Rutgers Routs Louisville to Complete Turnaround

Here’s my column from Rutgers’ 63-14 rout of Louisville.

And here are a few quick notes and quotes from the game.

Momentum seems to be building for Rutgers to potentially face Ball State (12-0) in the Motor City Bowl in Detroit Dec. 26. Mike Teel warmed to the idea after throwing for a school-record 447 yards and a Big East-tying seven TDs in the rout.

“Yeah, they’re one of the best teams in the country right now,” Teel said. “I’m pretty sure they’re undefeated. They have a great quarterback that we saw last year with some great players. That would be neat.”

Said Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano: “I’m a competitor, I like to compete. Wherever we end up we’ll end up with a really great opponent and a great environment, so I’m kind of game for just about anything.”

**Louisville head coach STeve Kragthorpe says RU is peaking at the end of the season.

“I think they are a team that is playing extremely well right now,” he said. “They are peaking at the end of the season. Obviously, they had a tough start but then they win their last six games of the year. Mike is playing really well for them right now and they are throwing the ball vertically down the field with Tiquan [Underwood] and Kenny [Britt]. Those guys can stretch it and I thought they did a decent job of running the ball tonight, too. They are a good football team and the defense is playing well and [Jamaal] Westerman is a very, very good player inside. And their secondary did a good job, too.”

**Schiano confirmed that running back Kordell Young had suffered a head injury that kept him out of the game.

“It’s a shame,” Schiano said. “Earlier in the week he got banged on a nondescript hit. But it rung his bell and he has not responded well. I kept thinking he’d be back, he’d be back up until [Wednesday] afternoon. But things were still bothering him, keep him from playing.”

**Offensive lineman Art Forst injured a leg during the game and was on crutches afterward.

“I think he’ll be OK,” Schiano said. “He’s very sore right now. He’s been playing with some pain. I think it got a little bit worse.”

SYRACUSE INTERVIEWS SAINTS COORDINATOR

New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Doug Marrone has interviewed for the head coaching position at Syracuse University, ESPN.com reported.

Marrone interviewed with Syracuse AD Daryl Gross late last week and remains a candidate for the job that came open when Greg Robinson was fired.

Marrone has deep ties to Syracuse, where he was a three-year letterman in the 1980s. He returned there to finish his degree in 1991. Marrone also reportedly could be a candidate for the offensive coordinator job at the University of Tennessee but is waiting to see what happens with the Syracuse job.