PISCATAWAY -- While Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said Gary Nova will be his starting quarterback this Saturday when the Scarlet Knights travel to play Navy, he indicated the position will be evaluated on a weekly basis going forward.

"Gary will be our starting quarterback this week,'' Flood said Sunday during his day-after-game media teleconference. "Like we do every week, we're going to evaluate every position on the field and decide who we feel gives us the best opportunity to be 1-0 in that week. For this week, Gary will be our starter.''

Nova is coming off what Flood said wasn't "one of his better performances,'' a nightmare 5-interception effort that led the Scarlet Knights to drop a 13-10 decision to Penn State on Saturday night in their Big Ten debut.

Flood called Nova's performance "absolutely ... a concern'' but said he wasn't considering a switch to backup Chris Laviano, a redshirt freshman whose only experience came in garbage time against Howard, during his post-game press conference.

"Not right now,'' Flood said late Saturday night. "We just got done playing a really emotional game. We're going to look at the film. We're going to evaluate every player in the program on the film and then we'll make the personnel decisions on Sunday and Monday.''

Even as Nova threw 13 interceptions during a 2-4 finish to the 2012 campaign, Flood stuck with the then-sophomore QB. Nova started 10 games last season, but after the quarterback again struggled late in the season Flood benched the Don Bosco Prep product in favor of Chas Dodd for the final three games.

After Nova won back the starting QB job this past offseason, Flood said "it's a different year'' when asked by NJ Advance Media's Dan Duggan how long Nova's leash would be if he struggles this season.

"When you hand somebody the ball as your quarterback, you have to give them an opportunity to learn through mistakes,'' Flood said in late August. "I don't put him out there this year and expect him to be perfect, and I've told him that. If there's a mistake, I want it to be for the right reasons. If there's a decision-making issue, I want it to be for the right reasons. And then we can correct that and we can move forward. I feel very comfortable he'll do that, so no, I don't see it that way (as having a shorter leash).''

Efficient quarterback play contributed to the Scarlet Knights' 2-0 start. Nova's passing yards weren't dazzling, but he entered Saturday's conference opener with six touchdowns, one interception, and a 67.3 completion percentage.

"I think Gary has played at a high level,'' Flood said a day after the Week 2 win over Howard.

Flood didn't mince words Saturday night when assessing Nova's performance against Penn State.

"You lose the turnover battle,'' Flood said, "it's hard to win the game. So there's no doubt it's a concern.''

He reiterated that assessment after reviewing the film, but said the senior QB wasn't the only one to blame for an offense failed to score a second-half point and produced 294 total yards overall.

"I don't think we gave (Nova) enough help up front,'' Flood said. "We didn't run the ball effectively. I don't think we protected him effectively. And I don't think Gary did a good enough job making the decisions that he needed to protect the football.''



Flood said he didn't have an issue with the Nova long pass that was picked off following a Penn State turnover deep in Rutgers territory during the third quarter.

"I do want the players to play the game aggressively,'' Flood said. "The guy who ultimately intercepted the ball is able to make a play on it. But I don't want to take the aggressiveness out of the players. That's not one of the interceptions I have the biggest issue with.''

As for the other four INTs, Flood offered this take:

"The first one was a tip. The second one (RB) P.J. (James) didn't look like he was really ready for the ball when he got it. The third one was the one we just talked about. The fourth one I thought was a poor decision. The last one was in the two-minute drill, really poor protection, fourth down, Gary trying to make a play.

"Overall Gary has to make better decisions in the game. It's not just about those five plays that end up being interceptions. But I think I said this last night: You turn the ball over five times, it's hard to win football games. ... We've got to do a better job at quarterback and we've got to do a better job on offense in general of making sure we protect the football.''

Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.