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Thursday, September 12, 2002

By Shelly Anderson, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Results from a big weekend of non-conference games were mixed.

Four of the six games against teams from other major conferences were losses for Big East teams -- Syracuse at home to North Carolina, 30-22; Pitt at home to No. 21 Texas A&M, 14-12; West Virginia at No. 22 Wisconsin, 34-17; and Temple at home to Oregon State, 35-3.

Whatever hit the Big East image might have taken on those games, it certainly got a boost from the other two -- Boston College beat visiting Stanford, 34-27, and the big one, No. 1 Miami's 41-16 victory at No. 12 Florida.

"I think it made a huge statement," Miami Coach Larry Coker said. "Before the kickoff, we were three-point underdogs and we were overrated. I'm driving in on Sunday morning and we're at another level, above anything we've ever played. Somewhere in there maybe is reality. But I think it did make a statement.

"There was a tremendous amount of interest in the state of Florida. And there was interest nationally."

The Hurricanes have won 24 games in a row, the longest such streak in the nation.

They will be part of the first Big East league game Saturday against Temple and its spread, no-huddle offense at Franklin Field. The Owls beat Division I-AA Richmond before dropping the game against Oregon State.

"Going from Oregon State to Miami, it doesn't get any easier," Owls Coach Bobby Wallace said.

Knights struggle

After lopsided losses to Division I-AA Villanova, 37-14, and Mid-American Conference Buffalo, 34-11 -- both at home -- Rutgers is looking inward as much as it is looking at Army (0-1), its homecoming opponent Saturday.

Coach Greg Schiano, formerly the defensive coordinator at Miami, is in his second season and has a 2-11 record. His lineup is heavy with freshmen and sophomores and he's trying to keep their spirits up.

"That's one of my biggest jobs right now," he said. "Our kids are good kids, though. They all knew it was not going to be an overnight turnaround. We just need to be positive and stay after it, and I'm sure we're going to get it."

One change for Rutgers is at quarterback. After going with Ryan Cubit as a freshman last year and in the opener this season, Schiano switched to senior Ted Trump against Buffalo and probably will stick with the older player this week.

Trump was 16-of-38 passing for 166 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions against Buffalo. He had a succinct analysis of Rutgers coming off of that loss and heading into the Army game: "We can't be worse than this."

Another bad start

For the fourth time in eight seasons, Syracuse is 0-2. The Orangemen have made a habit of overcoming poor starts, but some of their numbers this year are disconcerting.

Quarterback R.J. Anderson is 12-of-35 passing for 199 yards and no touchdowns. His three interceptions are one more than he had all of last year in a 10-3 season.

Syracuse has given up 1,051 yards of offense through two games and has been outscored 29-0 in the fourth quarter.

"We're going to fight back," Anderson said. "We're used to fighting with our backs to the wall."

Fickle fans

It sounds as if quarterbacks Rod Rutherford of Pitt and Brian St. Pierre of Boston College have been comparing notes.

St. Pierre, a senior and returning starter, passed for 260 yards and a touchdown against Stanford but was loudly booed at home after one of his three interceptions.

"It's tough when you get booed in your own hometown," St. Pierre said. "But, hey, I've been a Boston sports fan all my life, so I know what it's about. You've got to be a little thick-skinned."

Rutherford made similar comments about Pittsburgh after fans booed him and called for backup Tyler Palko during the Texas A&M game.

Game of the week

No. 11 Virginia Tech, which was off last week, continues its trek through a tough non-conference schedule tonight when it plays host to No. 16 Marshall in an ESPN game.

While the Hokies (2-0), who have beaten No. 25 LSU and later face Texas A&M and Virginia, are unsure of their quarterback situation with Grant Noel coming off of arthroscopic knee surgery, Marshall brings Byron Leftwich, whom Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer called "probably the best quarterback in the country."

"We got a quarterback that's trying to win the Heisman and a team that's trying to break into the top 10 coming in here," Beamer said.

The Hokies are on a 15-0 streak in games televised by ESPN or ESPN2.

Quote of the week

Boston College 5-foot-8 running back Derrick Knight on his winning 12-yard touchdown against Stanford:

"I just saw a wall of red and I saw light."