The drama at Rutgers spilled over to the field, at least for a half.

After defiantly walking out to the sideline arm-in-arm with his player to coach his team, just like he expected to do on Saturday, head coach Kyle Flood’s rough week only looked like it was going to get worse after Rutgers fell behind early and struggled to build a lead against Norfolk State in the opener at High Point Solutions Stadium.

But once the Scarlet Knights got their suspended players back on the field for the second half, the intrigue in the stadium quickly vanished and Rutgers pulled away for a 63-13 blowout victory that momentarily shifted the attention away from the investigation into Flood’s email to a faculty member or the arrests that added to the scrutiny Thursday.

The focus will return to off-field matters again soon enough, but at least for 30 minutes after halftime, the Scarlet Knights had a positive distraction from those issues.

What the win means for Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights scheduled a glorified exhibition to open the season, and they looked like they needed the work. Obviously they were short-handed, with five players suspended for the opening half, and were dealt another blow as five players were kicked off the team just before kickoff. The Scarlet Knights had some weaknesses exposed, particularly in the secondary, that don’t bode well for conference play if they aren’t addressed. There’s also still no definitive answer for Rutgers at quarterback, though Hayden Rettig did nothing to hurt his cause with a couple touchdowns in the first half while Chris Laviano was serving his suspension. Laviano had a chance to make his case as well, and his three touchdown passes off the bench will likely keep the competition alive for another week -- at least.

What the loss means for Norfolk State: The debut for new coach Latrell Scott was competitive in the early going and largely should go down as a positive even in a losing effort, and the Spartans have reason to be excited about the future. Quarterback Greg Hankerson was a handful for the Scarlet Knights, and he looks like he could be a dangerous playmaker who was unfazed by the step up in competition on the road.

Player of the game: Leonte Carroo. The star wide receiver was forced to watch his teammates struggle without him in the first half because of his suspension, and Carroo clearly was intent on making up for lost time when his punishment expired. Each of his first three catches went for touchdowns as a tight game was quickly turned into a rout thanks to his game-changing skills as a target, quickly racking up 129 yards during his third-quarterback hat trick of scores.

The game turned when: The students didn’t hit the jackpot because it wasn’t the first return of the season, but Rutgers definitely profited as a team when Janarion Grant scooped up a short kickoff and darted 80 yards for a touchdown that busted open a surprisingly tight game on the opening play of the second half. The Scarlet Knights had put up $100,000 for students if anybody took back the opening kickoff for a score, but the fan base surely was willing to settle for a victory instead.