Time to move the goalposts

You know, I would have thought that castrating a live bull on broadcast television was against the law in the great state of New Jersey (that’s some great imagery to start off the morning with). Guess Rutgers wasn’t kidding about the whole “learning is a lifetime commitment” thing.

“You can’t spell FRAUDS without USF.” — anonymous longtime Rutgers writer of Italian descent – @NJ_StevePoliti

Glad to see people are starting to see things my way. I’ll be lucky to get four hours of sleep after racing towards the exits midway through the fourth quarter and typing this post up, but I have a feeling that most of you were happy to forgo sleep for a game that was well worth watching.

The results pretty much speak for themselves; to the point where the only interesting question out of last night’s game is whether it’s best interpreted as the culmination of the ongoing Rutgers dominance over USF, or as proof positive that the fledging Rutgers offense is starting to gel. True, the Bulls did beat West Virginia last week, and they did have a relatively good resume on the season. However, USF has had WVU’s number over the past few years, and WVU’s offense has been in the tank as of late.

Truthfully, I never thought USF was any good at all this season. UConn is so profoundly better that it’s a crime that the Bulls have the better win/loss record. Schiano’s soldiers once again prevailed over an overmatched, frankly sloppy Jim Leavitt squad on a Thursday night stage. It was the most lopsided game yet in a series that is rapidly morphing into deeper levels of absurdist comedy by the year. What I wouldn’t have given to be a fly on the wall in the Bulls’ locker room at halftime.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a good win. Certainly not “hollow” or anything of the sort. (By the way, is everything going to be a lovefest today on Rivals with everyone firmly back on the bandwagon? I’d say yes, because that’s usually the rule when Rutgers seems to start their annual late season surge). However, it’s only fair to temper your enthusiasm just a little, because there’s still plenty to work on. No, Rutgers was not as bad as they played in the opener. Not even close. The light is obviously coming on, but they’re not yet a team that will soundly beat good teams every week. This plea will probably fall on deaf ears, just as my optimism did earlier in the year, but; even keel, people. Please?

10/10 Recruiting Update

I don’t know if there is a connection between Sam Bergen’s injury, and the decision to offer a scholarship to Sayreville LB Dave Milewski, but the timing is interesting, even if he grows into an end. Either way, he’s the latest verbal commitment to Rutgers. NJ.com posted a Milewski highlights package last week. He wasn’t really on the national recruiting radar until recently, so I don’t know enough about Dave to give any further thoughts at the moment.

326 yards and 5 TDs for Chas Dodd on the week.

Jordan Thomas rushed for 155 yards and a TD as Union-Endicott topped Binghamton.

J.T. Tartacoff hauled in a touchdown grab in Montgomery’s loss to Basking Ridge.

State of Rutgers is going premium soon, so you may want to read their recent articles on 2011 prospects Hakeem Flowers, Teddy Bridgewater, and Tanner McEvoy (unlike the first two, a realistic if not likely target) while you can. It’ll be interesting to see how SoR compares with Rivals and Scout once their premium service goes online.

Per the premium sites, 2011 NJ athlete Damiere Byrd picked up a Rutgers offer. Standout shore RB Charles Davis is still high on Rutgers.

“Rutgers is definitely a favorite,” he said. “Basically I’ve been really looking at them and Virginia. With Rutgers, the coaching staff is great from what I know about them. I’ve been around the campus a little bit and it’s very nice. I’ve heard they’re also strong in what I want to go to school for (criminal justice).”

Florida athlete Jeremy Deering injured his collarbone last Friday, and is set to undergo surgery next week. Per the report, one Rutgers assistant was in attendance on the night. DT Richard Ash visited UCLA over the weekend.

The latest update on Maryland DB Lorenzo Waters says he’s open, and has only looked hard at Wake Forest.

Paul Franklin asks whether changing demographics in North Edison are hurting J.P. Stevens football.

Soft Minnesota CB verbal Jabari Price switched to UNC. FL DT Antonio Ford committed to Wake Forest. I’m not happy about TE Jarrett Darmstatter committing to BC. It’s a hard sell when you’re playing two freshmen, and redshirting two more, but I think he’s going to be good. FL CB Keion Payne committed to Miami.

Watchlist: Bill Belton, Devin Fuller, Kevin Hogan, Jonathan Jenkins, T.J. Mutcherson, Gary Nova, Miles Shuler, and Chris Valenti.

Knightly News

There was an absolutely wonderful article on the Rutgers/Princeton game in 1869 in Friday’s Wall Street Journal. The entire piece is recommended reading, but if there’s one vital paragraph, it’s probably the following.

Baseball historians have never been able to agree on the “first” baseball game, but most football historians are on comfortable turf in pinpointing the start of their game with Rutgers-Princeton in 1869. Some have called that contest “primitive football,” some describe it as “primitive soccer,” and still others as “nascent rugby.” In truth, claims can be made for all these descriptions. But as Bob Boyles, co-author of the USA Today College Football Encyclopedia, says: “There are a great many traditions that started on that field in New Brunswick. The kicking factor, the goal posts, the physical contact—the men allowed to run ‘interference,’ an early term for what we call blocking—that pull that game towards the direction of American football and away from soccer or rugby.”

Last week, Beat Visitor posted the exact text of the original 1869 report in the Targum about the game.

I thought that two conference games on Saturday (excepting the Pitt-SU blowout) were rather interesting, for different reasons. Despite starting a 5′7 walk-on at QB, Louisville kept things close at West Virginia. The prime time game between UConn and Cincy was much more exciting. Statistically, Cincy should have won big, but UConn arguably benefitted from a little luck for once. I think that game showed that they’re a pretty good team, and should have a better record than 4-5. Cincy, of course, is very good. However, I’m not completely sold on the Bearcat defense. They’re overrated a bit based on the opener, which had plenty to do with poor personnel and gameplanning on the Rutgers side of things.

Honestly, I’m not sure exactly where to begin with Brett McMurphy’s interview with BE commissioner John Marinatto from last week. What’s the purpose of a quote like this?

The costs of travel could become such that an Eastern school that’s now in a non-Eastern quote-unquote conference might want to look [and think] ‘it makes more sense to be in the Big East.’ There could be a shifting around.

There is no Moise Plancher

there is only, generic_USF_tailback. None of those guys have really stood out to this point, and that’s an underreported aspect that I’d like to briefly consider.

When it comes to next week’s game between Rutgers and USF, a lot of attention, quite rightly, is being placed on freshman QB B.J. Daniels. He’s the Bulls’ leading rusher, which is as much a testament to his prowess as an indictment some some combination of their playcalling and/or depth chart. If you think the Rutgers committee hasn’t looked impressive, check out what USF has mustered in the ground. It’s strange, considering that you’d think with a freshman QB, the Bulls would lean more on the running game.

True, the senior Plancher did play well against West Virginia, but that’s after not seeing many touches since their game against Western Kentucky. They’ve had some injuries on their offensive line too. How come they haven’t had a feature back since Andre Hall skipped town four years ago, though? A reliance on a scrambling QB is part of that; you could just as easily say Hall only saw so many carries because Pat Julmiste was just that bad.

A lot of observers, including myself, were really impressed with backup Mike Ford’s combination of size and athleticism. The dreaded two Is – injuries and inconsistency, have largely held back Ford up to this point. He’s a guy you want to file away for the future, as a textbook example of a prospect the New  York Giants could pluck out of obscurity and turn into their next feature back. Ford hasn’t shown all that much as of late, with freshman Lindsey Lamar pushing for more touches.

Scrambling’s fine, but it is an invitation to get your quarterback hit. Not having an effective, traditional running game does make the Bulls somewhat one-dimensional, and I think that’s to our advantage on Thursday. They’re like a far, far more talented FIU in that respect.

Talk about burying the lede

Buried in an article in yesterday’s Boston Herald about RB Josh Haden’s impending transfer from Boston College was a brief tease about “mutual interest” with Rutgers and ECU. My 100% speculation about that one is that Coach Trivers is very connected to the prep scene in Maryland, and could open a few doors. However, I’d prefer not to take Haden for several reasons. I think he’s more of a a scat back than a feature guy, he would have to sit a year then only have two to play, and Rutgers is in the mix for better prospects over the next two years. Wouldn’t necessarily be that upset if this does end up bearing fruit, but I’d lean against it. Most transfers do not work out.

Well, you can stop worrying that Army press release, because the game is officially moving to the new Giants Stadium. Anyone who dares use the “Meadowlands” name can get lost.

If you haven’t read Aditi’s article about Tim Brown and Andre Dixon, you should.

USF returned a bunch of tickets to Rutgers for next Thursday’s game, and they can be yours for only $25. Buy a couple just so you can make crude remarks to Jenn Sterger (let me be clear about this, for being a Z-lister, not for her gender or anything like that), and then sneak back in after you’re tossed by security.

A National Football Post columnist reviewed the play of Tim Brown and Anthony Davis against UConn. I don’t really agree with his assessment of how Davis played, but make up your own mind.

This was making the rounds on Rivals yesterday – lost in the recent ACC bowl shuffle (refresher: losing Gator, adding Sun) is that the Tire Bowl (see, it’s much more fun to say than “Meineke Car Care”, isn’t it) is increasing its conference payouts, leading to a jump over the Music City Bowl in the ACC’s pecking order. I’m not too happy with the way things worked out with the bowl renegotiations, but this is a positive development.

You’re welcome, America

On November 6th, 1869, Rutgers defeated Princeton, 6-4, in the first ever game of intercollegiate football. Rutgers later paved over the site of the game with a parking lot. Who’s up for candlelight vigil tomorrow behind the College Ave gym?

Last January, I posted links to several interesting articles about that historic first. I’m curious to see if the athletic department does anything to mark the anniversary tomorrow.

Rethinking the assistant hierarchy

With the recent struggles on the offensive line, is it fair to demote Kyle Flood to mere demigod status? Admittedly, after the absolute stellar line play back in 2005 and 2006, I thought the good times would never end. 2007 had some miscues, with Pedro Sosa battling a leg injury, and some porous run blocking at RG before Davis replaced Haslam in the starting lineup. It was easy to excuse last year’s struggles; the line was young, they were still average in pass protection, and did improve in the second half of the season.

To everyone in the stands, there’s no rhyme or reason why the line would actively regress over last season. Starting guard Caleb Ruch has missed a few games, as has his understudy Des Wynn, but there seem to be deeper issues at work. The Rutgers offense this year is seemingly relying on all sorts of flash and trickery, when a lot of the fans out there just want to go back to the 2006 offense. You know, lunch pail, kick them in the teeth, push the opposing DL five to ten yards off the ball on every play. That’s what everyone was anticipating in August when speculating about whether or not the Knights could win the Big East this year. It would have been behind dominating line play, and nothing could be further from the case at this point.

One notion that I’ve been thinking about, off and on, over the past two months; isn’t it about time that the Rutgers defensive line coach, Gary Emanuel, started to get more recognition? Going back to when Emanuel was hired last year, I remember being very excited. He was in the NFL for two years, and had the same job from ‘97-’04 at Purdue. That’s rather notable, because if you look at Purdue’s track record over that period, it’s pretty good, with multiple NFL contributors. On the banks, his charges have continued to perform at a high level. There are a lot of younger defensive linemen who have played well at this point.

11/3 Recruiting Update

Bad news; LB commit Sam Bergen injured his knee.

Chas Dodd passed for 294 yards and 5 TDs in his most recent game.

It was a good week for Jordan Thomas too.

The Courier News named J.T. Tartacoff as one of their top players of the decade.

When will MD WR Brandon Coleman make it to campus for his official visit?

“I have scheduled my first official,” he said. “It’s set to be on the first weekend of December up to Rutgers.”

It’s unclear whether Florida RB Jawan Jamison has an offer, but he sounds high on Rutgers.

“The Rutgers coach called my mom and wants me to come up for a game,” he said. “We are trying to figure out if there is a game I can go to without getting into trouble.” He says Rutgers is telling him he could play as a freshman. “They put Ray Rice in the NFL and, if you look at his stats at Rutgers, they got him the ball over 30 times a game,” said Jamison. “They say they want to use me like that.”

Agh, Mustafa Greene just returned and is injured again.

In additions to updates on 2011 targets Cyrus Kouandijo, Trip Thurman, and Angelo Mangiro, State of Rutgers also has a few comments on ‘10 commit Jorge Vicioso by a teammate.

NJ.com has a video feature up on elite 2011 RB prospect Savon Huggins.

Unfortunately, ‘11 Neptune RB Charles Davis broke his wrist.

Scout is now showing an offer out to Florida athlete Devon Wright, who didn’t make his recent scheduled visit to Minnesota.

FL WR O.J. Ross is a soft verbal to Purdue. FL RB Eduardo Clements committed to Miami.

Watchlist: Martize Barr, Damiere Byrd, Conor Hanratty, Kendall Patterson, Anthony Sarao, and Miles Shuler (informative, more so than what I usually link here).

Halloween Hangover

Ok, time to get through everything that I didn’t have a chance to link last week.

Back in August, there were reports that Rutgers would play Army at the new Giants Stadium on Sept. 25th, 2010. Supposedly the first ever college football game in the new stadium, and the Rutgers athletic department would  receive a hefty profit in exchange for moving a home game. So, it was more than a little curious when Army announced last week that they’re playing Rutgers on Oct. 16, which would be a week before Notre Dame’s game in East Rutherford. The release also lists the game as being in Piscataway, although Sal Interdonato says not to read too much into that, seemingly implying that everyone involved is still in negotiations. The location is just symbolic, but Rutgers badly needs that big payday.

With the bye coming up, I’m not going to start getting into the USF game before later in the week. Have to give credit where it’s due; their backs were against the wall, and B.J. Daniels played well against West Virginia. The Bulls have had their number in recent years, and I’m still not quite sure what to make of WVU this year. Still think Rutgers should be favored in that one, and would have regardless of who won in East Hartford on Saturday.

It was a good catch by Jerry Sanchez to find a Youtube link to the highlights from the classic 1992 Halloween game between Rutgers and Virginia Tech. I tried to find that about a year ago and didn’t have any luck.

Er, this Dave Solomon column on Saturday’s UConn game is quite the odd bird.

TFY had a review of Anthony Davis vs. Pitt a few weeks back. Their analyses are a little spotty, so draw your own conclusions.

Fooch has a new video up of his interview with Fred Hill at media day.

Once again, it’s time to check in on Brian Leonard’s blog. He’s been battling through an injury the past few weeks.

Decent length story on Ray Rice in the Baltimore Sun on Friday. There’s not much new for most readers, but it’s positive, feel-good press nonetheless.

Mostly tricks

I’m all over the place right now, and I suspect that most of you are in a similar place at the moment.  Yesterday’s Rutgers/UConn game only shined a spotlight on the myriad of problems facing Rutgers this season. Outside of the second quarter, and a stunning miracle play right at the end, the offense was (once again) absolutely brutal to watch. UConn’s Zach Frazer threw three interceptions, and RU squandered those opportunities. The Scarlet Knights absolutely played their most complete game of the season, yet still have a long, long way to go before they are playing their best football.

However, that last play may have changed everything, lifting the team’s fortunes for the season, and giving a relatively young offense some much-needed confidence going forward. Rutgers did end up winning a game they nearly squandered by not scoring for the first 29 minutes of a second half. It was a windy, miserable day in East Hartford. Losing is always painful, but this game in particular was one that both sides absolutely needed to win. UConn found itself in an early hole, before crawling its way back. Rutgers fought to hang on to its early advantage. The game was brutal at times, but featured a wild and crazy finish that can only bring to mind the 1992 victory by Rutgers over Virginia Tech in another spooky Halloween game.

The Huskies didn’t want to be stuck at four wins with a relatively difficult November schedule looming. Rutgers badly needed a Big East win after starting out at 0-2.  The loser would lose any remaining relevance in the Big East conference race; the winner still having a chance to salvage their season. Now, the Scarlet Knight have that monkey off their backs. They can play a little looser, confident in the fact that things are moving in the right direction. True, the schedule has been pretty bad this year, but Rutgers is 6-2 (with losses to two very good teams), and finished last year on a hot streak as well. It’s hard to be too critical of the big picture when you take that into account. How great is it to be going into the bye week thinking positive thoughts?