PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Rutgers' defense and special teams showed they can carry the Scarlet Knights when running back Ray Rice and the rest of the offense can't.

With the nation's second-leading rusher held in check by Connecticut (3-5), the No. 15 Scarlet Knights (8-0) held off the Huskies, 24-13, last night to remain one of the nation's six undefeated teams.

Rice scored on a 5-yard run on the first drive of the game, Manny Collins returned a fumble 11 yards for a score and Quintero Frierson scored on a blocked punt in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

After Rutgers took a 17-0 halftime lead, freshman Donald Brown scored on runs of 65 and 8 yards for UConn. Brown finished with 199 yards, by far the most yards this season against Rutgers, which had been allowing 78 yards per game.

Rutgers' offense gained just 75 yards in the final 30 minutes.

Rice came into the game averaging 161 yards, second behind Garrett Wolfe of Northern Illinois. But Rice finished with 79 yards on 22 carries, his lowest total of the season.

BCS

WEST VIRGINIA NO. 3

West Virginia was a precarious No. 3 in the Bowl Championship Series standings yesterday, leading a tightly packed group of nine teams trailing Ohio State and Michigan.

The Mountaineers replaced Southern California, which had been in third place before losing 33-31 at Oregon State on Saturday. But unlike the Trojans, West Virginia's hold on third isn't strong enough for the Mountaineers to control their destiny in the national title race.

West Virginia's BCS average of .7862 was just slightly ahead of Florida (.7791) and Big East rival Louisville (.7621).

West Virginia plays at Louisville Thursday. The winner should get a big boost in the next BCS standings, but going undefeated might not keep either Big East power from getting passed by a one-loss team.

The top two teams in the final standings play for the BCS title in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 8.

ELSEWHERE

Baylor: Senior quarterback Shawn Bell is done for the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Saturday against Texas A&M. Bell was 241 of 383 passing (.629 completion percentage) for 2,582 yards and 19 touchdowns — all single-season school records.

Tennessee: Quarterback Erik Ainge injured his right ankle against South Carolina Saturday, but he "should be ready to go" this week against No. 13 LSU, coach Phillip Fulmer said yesterday.