http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/lopresti/2006-11-05-lopresti-rutgers_x.htm
Now that Ohio State and Michigan are finished wiping off the sweat from the weekend, we can ponder the season's next critical moment.
Rutgers, you have the floor.
Rutgers has played college football for 137 seasons, and is still waiting to win a bowl game. So the opportunity in Thursday's game with Louisville is appreciated.
No snickering, please. Ohio State just needed to field an onside kick to escape Illinois. Rutgers beat Illinois 33-0.
So the Scarlet Knights are ready for their closeup, Mr. DeMille. Ten things to know about Rutgers:
1. The school was renamed in the 19th century for a trustee and Revolutionary War veteran named Henry Rutgers. Just as well. Next on ESPN, Louisville vs. Queen's College?
2. Rutgers has not beaten a ranked team in 18 years. It has beaten five in its history.
3. Speaking of history, that goes back to four years after the Civil War, when a 6-4 win over Princeton gave birth to college football. It could be said this is the biggest Rutgers game since 1869. This is the first time in 137 seasons it has played a game where both teams were ranked.
4. Greg Schiano is a 40-year-old firecracker - seventh youngest Division I-A coach in the land - who doubles as defensive coordinator, the job he once had at Miami. The Scarlet Knights have 21 Florida natives on the roster.
5. Arizona State is the only team Rutgers has ever played in a bowl game - the 1978 Garden State and last year's Insight. The Knights lost both.
6. Rutgers played Louisville last season. Lost 56-5.
7. NBA commissioner David Stern is a Rutgers man. So is James Gandolfini from The Sopranos.
8. Quarterback Mike Teel is 33-1 as a starter, counting high school and college.
9. The Scarlet Knights have outscored the opposition 58-7 in the first quarter and 51-16 in the third. Must be some pre-game and halftime talks Schiano gives.
10. Most of all, Rutgers plays defense - 73 points allowed all season, 30 sacks, No. 2 in the nation in scoring and total defense. That clashes nicely with Louisville, No. 2 in the nation in total offense.
Issue of the week
Should Indiana and Northwestern be worried?
Indiana hosts Michigan, who had to stop seven plays from inside the 10 in the final minutes to hold off Ball State - a team that was beaten at home by North Dakota State.
Northwestern hosts Ohio State, who barely got out of town against 2-8 Illinois.
So the (first) Game of the Century is still on for Nov. 18. And the two heavyweights, now fully alerted to the dangers of looking ahead, might be meaner Saturday.
"Everything that happened today," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said, "was good for our team. We had to fight."
"I'm a realist. Things are not always as good or as bad as it seems," Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith said. "There's always going to be critics and naysayers, but my team is 10-0 right now."
Weekend award
What's growing on trees this year in Hawaii? Pineapples and touchdown passes. Colt Brennan threw six against Utah State to run his season total to 39, with four regular season games left to chase David Klingler's NCAA record of 54. Hawaii is 7-2 and has gone for 63 or more points in three of its last four games. The Warriors were invited to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Saturday; the first team in the nation to get a bowl bid.
Quotebook
"There is a correlation between having good offensive statistics and playing bad defenses." - Florida coach Urban Meyer on weaker-scheduled teams in the BCS who might knock the SEC out of the national championship game. And good morning to you, Louisville.
"When he gets knocked out, I just stay away, because I know he gets mad if you try to help him." - Penn State assistant coach Tom Bradley on Joe Paterno, who had to be carried away in a cart with an injured knee after he was rolled over by 249-pound tight end Andrew Quarless.
"Brady Quinn is a good quarterback, but they really aren't different from what we see from week to week. Actually, they're a little slower than most teams in the ACC ..." - North Carolina linebacker Durell Mapp on Notre Dame. The 1-8 Tar Heels have scored 41 points in five ACC defeats, but put up 26 against the Irish.
Statistic of the week
Ball State played in front of 109,359 fans Saturday at Michigan. In five home games, the Cardinals have played in front of a total of 74,178.
Thumbs of the week
Up to Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are 8-1 for first time since 1944. Jim Grobe for Coach of the Year? Jim Grobe for governor.
Up to Maryland. The 7-2 BCS conference co-leader nobody has noticed. Its last six games have been decided by six or fewer points, and its four-game winning streak has been by a combined 12 points.
Up to Allen Patrick. Adrian who? Since replacing Heisman candidate Adrian Peterson, the Sooners junior - who had never started a college game - has rushed for 110, 157 and 173 yards.
Down to Clemson. Who turned out the lights? Two weeks ago, the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation. Since then, 19 points and one touchdown in losses to Virginia Tech and Maryland. The Tigers' one touchdown against Maryland was nullified by their only penalty of the day.
***
Mike Lopresti writes for Gannett News Service
Contributing: The (Mansfield, Ohio) News Journal
Rutgers, you have the floor.
Rutgers has played college football for 137 seasons, and is still waiting to win a bowl game. So the opportunity in Thursday's game with Louisville is appreciated.
No snickering, please. Ohio State just needed to field an onside kick to escape Illinois. Rutgers beat Illinois 33-0.
So the Scarlet Knights are ready for their closeup, Mr. DeMille. Ten things to know about Rutgers:
1. The school was renamed in the 19th century for a trustee and Revolutionary War veteran named Henry Rutgers. Just as well. Next on ESPN, Louisville vs. Queen's College?
2. Rutgers has not beaten a ranked team in 18 years. It has beaten five in its history.
3. Speaking of history, that goes back to four years after the Civil War, when a 6-4 win over Princeton gave birth to college football. It could be said this is the biggest Rutgers game since 1869. This is the first time in 137 seasons it has played a game where both teams were ranked.
4. Greg Schiano is a 40-year-old firecracker - seventh youngest Division I-A coach in the land - who doubles as defensive coordinator, the job he once had at Miami. The Scarlet Knights have 21 Florida natives on the roster.
5. Arizona State is the only team Rutgers has ever played in a bowl game - the 1978 Garden State and last year's Insight. The Knights lost both.
6. Rutgers played Louisville last season. Lost 56-5.
7. NBA commissioner David Stern is a Rutgers man. So is James Gandolfini from The Sopranos.
8. Quarterback Mike Teel is 33-1 as a starter, counting high school and college.
9. The Scarlet Knights have outscored the opposition 58-7 in the first quarter and 51-16 in the third. Must be some pre-game and halftime talks Schiano gives.
10. Most of all, Rutgers plays defense - 73 points allowed all season, 30 sacks, No. 2 in the nation in scoring and total defense. That clashes nicely with Louisville, No. 2 in the nation in total offense.
Issue of the week
Should Indiana and Northwestern be worried?
Indiana hosts Michigan, who had to stop seven plays from inside the 10 in the final minutes to hold off Ball State - a team that was beaten at home by North Dakota State.
Northwestern hosts Ohio State, who barely got out of town against 2-8 Illinois.
So the (first) Game of the Century is still on for Nov. 18. And the two heavyweights, now fully alerted to the dangers of looking ahead, might be meaner Saturday.
"Everything that happened today," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said, "was good for our team. We had to fight."
"I'm a realist. Things are not always as good or as bad as it seems," Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith said. "There's always going to be critics and naysayers, but my team is 10-0 right now."
Weekend award
What's growing on trees this year in Hawaii? Pineapples and touchdown passes. Colt Brennan threw six against Utah State to run his season total to 39, with four regular season games left to chase David Klingler's NCAA record of 54. Hawaii is 7-2 and has gone for 63 or more points in three of its last four games. The Warriors were invited to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Saturday; the first team in the nation to get a bowl bid.
Quotebook
"There is a correlation between having good offensive statistics and playing bad defenses." - Florida coach Urban Meyer on weaker-scheduled teams in the BCS who might knock the SEC out of the national championship game. And good morning to you, Louisville.
"When he gets knocked out, I just stay away, because I know he gets mad if you try to help him." - Penn State assistant coach Tom Bradley on Joe Paterno, who had to be carried away in a cart with an injured knee after he was rolled over by 249-pound tight end Andrew Quarless.
"Brady Quinn is a good quarterback, but they really aren't different from what we see from week to week. Actually, they're a little slower than most teams in the ACC ..." - North Carolina linebacker Durell Mapp on Notre Dame. The 1-8 Tar Heels have scored 41 points in five ACC defeats, but put up 26 against the Irish.
Statistic of the week
Ball State played in front of 109,359 fans Saturday at Michigan. In five home games, the Cardinals have played in front of a total of 74,178.
Thumbs of the week
Up to Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are 8-1 for first time since 1944. Jim Grobe for Coach of the Year? Jim Grobe for governor.
Up to Maryland. The 7-2 BCS conference co-leader nobody has noticed. Its last six games have been decided by six or fewer points, and its four-game winning streak has been by a combined 12 points.
Up to Allen Patrick. Adrian who? Since replacing Heisman candidate Adrian Peterson, the Sooners junior - who had never started a college game - has rushed for 110, 157 and 173 yards.
Down to Clemson. Who turned out the lights? Two weeks ago, the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation. Since then, 19 points and one touchdown in losses to Virginia Tech and Maryland. The Tigers' one touchdown against Maryland was nullified by their only penalty of the day.
***
Mike Lopresti writes for Gannett News Service
Contributing: The (Mansfield, Ohio) News Journal