New York Sports

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ― Rutgers is saving its season game by game.

The Scarlet Knights won their fourth straight Saturday, dominating South Florida 49-16 behind a strong offensive performance led by Mike Teel and Kenny Britt and an opportunistic defense.

Teel threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns; Britt had his fourth consecutive 100-yard game receiving and scored on a 93-yard pass play; and Rutgers (5-5, 4-2 Big East) also forced six turnovers to hand USF (6-4, 1-4) its fourth loss in five games.

"I think we're just growing up, and we're learning how to do this thing better ... both mentally and emotionally doing the things you need to do during the week to get ready to play," coach Greg Schiano said.

Britt finished with eight receptions for 173 yards. It was his sixth 100-yard day of the season, 12th overall -- moving him into third place on the career conference list for 100-yard games behind Larry Fitzgerald (14) and Antonio Bryant (13).

Jason McCourty returned one of his two interceptions 30 yards for a second-quarter touchdown, and the Scarlet Knights recovered three fumbles -- all in Rutgers territory -- to frustrate Matt Grothe and the rest of USF's offense.

Grothe, one of the nation's top dual-threat quarterbacks, completed 28 of 43 passes for 292 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for a team-best 50 yards on 13 carries, but was sacked three times and hurt his team with three interceptions.

"We had to make him feel uncomfortable, and I think everybody got into the mix, which was important. He's just a dynamic player," Schiano said. "The scary thing is you have him dead to rights, and all of the sudden he's running down the field."

The Scarlet Knights beat the Bulls for the third straight season. Rutgers won 22-20 in Tampa two years ago when South Florida had a failed two-point conversion in the closing seconds, and took another close one in 2007, prevailing 30-27 at home when USF was ranked second in the country.

Rutgers' four-game winning streak is the longest in the Big East and has revived a season that looked bleak when the Scarlet Knights stumbled to a 1-5 start. One of the keys has been turnovers: Rutgers has forced 13 in its five victories compared to none in its five losses.

"I think the biggest thing is we've continued to play these one-game seasons that coach talks about, and it's working for us," said Teel, who completed 18 of 29 passes and was intercepted twice.

"Everyone, as a collective group, is making plays. The running backs are running the ball, the line is blocking, I'm throwing and they're catching."

South Florida is headed the opposite direction, with costly mistakes part of the reason the Bulls not only have dropped out of the Top 25 but also plunged to near the bottom of the Big East following a 5-0 start.

Grothe was intercepted three times in USF's first seven games. He's thrown eight in the past three games, including two within a span of three passes in the second quarter Saturday.

McCourty returned the second one 30 yards for a score that put Rutgers up 14-3. Although Grothe countered by leading an eight-play, 67-yard drive that Benjamin Williams finished with a 5-yard TD run, that was as close at USF would come to making it a game.

Teel directed TD drives on four of Rutgers' next five possessions to build a 42-16 lead early in the fourth quarter. All of his TD passes came during that stretch -- a 2-yarder to Jack Corcoran, 28-yarder to Shamar Graves, and the one Britt turned into the longest reception of his career.

The receiver caught the ball at his 40, where he bounced off lunging defender Jerome Murphy and continued up the right side of the field to the end zone. Joe Martinek added a 2-yard TD run in the closing minutes, finishing with 98 yards rushing on 21 carries.

"Our football is certainly down, about as down as you can get," South Florida coach Jim Leavitt said, adding that there is no excuse for the way the Bulls have played the past three games.

"We'll rise up," he added. "I don't have any doubt about that."

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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