarterback and their running back have stepped up and they're hitting on all cylinders. "Those young men know how to play and when to crank it up. They are much improved and a much better football team than they were the first game of the year." No. 24 WVU (8-3, 4-2) plays the Scarlet Knights (8-3, 3-3) at noon Saturday (ESPN) at Rutgers Stadium. Tom Savage, who some claim is the best recruit in Rutgers' history, entered in the middle of the Cincinnati game and has been the starter for every game but the one against Maryland, when he was injured. Savage, who was the third-to-last quarterback to throw an interception this season, is 126-for-231 (54.5 percent) for 1,764 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. In the three games he played between the team's losses to Cincinnati and Pitt, Savage passed for 558 yards and three scores. "We kind of fed him at just the right speed," Schiano said. "Don't let him get bored. Don't overwhelm him. Tom has a grasp of what we're asking of him." The demands gradually increased and Savage handled it all. He was 23-of-39 against Pitt for 248 yards and a touchdown. He threw for 236 yards and three touchdowns against UConn, including the game-winning 81-yard strike with 22 seconds to go. "I see a youngster who is doing absolutely awesome and isn't making mistakes," Stewart said. "Savage has it. We've got to rattle him. I don't know if we can, though. He's been hit and knocked down before." Savage has been helped by his surroundings. Senior receiver Tim Brown has 51 catches for 1,051 yards and eight touchdowns this season. The school's fourth 1,000-yard receiver and leader in career touchdowns (19) is also the national leader in career yards per reception (19.1). Freshman Mohamed Sanu has 41 receptions for 437 yards and a touchdown and is an evolving threat in the Wildcat package with 36 carries for 258 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore running back Joe Martinek averages 4.9 yards per carry and has 874 yards and nine touchdowns this season. Rutgers was looking downright scary after beating the Bulls, but then went to Syracuse and, as Stewart said, "Syracuse played as well against Rutgers as Rutgers did against South Florida." The Orange won, 31-13. Savage was 7-for-17 for 66 yards, Martinek had 55 yards on just 10 carries and Brown caught four passes for 67 yards and a score, but that was on a trick play pass from Sanu that covered 88 yards. Schiano admitted his team was overconfident. "I'd be naive if I didn't believe it was a factor," Schiano said. "It's a shame because that's a lesson we should know by now. It was a perfect storm in a bad way for us." Rutgers responded last Friday by rolling over Louisville, 34-13. The offense scored touchdowns on its first four drives for the first time in Schiano's nine seasons. Martinek rushed for 90 yards and a score, Savage was 10-for-16 for 163 yards and a touchdown to Brown, who had seven catches for 124 yards. Sanu carried 18 times for 148 yards and two touchdowns and became the Big East's only player with a touchdown passing, receiving and rushing this season. "Rutgers is back," Stewart said. "They're hitting on all cylinders. They really only had one bad outing, I guess, in the first game against Cincinnati. Other than that, this is a darn good Rutgers team. We'll have to play very, very disciplined and very, very hard or what they did to Louisville and South Florida can happen to us. "One of those teams (USF) we got shellacked by, the other (Louisville) we barely beat at home. Rutgers absolutely dismantled them. Rutgers is better, they're on a roll and they'll be gunning for the Mountaineers." THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Rutgers offensive lineman Art Forst runs by Scarlet Knights Coach Greg Schiano in their victory over Louisville last Friday. Contact sportswriter Mike Casazza at mikec@dailymail.com or 304-319-1142. His blog is at blogs.dailymail.com/wvu.