Early Bowl Date Leaves Rutgers Players Cramming PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Mohamed Sanu, a freshman wide receiver, said he slept in Sunday morning, which was a rare treat for him, or for almost anyone else on the Rutgers football team these days. Sanu said most of his days now began at 7 a.m. and ended at 2 a.m. "Then you wake up and you're doing it all over again," he said with a weak smile. The Scarlet Knights (8-4) are completing a season that has been generally regarded as a disappointment. They are preparing for the St. Petersburg Bowl, presented by Beef "O" Brady's, and will meet Central Florida (8-4) on Saturday night at Tropicana Field, a baseball park. About 28,000 fans are expected. Only two weeks will have passed since Rutgers lost to West Virginia, 24-21, which means Central Florida will have had an extra week to prepare for the game. But that is not the only handicap facing Rutgers. Sanu was one of several players who carried an extra load with him to Florida. Sanu has yet to take two of his four final examinations, which are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. All but six of the 34 college bowl games this season are to be played after Christmas, which gives most participants more of a chance to study for exams first, then prepare for their games. Rutgers is doing both at the same time. "Usually, with a bowl, we get a lot more time in between," said the junior Anthony Davis, a 6-foot-6, 325-pound offensive tackle and a criminal justice major. It's so close to the game right now. It's like a crunch. There's no time to relax. At Central Florida, in Orlando, final exams ended Monday. At Fresno State, which is playing Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday afternoon, the players who could not take their finals before traveling are taking exams in New Mexico proctored by the university's faculty athletics representative. Wyoming is finished with its final exams. "There is a lot of information in your head - a lot floating around," said Sanu, who has had a brilliant season. He became the first player at Rutgers in 16 seasons to run for a touchdown, catch a touchdown pass and throw a touchdown pass. Rutgers and Central Florida are each expected to receive about $1 million for playing in the St. Petersburg Bowl, which Rutgers will share with its fellow Big East teams, but money is not the only reason for accepting the bowl bid. Exposure is important. The game will be televised by ESPN, and Rutgers Coach Greg Schiano has had success recruiting in Florida. Eleven players from Florida, including four starters, are on the team's roster. And a bowl, any bowl, is a reward for a winning season. "It's not the national championship, but it is another bowl game," said David Rowe, a defensive back from Cocoa, Fla., who took his last final exam on Monday in Native American History. Before Rutgers left Tuesday for St. Petersburg, Schiano adapted his practice schedule to fit his players" scheduled exams. A noon-to-5 p.m. study hall was still in effect, and practices took place later. The team's schedule tightened when it arrived in Florida, with practices and parties taking up most of the day, but those who had finals remaining said they planned to study when they had free time. Davis said he would take his books, papers and study guides to Florida for the one final he had left. "I knew what I was getting myself into when I came here," said Mark Harrison, a freshman wide receiver from Stratford, Conn., who took his last final Monday in Introduction to Labor. You've got to be really self-disciplined. He smiled and said, "Lot of late nights." Schiano has often said that a bowl invitation helps his program in another way. Because the season is extended, he and his assistants take more time during practice to work individually with younger players, getting a jump on next season. Rutgers has played in four previous bowl games under Schiano: on Dec. 27, 2005; Dec. 28, 2006; Jan. 5, 2008; and Dec. 29, 2008. The St. Petersburg Bowl gives the Scarlet Knights only two extra weeks of practice. It feels more like a game after a bye week. "Quite frankly, it is very disappointing," Schiano said after Rutgers accepted the invitation. I cherish that time with the underclassmen to really bring them along. This date doesn't work out so well for that. But on the same token, we are blessed to be going to a bowl game for the fifth straight year. I think people need to take a deep breath and realize that. A bowl game on Saturday is much better than none at all, his players said. They acknowledged that Central Florida had an advantage, and that preparing for a game and exams at the same time was not the ideal way to prepare for either. "It's been very condensed," said center Ryan Blaszczyk, a fifth-year senior who is a criminal justice major. We haven't had as much practice time or as much time to relax. But every bowl game is special. This is going to be as special as all the others.