Rutgers stumbles, somehow beats South Florida 23-13

Despite a parade of penalties, Rutgers beats South Florida on the road Thursday night.

By Evan Hilbert

Sep 13, 2012 at 11:33 pm ET • 1 min read

Rutgers running back Jawan Jamison stiff-arms South Florida linebacker Devekeyan Lattimore during the second quarter Thursday night. (AP Images)

In no way could this game have resembled anything close to what Rutgers coach Kyle Flood had envisioned, but he'll take the outcome. The Scarlet Knights went down to Tampa and beat South Florida 23-13 Thursday night, but not without a myriad of miscues.

Rutgers was penalized 11 times for 85 yards, but if there is a silver lining for Flood's team, it has to be that -- despite the penalties -- they were able to win a tough road game. Quarterback Gary Nova was clutch on third downs -- converting 8 of 19 -- and running back Jawan Jamison carried the rushing load, with backup Savon Huggins out with an injury. Jamison was huge, carrying the ball 41 times for 151 yards, including a 41-yard scamper to seal the game late in the fourth quarter.

The Scarlet Knights' defense was again dominant, harrassing South Florida into four turnovers. Still, the Bulls had a shot to win due to Rutgers' parade of penalties. During one drive, USF quarterback B.J. Daniels was able to draw the defensive front offsides on consecutive snaps, turning a third-and-long into a new set of downs.

But in the end, Rutgers had just too much offense and Daniels wasn't able to find the magic as he did last week for the Bulls against Nevada. Instead, the senior quarterback errantly chucked the ball about the field, finishing 15 of 33 with three interceptions.

And it was Rutgers, surprisingly, controlling the ball on offense. The Scarlet Knights rolled up 424 yards of total offense after consecutive non-impressive outings against weak opponents. But the road doesn't get any easier for Flood and Rutgers, as they head to Arkansas to face the once-mighty Razorbacks next weekend.

Rest assured that Flood and his staff will focus, again, on fixing penalties. For the Scarlet Knights to stay undefeated, they can't be tripped up by the same mistakes that befell them Thursday night.

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Big East, follow bloggers Evan Hilbert and Matt Rybaltowski @CBSBigEast.