TAMPA, Fla. - Chas Dodd and the Scarlet Knights tried their best to make it three out of four in the fourth-quarter comeback department, but a late sack spelled doom for Rutgers en route to a 28-27 loss tonight against the Bulls to drop to 4-4.
After Mason Robinson gave RU field position at midfield with five minutes left in the game, the Knights were poised to take the lead, trailing USF by just one point. But on 4th and 3 with a chance to move into field goal range, Dodd got sacked for the third time on the game and closed the door on any hopes of a comeback.
“Personally, it’s hard for me to even look quarterbacks in the eyes after giving up sacks,” said sophomore Devon Watkis, who was in at right tackle on the sack. “It was just a shame. It just hurts.”
On the penultimate drive that ended the Knights’ hopes of a win, Rutgers lost a yard on first down and failed to gain enough out of the Wildcat on second down. Then, a scramble on third down also failed to move the sticks. Fourth down brought a sack and the end of the game.
“I think we just didn’t execute like we have been,” Dodd said. “In prior games, we came out and we executed. We did exactly what we had to. On that second-to-last drive, we just didn’t get it done.”
The Scarlet Knights managed to contain USF quarterback B.J. Daniels, who threw two touchdown passes, but both came on very short drives. The offensive damage for the Bulls was done by running back Mo Plancher, who ran for 135 yards and efficiently closed out the game for USF.
“[The shovel pass] was a little scheme move that they did,” said head coach Greg Schiano. “I think we took away things that they like to do and they were great adjustments, but I think our kids made great adjustments. It was a game of cat-and-mouse out there.”
On the Rutgers end, the scoring opened up on special teams in the form of Mason Robinson. The junior running back ignored five defenders in his face on a punt return and took it 60 yards to the house to lock the game up at 7-7 late in the first quarter.
“I couldn’t see anything at first because there was sweat in my eyes, but then when it cleared up all I saw was green, the USF defenders,” Robinson said. “I knew I had a shot at it and once I got past them, all I saw was the endzone; the other kind of green with open space, my teammates too.”
The other big, first-half score for the Scarlet Knights gave them a 17-14 lead. Dodd hit Mohamed Sanu on a backwards pass and the entire USF defense bit. At that point, Sanu found a wide open Mark Harrison in the endzone for a touchdown.
“It always feels good to score, but it doesn’t feel good when you’re losing, so we just have to keep going and keep executing,” Harrison said. “We did some great things out there, but it just wasn’t good enough.”
The loss drops Rutgers to 4-4 on the season and 1-2 in the Big East, part of a log-jam tie in last place. And now, the Scarlet Knights need at least two more wins to qualify for a bowl bid.
“We’re not even thinking about it,” Schiano said. “We’ve got a couple of days here to get some rest again, which is good. We had it last time. We have it this time. Then, our focus will turn to Syracuse.”
