Rutgers

Rutgers Football Must Improve Non-Conference Schedule

Rutgers shutout 24th ranked South Florida 31-0 Thursday night to improve their season record to 7-2. The Scarlet Knights have three games remaining and can increase their win total to 10 if they win out. 10-2 is a great season for any college football team, but for Rutgers 10-2 won’t be special. Rutgers’ out of conference schedule was soft. Of their five non-conference games, two of them were against Howard and Texas Southern, teams from Division 1-AA. Another was against Florida International, a two-win team from the Sun Belt conference and another was against Army, a three-win independent team. Rutgers’ fifth non-conference foe was against Maryland, the worst team in the respectable ACC.

Rutgers’ wins haven’t been very convincing either. They only beat Florida International (2-7) 23-15. The 7-2 record they currently hold doesn’t tell the real tale of Rutgers in 2009. Their two losses came against the top two teams in the Big East; Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, who are currently ranked 5th and 12th respectively. A 7-2 record at this point in the season could have been forecasted when they released their 2009 schedule.

I’m not looking to take anything away from Greg Schiano and the Scarlet Knight football program. Schiano has done a remarkable job with the program. They need to schedule tougher teams out of conference. This will prepare the Scarlet Knights for the big boys of the Big East and the BCS and AP and Coaches polls will show them more respect. Rutgers may go 10-2 and be unranked and play in a mediocre bowl game. A 10-2 team should be in the top 15 and play in a late December or early January bowl game. Rutgers would benefit from a stronger out of conference schedule. They can play one Division 1-AA team, but not two. Rutgers does have a few very good non-conference match-ups set for the future including Penn State in 2014 and 2015, UCLA in 2016 and 2017 and Miami in 2018 and 2019.

A 10-2 record is not in the bag as Rutgers’ final stretch of the season has games at Syracuse, at Louisville and home against 25th ranked West Virginia. That will be a big test in the final game of the season for the Scarlet Knights.

Post By Rich Santonocito
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Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago.

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Savage Takes Over at Rutgers With Win Over Howard

True freshman quarterback Tom Savage played well in the second half of a blowout loss to Cincinnati in Rutger’s opening game and earned himself the starting job against Howard in the second week of the college football season. Savage didn’t disappoint. He went 8-13 for 223 yards and two touchdowns in Rutgers’ 45-7 win over Howard.

Savage was one of the most highly touted recruits ever to go to Rutgers. Savage wants to make Rutgers fans forget about the beating they took from Cincinnati and look forward to his reign at quarterback. 

Rutgers defensive end Mike Johnson told the Newark Star-Ledger, “He’s a natural leader out there. That’s the way Mike Teel was. Same thing.”

Rutgers hosts Florida International this weekend and Savage will look to continue his success under center.

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Posted 5 months, 3 weeks ago.

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