PISCATAWAY, N.J. — After listening to No. 23 South Florida talk about revenge, Rutgers sent its message on the field.

Freshman quarterback Tom Savage threw for two touchdowns and Rutgers forced four turnovers, blocked a punt and recorded seven sacks in embarrassing the error-prone Bulls, 31-0, last night in a nationally televised game.

It marked the first time South Florida was shut out in the regular season in its 13-year history, and provided some extra satisfaction for Rutgers.

"I'd be lying if I said there wasn't," cornerback Devin McCourty said. "To come out here and play like that and get a win like that after guys were saying this and saying that — we just kept saying that's not what we're about. We're not going to talk about what we're going to do. We're just going to come out and play."

The victory was the fourth straight for Rutgers (7-2, 2-2 Big East) over South Florida (6-3, 2-3), and this one made the Scarlet Knights bowl eligible for the fifth straight season.

ELSEWHERE

BOWLING GREEN 35, MIAMI (OHIO) 14

Freddie Barnes ran for one touchdown and caught two passes for two more scores, including a 2-yarder from Tyler Sheehan early in the third quarter to break a 14-all tie, as the visiting Falcons (5-5, 4-2 Mid-American Conference) rolled past the RedHawks (1-10, 1-6).

NORTHERN ILLINOIS 26, BALL STATE 20

Quarterback Chandler Harnish, who missed three games with a knee injury, came back to throw a touchdown pass in his first appearance in nearly a month, helping the host Huskies (7-3, 5-1 Mid-American West) beat the Cardinals (1-9, 1-5).

NOTES

Three Vols charged with attempted robbery: Three freshmen Tennessee football players, including highly touted wide receiver recruit Nu'Keese Richardson and starting safety Janzen Jackson, were charged with attempted armed robbery yesterday morning.

Richardson, 18, and Jackson, 18, along with defensive back Mike Edwards, 18, and companion Marie Montmarquet, 22, were charged after a report of an armed robbery at a gas station in an area known as "The Strip" at the edge of Tennessee's campus in Knoxville.

Nevada, Cal to play again: Nevada will play host to California for the first time ever next season as the schools have reached an agreement in principle on a three-game football series.

Officials from both schools announced that Cal will play at Nevada on Sept. 18, 2010 and the Wolf Pack will visit Cal twice in future years. Next year's game between Nevada and Cal will be the 25th meeting all-time between the schools but just the second meeting since 1934.