CINCINNATI (AP) -- Thousands of giddy fans were ready to storm the field when Rutgers got the ball back in the closing seconds. Rather than have his quarterback run a play, coach Greg Schiano chose to let the clock run out.

Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel, left, passes under pressure from Cincinnati linebacker Trevor Anderson (56) in the first quarter of their college football game, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2006, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

"No point in getting someone hurt," he reasoned after the game.

Besides, the damage already was done to a storybook season.

Playing as a top-10 team for the first time in its 137 years of football, Rutgers gave its worst performance of the season, by far, on Saturday night. Four interceptions helped Cincinnati pull off the biggest upset in its history, a 30-11 win that was as convincing as the score suggests.

"Sometimes you have to learn the hard way," sophomore quarterback Mike Teel said.

The Scarlet Knights (9-1, 4-1 Big East) learned that it's easier to play into national prominence than it is to stay there.

By upsetting then-No. 3 Louisville in New Jersey nine days earlier, the Scarlet Knights forced themselves into the debate over who should play for the national championship. Heading into Saturday, Rutgers was one of four unbeaten Division 1-A teams.

The Scarlet Knights' success prompted several questions: Should they be considered for the national title game? How high could they go after reaching No. 7? Could any team that relies so heavily on defense keep it up?

Schiano was still miffed Sunday as to why his team failed to perform the way it did in every other game this season.

"I spent the whole day and night ... trying to get to the bottom of what happened last night," Schiano said Sunday. "Hopefully we'll learn a lesson, but I don't know what the lesson is yet."

Cincinnati (6-5, 3-3) was aching for a signature win in its second Big East season. The Bearcats already had played four top-10 teams this season, and lost all four games.

The difference this time: Cincinnati was at home.

The crowd of 27,804 was Cincinnati's biggest of the season, and fans grew louder each time Rutgers had its shortcomings exposed. There were plenty of those.

The Scarlet Knights had stayed unbeaten with one of the nation's best defenses and one of its most dependable runners. Rutgers was allowing an average of only 10.9 points, and sophomore Ray Rice was averaging 148 yards per game, third best in the country.

An inspired Cincinnati defense held Rice to a season-low 54 yards, forcing Teel to carry the offense. He couldn't.

His worst play got Cincinnati believing it could pull off the upset. Under pressure, Teel floated a pass toward the sideline. Cornerback DeAngelo Smith returned the interception untouched 84 yards for a second-quarter touchdown and a 17-0 lead.

"I was getting hit," Teel said. "I was trying to throw it away."

Schiano said there was no common theme in Teel's four interceptions, adding the quarterback shouldn't shoulder all the blame for the loss. Teel went 12-of-26 for 86 yards, but he certainly wasn't the only problem.

A defense that ranked fourth nationally in yards and points allowed big plays to an offense run by a novice starter. Senior Nick Davila made his first career start in place of Dustin Grutza, who had a sore passing shoulder, hip and leg from a loss to West Virginia.

Davila ran 1 yard for his first career touchdown, threw a 62-yard pass to Butler Benton that was the Bearcats' longest play of the year, then topped that with an 83-yard touchdown pass to beefy tight end Brent Celek, who spun off a tackler to score.

Davila finished 11-of-15 for 277 yards without an interception. He fought back tears while hugging friends and family members in the middle of the on-field celebration.

"This is unbelievable," he said. "This is where we're going. We're going up from here. We had a lot of ranked teams this year, and we finally got one."

It was a historic win for a school that had never beaten anyone ranked better than No. 9.

"We believed," said coach Mark Dantonio, who got doused by his players in the closing seconds. "It was a great win. It was a tremendous atmosphere. Tonight was our night."

Rutgers wasn't sure how it all went wrong in one night, making the Scarlet Knights the conference's latest team to flee an on-field celebration.

"It seems like it's happened to every team in the Big East," fullback Brian Leonard said. "It happened to West Virginia, it happened to Louisville, and now it's happened to us. We know we won't make the national championship, but we can still win the Big East."

Schiano, speaking before the team watched the game tape and held a short practice, said he was not paying attention to the polls. He didn't plan any major changes as the team prepares for Syracuse, the Scarlet Knights' last home game of the season.

"There's really only one focus point and that's Syracuse," Schiano said.

Associated Press Writer Rebecca Santana in Trenton, N.J., contributed to this report.