Week 13 Review
#4 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-0) at #3 Syracuse Orangemen (10-0)
last meeting: last year we won 45-27 at home
series: 2-8 in Syracuse's favor
coaches poll: Rutgers #4, Syracuse #3
the betting man says: Syracuse by 2
attendance: 56,000 (of 56,000)
weather: 43 degrees, rain
TV coverage: the specatcular TV1 covered the game
The atmosphere of the sold-out Syracuse crowd was absolutely electric. Fans and player alike knew that the winner of this game would not only be crowned Big East champion, but they all-but guaranteed themselves a spot in the National Championship. I can say without reservation that this is the biggest game in our team history - and a win would ensure and even bigger game would follow.
Syracuse won the toss, and took over at their 34 yardline. Our defensive line came out pumped, and stuffed the Orangmen for no gain on their first two plays. Our stantard 3rd-and-long demons haunted us again, as the Orangemen completed a 17 yard pass for a new set of downs. Another 20 yard pass quickly moved them deep into our territory, and another 3rd and long completion (of 18) yards had them knocking on our door. But we hit Sryacuse for a loss on 3 consecutive plays (including 2 sacks) to push them back and make them settle for a 44 yard field goal. 3-0 Syracuse.
An excellent Jon Burton kick return was negated by an illegal block penalty, forcing us to start pinned at our own 9 yard line. 3 so-so runs had us some up short of a first down -
but an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Orangemen kept our drive alive. QB Sethy Duffy found WR Wesley Kay for a 12 yard gain to earn us a new first down. We'd run for another first down before passing for two more. Seth Duffy was looking very sharp, and we looked primed to score. But, as soon as i was gaining confidence, and errant Seth Duffy pass was intercepted at the Syracuse 28 yard line. There was 1 minute remaining in the first quarter.
Syracuse settled back into their offense, and moved the ball well through the air. While their ground game was getting hit for losses often, the quarterback was routinely bailing them out on 3rd down. The drive came to a screeching halt at 37 yard line. On four consecutive run plays they: gained 3 yards, lost 3 yards, gained 5 yards, lost 3 yards. We took over at our own 35 and felt great about our defensive play. If our offense would move a bit more consistently we could have a real chance.
QB Sethy Duffy was hitting everything in the short passing game, finding WR Dan Patrick for 8 yards, and RB Christian Shulz for 8. All of this set up a 40 yard bomb to WR B.J. Durham. A spearing penalty on Syracuse gave us a first and goal from the 8 yard line. On 3rd down Seth Duffy would find WR B.J. Durham for a 7 yard touchdown!! 7-3 Rutgers.
Both teams were shutting down the opponents running game, but being victimized by the pass. The last scoring opportunity of the half was ours. We took over near midfield, and only had enough time to move a few yards and attempt a long field goal. Vinny Ballard's 59 yard attempt was dead straight, but fell short of the crossbar. We had a slight statisical edge at half-time, and we led 7-3.
---2nd half---
We recived the kickoff at our 22 yardline to open the half. QB Seth Duffy found WR Dan Patrick for a 13 yard gain. 3 straight penalties broke up the flow of the game, holding on us, false start, then offsides on Syracuse. Apparently the penalties didn't break our concentration. On the next play QB Seth Duffy found QR Wesley Kay streaking down the sideline, he hit him in stride and he ran untouched for a 75 yard touchdown! 14-3 Rutgers!
We exchanged punts after that score, and had the ball again at our 42 yard line. The play after a false start, QB Seth Duffy was blindsided in the backfield, and fumbled the ball. Syracuse recoverd at our 37. 3 plays later the Orangmen were in the endzone, and within 4 points at 14-10
Our run defense came up big again on the next two drives, shutting down Syracuse and consistently pushing them into 3rd-and-long situations.
We took over at our 29 with 1 minute to go in the 3rd quarter. QB Seth Duffy had plenty of time to through, and again found a wide-open man... WR B.J. Durham had shaken his man on a post route, hauled in the ball, and dashed 71 yards to lengthen our lead! It was 21-10 Rutgers heading into the 4th!
--4th quarter---
Syracuse took over at their 33 yard line. Hit for a 5 yard loss on first down, it was obvious their run game was struggling. Two consecutive passes for 10 yards gave them a first down. A 3rd straight pass and completion gave them an 11 yard gain and a first down on our half of the field. A first down intentional grounding penalty backed them into a 2nd and 21 situation. Two straight runs for gains of 6 and 7 yards gave them a manageable 4th and 8 situation. Apparently deciding a punt was too conservative, Syracuse elected to go for it on 4th down. Their pass attempt was batted away, and we took over at our own 39 yardline.
3 runs didn't get us very far, but the clock was ticking. We punted back to the Syracuse 36. Syracuse had less luck. We pushed them back 5 yards and forced a punt. Taking over at our 25 yardline, we knew this drive could put the nail in the coffin. There was 6 minutes to go and we led by 11, if we didn't make any killer mistakes the game was ours.
Expecting us to try to literally run the clock out, we caught Syracuse by surprise by coming out gunning. Completions to WR Dan Patrick and RB/WR Jon Burton both resulted in first downs, putting us at our 46 yard line. RB Jon Burton then ran for 3 yards. QB Seth Duffy scrambled for 4 more. On third down Seth Duffy found RB Christian Schulz for 11 yards and another first down! RB Claude Altenburger was hit for a 5 yard loss on the next play, but RB Jon Burton gained 10 on second down. On 3rd and 5 QB Seth Duffy ran a draw for exactly the 5 yards we needed! Syracuse was now desperate, and was calling timeouts. Another Jon Burton run for 4 yards, followed by a 9 yard pass drained the Orangemen of their timeouts. From the 1 yard line, RB Jon Burton plunged in to lock the game up a 28-10!
Syracuse would spend the last 40 seconds frantically trying to score, but coming up short. Is this the prelude to a national title game?
Final Score: Rutgers 28, Syracuse 10
Player of the Week nominees:
QB Seth Duffy - 26-for-40, 380 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Injury Report
ILB Darrell Moore - strained hamstring - probable - unknown
S Ben Davidson - repetitive concussion syndrome - OUT - 57 weeks
OLB Shane Carney - high ankle sprain - OUT - 27 weeks
WR Kelvin Arnold - torn tricepts mucle - OUT - 23 weeks
ILB Rufus Torres - elbow ligament surgery - OUT - 14 weeks
DT Vinny Hoover - torn knee ligament - OUT - 11 weeks
RB Claude Altenburger - dislocated shoulder - out 5 weeks
Losing OLB Rufus Torres hurts, as he's a starter on the outside for us. On the bright side, RB Claude Altenburger should be ready for our bowl game (which will hopefully be the National Championship!
)
Recruiting
Every last scholarship offer comes in! We went an amazing 12-for-13 on scholarship offers, losing out on just the kicker. We now pursue walk-ons full-time.
Local Obligation Scholarships
none this season.
Committed to Rutgers
1. QB T.J. Houshmandzadeh - #4 QB, #18 player nationally. scouted 75-
6'3" 202 lbs from Philadelphia, PA. Ricky is a big-time passer from an extremely solid program. His proximity to us is amazing (just 49 miles), meaning only the horrible Princeton Tigers are closer. With his focus on distance and academics, this could be a slam-dunk acquistion of our next great QB.
high school stats (after 9 games): 60% completion, 2,155 yards (9.45 avg) 12 TD 4 INT. 168 rushes, 944 yards, 10 TD.
offer status: committed to Rutgers in week 7
2. DE Winfred Bernard - #8 DE, #27 player nationally. scouted 92-
6'5" 253 lbs from Medford Lakes, NJ. Winfred appears to be a much better run stopper than pass-rusher, despite his somewhat light frame for the position. An excellent student, Winfred is most interested in Academics (Random Number Theory) and distance. Only Princeton is closer to him, so we should be able to lock up his services.
high school stats (after 9 games): 97 tackles, 16.5 sacks, 1 INT
offer status:committed to Rutgers in Week 11
3. RB Juan Weydahl - #11 RB, #112 player nationally. scouted 75+
5'9" 184 lbs from Souderton, PA. A deceptively tough runner for his size, Juan appears to be a guy who can carry the load. Coming from a very good school, I'm confident he could become our starter by his 3rd year. His distance and academic preferences put us at the top of his list.
high school stats (through 9 games): 266 carries for 1,932 yards and 13 TD's. 48 catches for 660 yards and 4 TD's.
offer status: committed to Rutgers in week 5!
G Chris Owens - #2 guard, #34 player nationally. scouted 92+
T Ralph Stoughton - #9 tackle, #92 player nationally. scouted 78+
ILB Cornell Lyncy - #36 ILB, #582 player nationally. scouted 52+
OLB Doug Cerda - # 3 OLB, #46 player nationally. scouted 78+
CB Todd Nykolaisyn - #3 CB, #29 player nationally. scouted 83+
WR Jimmie Hatcher - #43 WR, #564 player nationally. scouted 58++
DT Lee Barnes - #4 DT, #39 player nationally. scouted 94+
Safety D.J. Cushenbery - #12 safety, #273 player nationally. scouted 65+
OLB Karl Bronson - #82 OLB, unranked nationally. scouted 61+
Code:
committments new committments in blue
OLB Karl Bronson New Holland, PA
DT Lee Barnes Newark, DE
WR Jimmie Hatcher Hazlet, NJ
S D.J. Cushenbery Glen Ridge, NJ
DE Winfred Bernard Medford Lakes, NJ
CB Todd Nykolaiszyn Washington, PA
OLB Doug Cerda Guys Mills, PA
G Cris Owens Retsof, NY
QB Ricky Houshmandzadeh Philadelphia, PA
OT Ralph Stoughton Johnstown, PA
RB Juan Weydahl Souderton, PA
ILB Cornell Lynch Hopkinton, MA
rejections new rejections in red
TE Jon Glass Connecticut
S Joseph Givens Kailua
K Jumbo Zvereva Arizona State
C Fred Bader Northern Illinois
DE Donnie Carlisle Texas-El Paso
G Bernard Manning Connecticut
ILB Brady Donovan Georgia
K Marc Langford Army
WR Jason Reilly Cincinnati
S Tom Bush Navy
ILB Matthew Mayes Pittsburgh
DE Kurt Shepard Pittsburgh
OT Bobby Porcaro Clemson
WR Daniel Burke Arizona State
OT Dana Gaines Ohio State
DT Kirk Joyner Syracuse
DT Harvey Cathey Penn State
Conference Snapshot
Week 13 Results
---------------
#4 RUTGERS 28 at #3 Syracuse 10 [TV1]
Miami 30 at #23 VIRGINIA TECH 80
Princeton 17 at BOSTON COLLEGE 34
WEST VIRGINIA 41 at Pitt 20
Code:
Big East Standings
Overall Conference
School W L PF PA W L PF PA Streak
Rutgers 11 0 404 163 7 0 258 110 Won 15
Syracuse 10 1 411 111 6 1 211 85 Lost 1
Virginia Tech 7 3 323 161 4 3 217 134 Won 1
West Virginia 6 4 251 203 4 3 137 136 Won 1
Boston College 6 4 278 221 3 4 174 190 Won 1
Miami Florida 5 6 328 367 2 5 180 239 Lost 1
Pittsburgh 4 7 273 276 2 5 158 215 Lost 4
Princeton 1 10 123 419 0 7 57 283 Lost 7