Rutgers Football; They'll Be Back In 2011 After A Painful 2010

(Texas A&M.....Alabama....Miami)

Last night, before I watched a tough minded UCONN Husky football team beat South Florida 19-16 (without scoring a point on offense) to win the Big East championship and a berth in a BCS bowl- probably the Fiesta, against Big 12 champs Oklahoma, I sat down and wrote three pages freehand on a legal pad about "what happened?" to Rutgers football in the wake of a 4-8 season. Early in the year I stopped doing my weekly updates about the 2010 season; last year it was a fixture in this blog. There was a strange lack of continuity to the season, even before the six game losing streak to end 2010, when Rutgers started the year a respectable 4-2, though the two losses should have set off the alarms.....one was to a poor Tulane team at home, the second to a North Carolina squad beset with a dozen suspensions, also a loss in Piscataway.

But looking at what I wrote last night, I now have come to realize that any criticisms by me have already been said by hundreds on RU message boards and by dozens of print journalists. We know the the offensive line was probably the worst in the FBS with a ridiculous 61 sacks allowed (compared to 10 in 2007), and that poor run blocking and injuries at running back led to too much reliance on the "Wild Knight" formation to generate any semblance of a running game. The three and outs had the defense out on the field way too long game after game, and injuries to that unit and wear and tear caused it to collapse by the end of the year. And at quarterback, young freshman Chas Dodd took over for injured soph Tom Savage, and never relinquished the job....so who's team was it really, anyway?

And of course, there was the catastrophic injury to Eric LeGrand at the New Meadowlands Stadium in a win against Army that left the young defensive tackle paralyzed. It was Rutgers last win. They were 4-2, and then proceeded to drop the next six games in a row, culminating with yesterday's loss to West Virginia in Morgantown 35-14, Rutgers' 16th loss in a row to WVU.

The Army game on October 18, a 23-20 Rutgers win, followed by the tragic news that Eric LeGrand was paralyzed from the neck down was the turning point of the season. It was as if a team that was already struggling for an identity was hit with a blow that it never really recovered from. The questions were asked then, "Will LeGrand's injury effect this team? How would they respond?". The answers were, yes it did effect the team. And I believe many of the players didn't know how to respond to such a terrible injury to a friend and teammate.

(Penn State....Tennessee....Nebraska)

Last year cornerback Jasper Howard of UCONN was murdered in an incident, stabbed to death. UCONN was able to turn it around what was a losing season and make it to a bowl game at the end of the year, defeating Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks. So if UCONN could right the ship after the death of a player, then why couldn't Rutgers after LeGrand's serious injury?

In football terms I think Rutgers had much more serious issues on the offensive side of the ball then UCONN had last year. The Huskies had a stellar running game with two 1,000 yard rushers and massive O line. Rutgers running game in 2010 was based on "trickeration" and too many doses of the Wildcat.

But on the emotional side of the game, dealing with losses of Howard and LeGrand, we see a vast psychological difference. Because as tragic as the loss of life of any friend is, we always find a way to turn the page and go on. But when someone close to us is seriously injured, as in LeGrand's case, paralyzed, how do we go on?

How do we handle our grief for a person who survives, but is forever changed by catastrophic injury? Where is the guidebook to lead us out of that one? I'm a believer in psychologist Eisabeth Kubler-Ross's theory of The Five Stages of Grief- denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. I was present at the game when LeGrand was injured; I felt a sense of depression for days, and I had not even met the guy personally. A college football team is made up of young people, some of whom were only in high school a few short months ago.....a bunch of kids. Most have probably had to deal with the death of a loved one; probably very few (if any) had a friend who was ever carted off the field with the paralysis in his limbs and below his neck. For all we know he may never be able to button his shirt, feed himself, change the channel on a TV, or text message his friends ever again without assistance. And in the back of each of those kid's minds could be hidden the guilt of a survivor, either overtly or buried deeply in their subconscious.

Probably to some degree the entire Rutgers football team, and even Greg Schiano's coaching staff, may be stuck somewhere in those five stages of grief. The stages don't always follow the sequence as I've listed them. As described to me, and experienced by me, the stages of grief can be found in conditions other than a death or a serious illness- the end of a relationship or financial ruin can lead to the same feelings of loss, denial, and the other stages.

Of course, the injury to Eric LeGrand was NOT the only reason for RU's struggles on the field, but it probably did act as a catalyst to speed its collapse in the second half of the season.

(Michigan.....Notre Dame.....Texas)


OK....so what's with the colleges in parenthesis and italics that I posted every couple of paragraphs?

Those are all universities that have powerhouse football programs, national names that few could dispute help to define college football. They have won national championships, some have worn the national crown on multiple occasions.

And they have something else in common; all have had one or more losing seasons since 2003.

All have rebounded, or will return to prominence. And so will Rutgers to at the very least the level of success they have achieved in recent years, and hopefully RU football will move beyond those limits.

Greg Schiano came to Rutgers 10 years ago, and after a rough start he accomplished what no RU football coach had done since Frank Burns in 1978.....he got Rutgers to a bowl game 2005. His 11-2 team in 2006 captured the imagination of the nation and won Schiano the National Coach of the Year Award. And the Scarlet Knights won a bowl game that year, their first ever bowl win. And they went to- and won- a bowl game the next year, and the year after that, and for good measure the year after that. For the record, that was five consecutive bowl appearances, and four consecutive wins. And while accomplishing those successes on the field, Rutgers players excelled in the classroom; every year Rutgers can be found in the top five of the NCAA's Academic Progress Report (APR). This year Rutgers was number one in the FBS in the APR. They were winning games, graduating players, and sending unprecedented numbers of young men into the NFL.

Greg Schiano and his staff did it the right way. And I have no reason to believe that he will not get the ship righted.

This was a year when the program hit a speed bump that ended up causing damage....and it was a step back. But as mentioned before, it happens to "The Big Guys" from time to time as well.

What is mindboggling are those types who come out of the woodwork to trash this program in a down year, calling it a failure, and even now there are loonies who call for a return to the days of playing Lehigh, Bucknell, and Princeton in front of 10,000 people or less. Some of the print media don't help the perception either; last week one local paper showed a nearly empty Rutgers Stadium late in the fourth quarter (and on Black Friday) against Louisville. For the record, the official attendance for that game was 37,422, far from being a sellout in the 52,000 seat stadium, but not a ghost town either. The 10,000 students who are usually at every game were represented by a fraction, maybe 1,000; the student body was on Thanksgiving break. In addition, many ticketholders and regular fans were out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday. Also, the season average per game was 46,195, roughly 6,000 fans short of capacity but also about 4,000 more than the capacity of the stadium before the expansion project two years ago. A cause for concern, yes. But hardly a cause for alarm.

The cranks, the critics, and overzealous editorial boards will write pieces complaining about Rutgers football and the waste of money it is. But do a GOOGLE search for Rutgers, and click on to IMAGES.....the vast majority of the pictures are not of old buildings and famous alums (other than James Gandolfini).....

The largest number of  pictures you'll find in that search will be of Rutgers football, it's players, it's coach, and it's fans. Some may hate the fact, but the recent football success has given Rutgers greater visibility than the university has ever had before despite it's high academic standing.

Forty thousand plus people don't pay $50 a ticket to attend a chemistry class on Saturdays in the fall. And ESPN won't give RU a check for $100,000 to televise a symposium on Hamlet's Oedipus Complex.....that is, unless Hamlet played high stakes poker as well.

So critics, take your best shot.....because this team and it's coach will be back.

And I'm one fan who says "Thank God!" for that.

Quick Hits For October 11. 2010; The Football and Chris(es) Edition!

Hey ladies and gents. I took a couple of days off for football (first) and then for some family issues- nothing serious, but just a few things that needed some attention.

So I now find myself in a situation where I want to talk about a variety of issues in a short space of time.....how about some Quick Hits?

(1). The sign in the end zone said it all; In Dodd We Trust. And then some. Chas Dodd, the 18 year old true freshman quarterback for Rutgers University started in place of the injured Tom Savage, and the South Carolina native made a spectacular debut on national TV last Friday night. Dodd passed for 322 yards with two touchdowns in leading Rutgers to a thrilling 27-24 comeback win over UCONN.

It was a wild night at R House to be sure, with Dodd hitting Mark Harrison with a TD pass to tie the game at 24 with just 3:53 left in the game. After UCONN went three and out, Rutgers drove the UCONN 17 yard line where San San Te drilled a game winning 34 yard field goal with 13 seconds left in the game.

It wasn't quite "Pandemonium in Piscataway" but it would do quite nicely for the RU fans.

And I know what you must be thinking....Chas (pronounced "chase") looks more like one of Frodo's mates in Lord of the Rings than an NCAA quarterback. But the diminutive #19 is one of those players that has a bit of magic in them. And he looks good in Scarlet.

(2). And to the 10,000 or so of the 48,000 plus who left early with six minutes to go to beat traffic....shame on you! It's Rutgers-UCONN. And something always crazy happens in the last couple of minutes to win (or lose) games; muffed punts, field goals hitting uprights, 81 yard TD receptions with seconds to go.

By the way....looking at the UCONN message boards- it's amazing how many fans up there want to dump Coach Randy Edsall....and that's just stupid. Last year Edsall held that team together after the murder of Jazz Howard, and a slew of heartbreaking last minute losses to get them to a bowl game, where they soundly beat Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks. And didn't those guys beat #1 Alabama last Saturday?

So go ahead and fire Randy Edsall, oh sons and daughters of Huskyland...he'll stay unemployed for about ten seconds

(3). It's Columbus Day! And The History Channel celebrated the day by giving us hour after hour of Pawn Stars.

And History International? Almost the same....no mention of the day and it's significance. You can talk about the genocide that happened to the Native Peoples in the Western Hemisphere after the arrival of the Spanish in 1492, and yes it was horrific and brutal. But no one alive today cam fathom the courage those mariners, led by their captain from Genoa, Cristoforo Colombo. And if not for him, would there not be a Columbus, Ohio? And then where would the Blue Jackets play?

(4). New Jersey governor Chris Christie recently said it's time to pull the plug on the $9 billion rail tunnel that would connect northern New Jersey and Manhattan because New Jersey cannot afford to pay $2.5 billion in overruns that Christie says the state does not have. But then Christie met with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and decided to put a two week hold on the cancellation while project is reviewed. I think there is a couple of things at work here.....first, the project would create thousands of jobs, perhaps as many as 40,000. The existing tunnels are nearly 100 years old, and will need to be replaced sooner or later. And also....the feds have already spent $600 million on the project, and New Jersey would have to pay back $300 million of that total.....money that New Jersey does not have. So the choice is spend more and create jobs and have a new tunnel  or don't build it and give $300 million to Washington and have nothing to show for it. Maybe if Mr. Christie would stay home and take care of business here.....and do the job we're paying him to do.....he'd know what's going on. But Oprah and GOP fund raisers beckon.

It's so nice to have a rock star in Trenton......I think?

More on the tunnel project here.

(5) And in closing, we've talked about Christopher Columbus, Chris Christie.....but what would  a QUICK HITS be without a mention of the newest Chris on the block, Christine O'Donnell.

How can you tell you've "made it", in a manner of speaking?

When Saturday Night Live! starts doing send ups of you. Below, from MORNING JOE, is SNL's take on Christine's "I'm not a witch" ad.





Parting shot...way to go Yankees!

And...Phillies (if Sue is reading this)!

12 Hours Later (Plus)..... Rutgers Football, The Big East, More Thanksgiving Leftovers, and Some Bowl Projections

This is part of my on going look at the 2009 Rutgers football season. Its much delayed (with a house full of people this weekend) but here's a look at the penultimate week of the Big East Season .

Its been a couple of days since the last Rutgers football game, a 20-14 win over Louisville, the final game of Cardinals coach Steve Kragethorpe's tenure. The details of the game are familiar now- Rutgers went out to a 28-7 lead, bogged down a bit in the second half, but came alive in the 4th quarter behind Mohamed Sanu's 148 yards and his second TD from the Wild Cat formation.

I could go through the rehash, but anyone who's been following this knows what's up, and if you don't check out this link to Brian Bennett's Big East Blog on ESPN.com .

All that's left now is placement in the bowl picture with the last three games in the Big East football season coming up this weekend.

Pitt (9-2 5-1 Big East), who were upset at West Virginia on Friday 19-16, will meet Cincinnati (11-0, 6-0 Big East) for what is in essence the Big East Championship game on Saturday at 12:00noon. At the same time West Virginia (8-3, 4-2 Big East) goes to Piscataway to meet Rutgers (8-3, 3-3 Big East).

And in East Hartford (6-5, 2-4 Big East) host the flailing South Florida Bulls (7-4, 3-3 Big East) in a night contest.

There are six teams that are bowl eligible, and six bowl tie ins for the Big East.

Here's a scenario or two- Cincinnati beats Pitt, West Virginia beats Rutgers, and UCONN- USF a tossup. Cincinnati would go to the Sugar Bowl, West Virginia (tie breaker on Pitt) goes to the Gator, Pitt goes to the Meineke, Rutgers to St.Petersburg, South Florida to The International, UCONN to Papa John's.

If Pitt wins, and West Virginia wins, Pitt goes to the Sugar and Cincinnati to the Gator, WVU to the Meineke (again), the other three remain the same.

If Pitt wins and Rutgers wins, Pitt to Sugar, Cincy to Gator, RU (tie breaker on WVU) to Meineke, WVU to Papa John's, USF and UCONN to International and Papa John's , respectively.

If Cincy wins and Rutgers wins, its Cincy to Sugar, Pitt to Gator and all else would be the same as above.

Then again...I could be wrong.

This and that- Al Groh is out at Virginia, expect Temple's Al Golden to get that call. Charlie Weis is probably boxing his stuff at South Bend. I wonder how much of a distraction the Notre Dame rumors will be for Brian Kelly and Cincinnati as they prepare for the biggest game of the Big East year, though it is slightly tarnished by Pitt's loss to West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl.

And what about RU product Kenny Britt's game winning TD catch for the Titan's today in Tennessee's 20-17 win over Arizona with 00:00 on the clock? Way to go KB!

12 Hours Later (Plus)..... Rutgers Football; Its Time- For The Second Time

This is part of my ongoing series reviewing the 2009 Rutgers Football season. Today we'll look at yesterday's loss to the Syracuse Orange, 31-13

I've been a Rutgers football fan for many years, attending my first game back in elementary school in the 1960's. And I've attended games spanning five decades. The reason I'm telling you this is to show that I've been around for awhile and just didn't jump on the bandwagon when Jeremy Ito hit that game winning field goal to beat Louisville in 2006. I've seen dramatic wins, a lot of losses, spent afternoon on the road following the team, and have missed maybe three home games in the last 20 years. With a certain amount of shame, I'll admit now, I ducked out of my aunt's wake to listen to Rutgers getting pasted by Miami way back in 1998.

Yes, I bleed Scarlet, even though I am not an alum.

This is a piece that actually troubles me to write, but I feel I have a responsibility to do so. And I'm not going to sugar coat my feelings about the 31-13 road loss of then #25 Rutgers Scarlet Knights to a last place Syracuse team.

This was an unfathomable, incomprehensible, mind boggling loss, one that any deserving ranked team should never have suffered. It follows a familiar pattern of Thursday night wins over ranked opponents being followed on the Saturday that follows nine days later with an embarrassing double digit loss, Its happened during the 2006, 2007, and now the 2009 seasons. You can read the stats here if you like. Its pretty ugly from the RU side of it. I won't go into the minutiae of it- but Syracuse, statistically one of the worst offensive teams in the country, was able to dominate Rutgers from start to finish with twice as many first downs and three times the total yardage. Rutgers quarterback Tom Savage was sacked an incredible nine times. The offense was bad, the defense was worse, and only the special teams seemed to have shown up at the Carrier Dome.

While following the game I started to think that maybe the premise of The Prisoner was taking place- a separate reality where people and things are the same yet different in a corner of a dreamer's subconscious. If that were the case "the dreamer" was wearing Syracuse Orange and RU was in for a few hours of torment in the Village otherwise called the Carrier Dome.

This was not the team that destroyed South Florida, so I thought....and it wasn't. But who were these guys?

Now naysayers and critics will start yelling "fraud". I won't, because any program that keeps going to bowl games and winning them while graduating their players is NOT a fraud. But its getting harder for even the most supportive fans to keep arguing their case to the critics. And frankly, its getting redundant.

Every Rutgers fan should be happy to have Greg Schiano as our coach. He took a program that was in the tank and rebuilt it the right way, without recruiting violations and with a minimum of off the field embarrassments. He recruits good kids who play hard and get their degrees. The fanbase has grown, and much of New Jersey has embraced Rutgers as New Jersey's College Football Team.

When Coach Schiano took over the program in 2001 the Rutgers Touchdown Club gave its members long sleeved tee shirts that had two words printed on the back.....It's Time.

It was time for the losing to stop, for the culture to turn around, for New Jersey to get its college football team, for the world to see Rutgers in a new light. Coach Schiano said he wanted to win a national Championship at Rutgers.

In 2001 we fans thought about first things first- it was more important for Rutgers to win a Big East Conference game. Things were so bad at Rutgers in 2001 that RU was in the midst of a eight game Big East losing streak that extended back to a 24-21 win over Syracuse in 1999. They lost the next game to Miami, and continued to go 0-7 in conference 2000. When Schiano took over Rutgers wouldn't win a conference game in 2001 or 2002, going 0-14 in the Big East. In 2003 RU lost to Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Pitt. They had a 25 game conference losing streak going to then conference member Temple on October 25- Rutgers won that game at The Linc, 30-14. Think about it- a 25 game conference losing streak that spanned five seasons, two decades, and two millennium ended only a little more than six years ago.

Respectability as a program came that year and in 2004, though both were losing years. The turnaround began -and "the Chop" was born in 2005 with a 7-5 record and the first bowl appearance in in 27 years. Three more bowls followed, as will another after the 2009 season.

But once again...Its Time.

Rutgers is in a mode now of taking two steps forward and one back. The bowl appearances, the Thursday night wins, the 50,000 seat expanded stadium, the buzz on campus and in the state are great....but the program is treading water.

The goal for Rutgers is to be one of the elite programs. Elite programs don't have hangover losses after significant wins. Consider this- what do you think the likelihood Ohio State following up a win at Penn State with a loss at Indiana would be? Or maybe perhaps Florida smacking down LSU and getting beat at Vandy?

Slim and none. And that's what many prognosticators said about a Syracuse win over Rutgers. They saw RU as ready for Prime Time, that the arrival that was hinted at was finally here. They were wrong, we were wrong...and, sad to say, Rutgers was not worthy of a Top 25 ranking.

And because of this shocking loss, they probably won't see the Top 25 again in 2009. And probably deservedly so.

Rutgers has made great strides in the past decade, but now It Time once again. Its time to make the move and be a challenger to the Big East title, and not be eliminated from contention by Halloween. Its time to follow up big wins with wins over teams they are supposed to beat. Its time to reach and fulfill the promise they have hinted at over the past four years. Its time to shut the critics up once and for all. Its time for the fans to demand more...support the team and its Coach, but not be satisfied.

Its time for the Rutgers program to emerge from adolescence and hang out with the Big Boys. There is not a reason in the world for them not to be.

Everyone....Its time..

Some notes on other games Kudos go out to UCONN after their 33-30 double OT win over Notre Dame yesterday. It was the most significant win in the history of the program, and for all intents and purposes knocked Notre Dame out of contention from Gator Bowl consideration, and will probably go to the second place Big East team, which could be Cincinnati, Pitt, or even West Virginia. UCONN has had five losses by a total of 15 points, while the Irish have now lost three in a row, and back to back losses to Big East teams.

The win was for Jasper Howard, the slain defensive back was lost his life hours after UCONN's win against Louisville.

The question of whether Notre Dame will retain head coach Charlie Weis has yet to be determined.. My guess is that next week's game at Stanford would be his last.

And I wonder this out loud....how long will the rest of college football allow Notre Dame to be treated as a separate but equal partner in the BCS when they have not been relevant in the national discussion since the era of Lou Holtz, which ended in 1996? Notre Dame in the 21st century is like old world aristocracy, living off the reputation and accomplishments of their distinguished ancestors. And how long will it take before the Notre Dame administration comes clean and has to make a decision- are they serious about winning a national title as an independent where they make a fortune through TV and other revenues that they don't have to share with a conference? Or should they break down and join a conference where they can play their way to a conference title and a BCS bid? Do they want a return to football glory and a shot at a national title, or do they just going to keep the money, live off of past glory, and continue this tiresome kabuki dance they've been doing for a generation now?

Also yesterday- BJ Daniels and USF bounced back with a 34-22 win over Louisville after losing to Rutgers 31-0 a week ago last Thursday. Maybe they can win out the last two games, against Miami and Connecticut, and finish the regular season with nine wins. Rutgers fans should be thankful for USF; without them RU would be known as the most unpredictable team in the conference.

Ouch! Knightmare In The Afternoon- Rutgers Falls To Syracuse 31-13

Rutgers Head Coach Greg Schiano put it this way in his post game press conference...."We didn't play well, we didn't coach well- and that's on me....my hat's off to Syracuse".

Rutgers was ranked #25 in the AP poll, 7-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big East. The Syracuse Orange came into the game at 3-7, 0-5 in conference. Rutgers was an eight point favorite.

An injury ravaged Syracuse ran the ball down Rutgers throats, and sacked Rutgers quarterback Tom Savage nine times in a 31-13 upset.

Ladies and gents, it was so bad that I decided at halftime to go to 5:30 Saturday night Mass. I could pray for Divine intervention and for mercy from the media hounds and critics of my beloved team....I know, the Man Upstairs has more important things to do than worry about point spreads.

To be honest, I had a lot of apprehension about this game. Rutgers historically has a problem after big Thursday night wins. In 2006 Rutgers beat #3 Louisville 28-25 on a Thursday night; the next Saturday following the Saturday bye they lost at Cincinnati 30-11. In 2007 RU defeated #2 USF 30-27 on a Thursday night, only to get spanked the following Saturday by West Virginia 31-3 (wearing horrible black jerseys at home to boot).

And this month RU beat # 24 USF on a Thursday night 31-0, only to lay an egg the next Saturday. What made this one so painful is that RU's loss was to a regional rival....and was the only conference win this year for the Orange, who have already been eliminated from bowl contention.

I'll be back tomorrow with my regular "12 Hours Later" feature to look at this surprising but predictable loss, and I'll talk some more about the Big East landscape, including that big win by UCONN over Notre Dame in overtime.

12 Hours Later (plus).....Thoughts On A Football Couch Potato Weekend (And It Ain't Over Yet)

This is part of my weekly series following the Rutgers 2009 football season. RU had a bye this weekend, and will resume action on Thursday night at Rutgers Stadium vs the University of South Florida.

I decided to get really lazy and watch football non-stop since about noon on Saturday- so any of you regulars who drop into this quasi-political blog looking for some words of wisdom (every once in awhile I say something smart), well check back in on Monday. I'll be back with that stuff tomorrow.

Oh The Pain In Giantland!

Just a few minutes ago I finished watching the Giants blow a game to the San Diego Chargers, to extend their losing streak to four games after starting the season 5-0. New York had a 17-14 lead with a first down on the four yard line of San Diego after an interception return. A holding call moved the ball back to the 14 yard line. The Giants couldn't get it into the end zone so they kicked a field goal, making it 20-14. There was a little more than two minutes in the game and the Chargers had one time out.

Philip Rivers then led San Diego on a an 80 yard drive, capped by an 18 yard game winning touchdown to Vincent Jackson with 21 ticks left on the clock. The final- Chargers win 22-21.

Shocking....let the second guessing begin. WFAN's switchboard is going to burning up on Monday.

About six weeks ago I said the Giants would win the first five, and split the next four. Its not quite an official free fall, but its getting darn close.

Here's the box score for all who want to see a post mortem

Next up- Eagles and Cowboys. Is there any way both can loose?

The other game I watched today was the Bengals and Ravens, mainly to see former Rutgers guys Ray Rice (Ravens) and Brian Leonard (Bengals). That game was won by Cincinnati 17-7, a score that wasn't as indicative as to how dominant the Bengals were in this game. They played great defense, were able to contain Rice for most of the game, and scored just enough with 17 points in the first half to get the win. I had forgotten that former Rutgers tight end Clark Harris is now the long snapper for Cincinnati.

Bearcats Keep Winning

And speaking of Cincinnati....and college football for that matter....last night's University of Cincinnati Bearcats game against the snake bit UCONN Huskies was a nail biter, and one that tells you that some times statistics don't tell the whole story. How about a Cincy offense that ran up 711 yards of offense, had a 20 point lead at the half (30-10), but when the smoke cleared it was a shootout after a furious comeback by UCONN, only to see Cincinnati hang on to win 47-45. This really was like watching two separate games, with UCONN showing a lot of heart to nearly steal this one from undefeated #5 Cincinnati (9-0). This two point loss for UCONN added to a season of unbelievable setbacks for the Huskies, this following identical 28-24 losses to West Virginia and Rutgers in consecutive weeks, a last second game winning field goal to Pitt, and a safety at the end of their game against North Carolina to give them a two point loss. All told, this makes five losses by a grand total of 15 points. Unbelievable, and it dropped the Huskies to 4-5. And of course, there is the greatest tragedy of their season, the murder of defensive back Jasper Howard. The losses to WVU, Rutgers, and Cincinnati have all come in consecutive weeks since Howard's death.

This game will be remembered as the coming out party on network TV for Cincinnati's backup quarterback Zach Collaros, who threw for 480 yards and and one touchdown, and rushed for another 75 yards and two TD's. He's the backup for starter Tony Pike, last years first team Big East quarterback....and he might be doing a Lou Gehrig-Wally Pipp thing- Pike is recovering from an injury, and who knows when- or if- he can reclaim his job. Tony Pike was getting some buzz as a potential Heisman candidate...and now he can't get back on the field .

The Big East's two best quarterbacks might be on the same team, the Cincinnati Bearcats.

How about Those Middies"

The last time an unranked Navy team beat a ranked Notre Dame was 1936. And it happened again on Saturday when the Irish (#22) fell to the Midshipmen in South Bend, 23-21. It was the second win in three years for Navy over ND, and the first time Navy has won in back to back trips to Notre Dame since the Roger Staubach era (1961 and 1963). Jimmy Clausen passed for 452 yards for ND and had two touchdowns, but also a costly interception and was taken down in his own end zone for a safety that ultimately won the game for Navy. With Navy leading 21-7 late in the fourth quarter, Clausen connected with Michael Floyd with 4:46 left in the game to make it 21-14 Navy. After a scoreless Navy possession resulted in a punt deep into Irish territory , Clausen was tackled in the end zone by Navy's Craig Schaefer for the safety, making the score 23-14 Navy with only 1:00 left in the game.

The ensuing free quick by Notre Dame was a onside, recovered by Notre Dame, who took it down field quickly and into the end zone, Clausen to Golden Tate for seven with 24 seconds in the game. The Irish tried another onside kick, but this time it was recovered by Navy, who took a knee and ended the game.

The final- Navy 23, Notre Dame 21.

The Irish turned the ball over three times to none for Navy, and couldn't contain the vaunted Navy rushing attack, the Middies racked up 348 yards on the ground.

The win for Navy made them bowl eligible at 7-3, the loss dropped ND to 6-3 and more or less eliminated them from any hope of a BCS bowl bid, and took them out of both the AP and USA TODAY Top 25's.

Orange Crushed By Pitt

If you hadn't noticed, I'm doing this in reverse order....call it The Olbermann Syndrome.

The first game I watched yesterday (Saturday) was Syracuse and Pitt from Heinz Field, at the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela rivers. The final was Pitt 37, 'Cuse 10, but it wasn't that close. Both teams traded field goals for the only scoring in the first quarter (with Syracuse scoring first). Then Pitt's Greg Williams returned an interception for a 51 yard score, giving Pitt a 10-3 halftime score. After the half, the Panthers scored many and often, racking up 27 points in the second half. All told Pitt scored 37 unanswered points between Syracuse's first and last scores, the final being an Orange TD with 1:03 left in the game. Super freshman Dion Lewis ran for 110 yards and one TD for Pitt, tight end Dorin Dickerson went for 118 yards and a touchdown, steady Pitt QB Bill Stull was 16/23 for 225 yards and a TD. The Panthers (8-1) have crept into the AP and USA TODAY Top 10 (at #8 and #9 respectively) while Syracuse falls to 3-6, one loss from bowl elimination.

Those were the games I watched in their entirety...yes, the whole games. Hey, I deserve it. I did see some parts of Georgia Tech- Wake Forest, Ohio State- Penn State, and Louisville-West Virginia, but not enough to get a feel for the games.

What can I say?

I really like football.

12 Hours Later (Plus)....Another Chapter of Halloween Magic For Rutgers

The final- Rutgers 28, UCONN 24

First a little bit of back story prior to getting on with my take on this dramatic game, with a script out of a Hollywood writer's imagination, and what it could mean for both Rutgers and for UCONN as the 2009 season moves on.

Halloween Magic, Chapter One

It was October 31, 1992, the old 22,000 seat Rutgers Stadium, Rutgers versus Virginia Tech, then a reeling team with a losing record, and coached by a young alum named Frank Beamer who was then under fire. Rutgers was in position to finish with a winning season, and a possible bowl bid in the then two year old Big East Football Conference.

Va Tech led early and often, some of the time by two touchdowns, but usually in the vicinity of 10-12 points. But after building an early two score lead, everytime Tech scored Rutgers matched it. RU qb Bryan Fortay threw three touchdown passes and sub Ray Lucas one. In the waning moments of the fourth quarter, with the score 49-44 Tech leading, some of the RU fans left...but then returned to their seats. In those days of the old little horseshoe stadium it was OK for fans to leave, and return at will.

Something was in the air- we all could sense it. After a critical catch in Tech territory by Mario Henry, and the clock ticking down to zero, qb Fortay looked for wide receiver Chris Brantley in the right corner of the North end zone....and found him. The clock showed 00.00....Rutgers took its first lead of the game at 50-49, with no time on the clock. Fans stormed the field....it was a practice session for "Pandemonium in Piscataway"- we just had to wait 14 years for the grown up version to materialize. There was no attempt to kick the extra point because there were 10,000 or more people on the field.

Halloween Magic, Chapter Two

I had gone to East Hartford for Rutgers-UCONN for the last three trips up there. I was offered a ticket and a seat on the bus on Thursday, but decided to stay home and watch it on TV this time around. I actually had some work to attend to, so I passed.

Rutgers had a 21-10 lead going into the fourth quarter. I sat on the edge of my chair as the game wound down. Then UCONN's Zach Frazier hit Marcus Easley for a 32 yard TD strike. It was 21-17 Rutgers.

A long UCONN drive found them on the Rutgers 2 yard line- Jordan Todman ran it in with 38 seconds to go for a 24-21 UCONN win. It looked like the Huskies had done it; they had won one for #6, their cornerback, Jasper Howard, who had been stabbed to death at a university event two weeks before. The UCONN faithful, 37,000 plus strong, were going crazy.

And then Rutgers, which had nearly taken defeat from the jaws of victory, got it right. Devin McCourtey took the UCONN kickoff back to the Rutgers 19 yard line. It was 1st and 10, Rutgers. There were 22 seconds left in the game. True freshman quarterback Tom Savage took the snap, hit diminutive speedster Tim Brown on a quick route- and Number Two took the ball 81 yards for a touchdown.

It was 28-24 Rutgers. Uconn was stunned. The house was silent, except for a patch of scarlet clad visitors near one end zone.

At the point where UCONN scored with 38 seconds left our letter carrier, Carol, rang the doorbell- she had a parcel for us.

"Are watching the game?" she asked.

"Yeah", I answered dejectedly, thinking all was lost. "These guys are drivin' me nuts".

I went back to my seat in time to see Brown take it to The House on my reliable flat screen. The doorbell rang again.

I was Carol The Letter Carrier...she was jumping up and down like an ecstatic little kid on Christmas Day....and I threw my arms in the air to signal "TOUCHDOWN" in my TV room!

And the only thing missing was Freddy Mercury and Queen singing "Its a Kind of Magic" in the background.

The Game. (To see a replay of the game click Rutgers-UCONN Replay). You can't talk about this game without mentioning the context in which it was played. Two weeks ago UCONN starting cornerback Jasper Howard was murdered, stabbed to death outside of a dance held on campus. The UCONN community mourned him for the next week, the football team traveled to Morgantown, WV to play West Virginia, where the memory of Jasper Howard was honored by both teams and the West Virginia fans.

The Huskies then lost a heartbreaker to the Mountaineers on a long run by WVU's Noel Devine in the last two minutes. The final score was WVU 28, UCONN 24.

UCONN dropped to 4-3. This season lost a 12-10 game to North Carolina, a conference hame to Pitt on a last second field goal, and the four point contest to West Virginia.

On Saturday, October 31- Halloween- UCONN played their first home game since the death of "Jazz" Howard. Thousands had blue and white placards with the #6 on it. There were signs all over Rentschler Field for Jazz Howard. This game was to be for Jazz, from his Husky teammates.

And across the way on the Rutgers sidelines was one of Jazz Howard's best friends, the lightning fast Tim Brown. Brown and Howard were both from the same Liberty City neighborhood in Miami- Brown debated going to Miami last Monday to attend Jazz's funeral, but decided to stay in New Jersey. His family members attended in his stead.

Tim Brown wore "RIP" and "Jazz" on his eyeblack strips- he and all the Rutgers team wore a #6 helmet sticker this Halloween day. The stadium was motionless for a moment of silence dedicated to Howard- and then it was time to play ball.

Rutgers Devin McCourty took the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown- the second week in a row an opponent had done that to UCONN. After a long UCONN return to RU territory and a 37 yard Dave Teggart field goal made the score 7-3 Rutgers, there was no more scoring until late in the second quarter. At 6:03 , Rutgers QB Tom Savage hit Tim Brown for a 37 yard TD; Rutgers led, 14-3. Then on the Rutgers kickoff UCONN's Robbie Frey took it 100 yards for a UCONN TD; 14-10 RU. At 2:16 in the second quarter Savage found fellow true freshman (and Connecticut native) Mark Harrison in the end zone for a 20 yard TD for Rutgers; 21-10 Rutgers.

After a scoreless third quarter, UCONN went on the march. UCONN qb Zach Frazer, subbing for the injured Cody Endress (he's is now scheduled to have season ending surgery), had trouble early on throwing three INT's. But in the third quarter his 32 yard pass to Marcus Easley capped an 8 play. 82 yard drive with a TD; RU 21- UCONN 17. There was 10:19 left in the game.

After trading punts on respective series UCONN went on a dramatic 15 play, 87 yard march that took 3:11 seconds. Todman took it into the end zone for the first lead of the day for UCONN, 24-21 with :38 on the clock. Rutgers was 38 seconds from going 0-3 in the Big East.

Then after the kickoff and Rutgers taking over with less tan half a minute in the game, Brown caught the pass from Savage. What happened next is described by Tim Brown, from the New York Daily News.

"I almost felt like his angel wings reached down and flew me to the end zone for a touchdown," Brown said after the game. "I already miss him. We worked out all summer, looking forward to this game. He covered me all game last year and we were talking about the 31st. We were both so competitive. When I looked back, I was wishing it had been him I had beat, just so I could have told him, 'I got you this time."

It was miraculous, it was bittersweet, it was triumphant, it was heartbreaking....you could apply a thousand adjectives to this game, and they would all be accurate, depending on your perspective. In a game that looked like a win for UCONN, the sense of loss must seem monumental. For Rutgers, this turn of events might be a point where a so-so season turns into something memorable and special.

For Tim Brown, the young guy mourning his fallen friend, there must have been a rollercoaster of unchecked emotions. With this play Tim Brown has emerged from the large shadows cast by former teammates Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood to become a folk hero on The Banks.

Years from now people will ask....where were you when Tim Brown made "The Catch"?

Bottom Line- Where Do We Go From Here? For Rutgers this game might be the turning point for the season. After losing their first two Big East games, and then beating up on inferior opposition, RU took to the road and beat a quality opponent and beat them in their building. The schedule reads two games on the road at Syracuse and Louisville, in both of which the Knights should be favored. And the two home games are with South Florida and West Virginia, the WVU contest closes the season, the USF game is a national Thursday night game a week from this Thursday. USF is young, talented, physical, and erratic- will the team that beat WVU on Friday show up, or will it be the one who was smacked around by Pitt the previous week? And West Virginia, with all that talent, looks mortal. They have talent on offense with Jock Sanders, Noel Devine, and qb Jarrett Brown- but they turn the ball over too much. Rutgers leads the Big East in turnover margin, and is second in college football- they also have six non-offensive touchdowns on the year. Add this to the mix- WVU really isn't a very good defensive team.

Rutgers has a chance to match 2006's ten win season; I'm not saying they will, but they still have a chance to finish ranked and with a decent bowl game. A week from this Thursday America will get a chance to see two emerging offensive stars in college football, two freshman quarterbacks; Rutgers' Tom Savage and USF's BJ Daniels. Its going to be showcase of two quarterbacks- and two teams- that just might dominate the Big East for the near future. I expect a packed and crazy house in Piscataway....I think we have an event on our hands.

As for UCONN...the question will be, can they regroup after this? They've lost a loved member of their team, senselessly murdered. They've lost four games in the last two minutes or less by a combined 13 points. And now their starting quarterback has been scheduled for season ending surgery. Next up for the Huskies, the undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats, then a two week break, then a national TV game with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame in South Bend. They close the season with Syracuse at home, and USF at home.

They will be favored against Syracuse, only.

Sometimes one play can turn a season, for the good, or for the bad...or sometimes for both. It remains to be seen if Tim Brown's 81 yard dash to the end zone defines a seasons for two college football programs.

Other Stuff This is the point in which I usually talk about the rest of the Big East, and other games in college football. But in all honesty, its been a lot of Rutgers, and a lot of World Series for me the past couple of days, so it won't be fair to comment on games I haven't seen.

The Yankees took a 2-1 lead in the Series yesterday with some timely hitting from Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher, and dominating pitching from Andy Pettitte, and relievers Joba Chamberlain, Damaso Marte, and Mariano Rivera for an 8-5 win.

It continues tonight, just minutes away with Joe Blanton staring for the Phils, and CC Sabathia for the Yankees.

Time to watch baseball.

See you later.

OMG! Rutgers Beats UCONN 28-24 in Halloween THRILLER

If I didn't see it, I wouldn't believe it. Rutgers held a 21-10 lead on Connecticut going into the fourth quarter, only to squander the lead and find themselves trailing UCONN 24-21 with 38 seconds to go.

Then after the ensuing kickoff Rutgers freshman quarterback Tom Savage hit Tim Brown, the best friend of slain UCONN cornerbck Jasper Howard, for an 81 yard touchdown to snatch victory from UCONN, 28-24 in front a stunned packed house in Hartford.

Rutgers is now 6-2, 1-2 in the Big East, UCONN 4-4, 1-3 Big East.

Wow!

I'll be back to tall about this thriller, plus more Big East, college football, and World Series tomorrow in my weekly Rutgers commentary.

What a game!