STEPHEN NOVER
Saturday's winner ... 75 Dime RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS - I don't see battered and demoralized Syracuse being able to compete at all with Rutgers. The Orangemen can barely dress 50 players with all the injuries they have suffered.

Rutgers cracked the Top 25 and deservedly so. The Scarlet Knights' only two losses have been to top-10 powerhouses Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

Rutgers has won seven of its last eight games. They are off a confidence-building 31-0 blanking of South Florida, a former top-25 team. The Scarlet Knights have had a couple of extra days of rest and preparation. The schedule has laid out well for them. They will be fresh for this matchup.

That's not the case for Syracuse, which has had more players lost to injuries and suspensions than perhaps any other team.

Just in the last two weeks, the Orangemen have had six players injured severely enough that they are out for the season. Syracuse has a cluster injury problem at nearly every position. The worst, though, was star wide receiver Mike Williams quitting the team. The Orangemen have no offense without him.

Rutgers has allowed just 11.8 points per game during its last eight contests. The Scarlet Knights have forced 28 turnovers during this span. Syracuse has one of the worst turnover ratios in the country.

Rutgers has been a proven profit-maker on the road covering its last seven away matchups. Syracuse is 4-10-1 against the spread the past 15 times it has been a home 'dog.

Syracuse has no bowl possibilities and has lost eight consecutive Big East games. The motivation, talent and situation is all with Rutgers. Look for the Scarlet Knights to win this game handily.