Rutgers Dominates Second Half, Avoids Temple Trap to Stay Perfect

Oct 20, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights linebacker Khaseem Greene (20) celebrates scoring a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA. Rutgers defeated Temple 35-10. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Admiral Ackbar Alert was on full-blast in the first half of Rutgers’ Big East tilt at Temple. The Owls went into halftime ahead 10-0, exploiting what has been a glaring weakness of Rutgers’ much of the season: its inability to establish consistent offense. But the Scarlet Knights dominated out of the locker room, blasting the Owls 35-0 in the second half to move to stay perfect, 7-0 and more than halfway to a Big East championship at 4-0.

Most of the conditions fostering a trap game were there. Rutgers was on the road, gaining some attention for its perfect start, and in the first half took on the deer-in-headlights, Michael Cera look. Kudos to Kyle Flood for lighting a fire under the Scarlet Knights at halftime.

Rutgers was an entirely different team, taking its cues from quarterback Gary Nova. He threw four touchdowns to four different receivers, including a 76-yarder to running back Jawan Jamison. Jamison also eclipsed the century mark rushing with 114 yards.

RU’s start is the program’s best since the memorable 2006 season, when the Scarlet Knights came oh-so close to reaching the Orange Bowl. After upsetting Louisville, RU dropped decisions to Cincinnati and a triple overtime affair to West Virginia. This season is the most top heavy the Big East has been since that campaign, with Cincinnati and Louisville also coming into the day sporting perfect records.

Should the Bearcats and Cardinals survive games against Toledo and USF today, they take one step closer to a late season round robin for conference supremacy. The first installment is next Friday, when UL hosts UC with the Keg of Nails at stake.

In the event one emerges from the three-game series still unblemished, how much BCS championship consideration does a 12-0 Big East team generate? RU has the best BCS ranking among the three, one spot ahead of Louisville at No. 15. Cincinnati sits at No. 21. The Bearcats running the table would present the least likely championship candidate, given UC played two FCS opponents. Louisville has two BCS non-conference wins, one strong (North Carolina) and the other weak (Kentucky). Rutgers’ marquee victory in SEC territory, at Arkansas, is improving with each week the Razorbacks win.