Category: Rutgers

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B1G Stadium Sizes

Given some of the comments I heard surrounding the Rutgers – Penn State game about the size of Rutgers stadium, I was curious to see how the stadium stacked up to the competition.  I knew the stadium would not be in the top half of the list, but I was pleased to see that 1) Rutgers was not in the bottom 3, and 2) that it won’t take much to get Rutgers up near the middle of the pack.  My expectation is that a solid few years in the B1G will go a long way toward getting Rutgers stadium over 60,000.  Which, knowing how loud folks from the NJ area can be, will make it sound like there are 120,000 are in there when big games are played.

[table id=9 /]

Source: Wikipedia

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News Rutgers

My Big East Rankings – Week 2

Week 2 brought some separation among the schools.  Here are my thoughts on week 2.

1.  USF – 2 wins back to back, and no hesitation in beating Ball State.

2.  West Virginia – Losing 12 – 10 to Norfolk State at the half disqualifies you for the top spot, even if you eventually win 55-12.

3.  Pittsburgh – Struggled to hold off Maine, but still managed to win.

4.  Syracuse – Fought off Rhode Island, but again, a win is a win.

5.  Rutgers – Defense – check.  Special Teams – check.  If Rutgers finds a running game, they can still do really well this season.

6.  UConn – Rutgers may not have a run game, but UConn doesn’t have an offense.

7.  Cincinnati – You have to be in it to win it.  Cincinnati was never in it with Tennessee.

8.  Louisville – Nice job giving FIU their first win ever over an AQ school.  The score makes this game look closer than it was.

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News Rutgers

Earmarks

Ok, I’ll bite.  What’s wrong with some of the earmarks in the spending bill?

For instance, there is $950,000 for the College Ave redesign in New Brunswick.  Why is that an issue?  Isn’t it the government’s job to spend money on certain public initiatives?

How would you have the government divy up the money that is spent?  Instead of politicians, would you have an unelected set of technocrats make the spending decisions deep in government agencies?  What should the policy be?

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Rutgers

Rutgers 2009 Recruits

Today is national Letter of Intent signing day, when college footbal recruits sign their binding letters to attend the univeristy and join the team in the Fall.  Here is the current, expected list (via rivals.com and scarletnation.com) of signees.

  • Tom Savage
  • De’Antwan Williams
  • Isaac Holmes
  • Logan Ryan
  • Andre Civil*
  • Antwan Lowery
  • Jamal Merrell
  • Jamil Merrell
  • Abdul Smith
  • Paul Carrezola
  • Duron Harmon
  • Steve Beauharnais
  • Mark Harrison
  • Aaron Hayward
  • Michael Larrow
  • Quron Pratt
  • Mohamed Sanu*
  • Robert Joseph
  • Jamal Wilson
  • Junior Solice
  • David Osei

There are also still some outstanding recruits that might announce for Rutgers, including Malcom Bush and Justin Brown.  No matter what happens, though, this represents the BEST class in Rutgers football history.

*Recruit has enrolled for the Spring 2009 semester

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Rutgers

This Kid Rocks (Oh, right, and Rutgers demolished L’Ville 63-14)

Rutgers absolutely schooled Louisville last night in their last regular season game, locking up a miscellaneous bowl bid to somewhere by way of putting on a clinic in the first half.

But that wasn’t the coolest part of the game – this kid was.  He rocked out to Bon Jovi with about 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter.

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Rutgers

Big East Bowl Prediciations

Rutgers beat Army Saturday to become “bowl-eligible” (what a phrase) for the fourth straight year.  Provided they avoid the trap of looking ahead to a bowl game next Thursday night and remember to beat Louisville, the team (and I) will be heading to a bowl game somewhere.  While bowl predictions are everywhere, as someone who will be traveling, I need to start making arrangements.  Here are my thoughts on what’s likely to happen.

Big East Standings
Cincinnati – 9-2, 5-1
Games left: Syracuse 11/29, @ Hawaii 12/06

West Virginia – 7-3, 4-1
Games left: @ Pittsburgh 11/28, South Florida 12/06

Rutgers – 6-5, 4-2
Games left: Louisville 12/04

Pittsburgh – 7-3, 3-2
Games left: West Virginia 11/28, @ Connecticut 12/06

Connecticut – 7-4, 3-3
Games left: Pittsburgh 12/06

South Florida – 7-4, 2-4
Games left: @ West Virginia 12/06

Louisville – 5-6, 1-5
Games left: @ Rutgers 12/04

Syracuse – 3-8, 1-5
Games left: @ Cincinnati 11/29

Big East Bowls

  • St. Petersburg Bowl – St. Petersburg, FL – Big East vs. Conference USA – December 20
  • Meineke Car Care Bowl – Charlotte, NC – ACC vs. Big East – December 27
  • PapaJohns.com Bowl  -Birminghal, AL – Big East vs. SEC – December 29
  • Brut Sun Bowl – El Paso, TX – Pac 10 vs. Big 12 / Big East – December 31
  • Gator Bowl – Jackonsville, FL – ACC vs. Big 12 / Big East – January 1
  • Orange Bowl (BCS) – Miami, FL – ACC vs. Big East – January 1
  • International Bowl – Toronto, Canada – Big East vs. MAC – January 3

Where To?
Cincinatti (Final Record: 10-2, 6-1)
Projected Bowl: Orange Bowl (BCS)
Cincinatti has sewn up the BCS bid.  Beat they Orange and they go to the Orange Bowl on January 1.  Syracuse beating a mediocre (that’s being polite) Notre Dame on a last minute touchdown drive doesn’t mean they’re suddenly going to man-handle Cincinnati, who’s surived this well with four different QBs getting playing time.

West Virginia (Final Record: 8-4, 5-2)
Projected Bowl: Sun Bowl
I can see West Virginia winning both or losing both, so I’ll pick the middle path and give them the split (lose to Pitt, beat South Florida).  The Sun Bowl still takes them because who wouldn’t want a West Virginia team that’s won multiple BCS games over the past few years?

Rutgers (Final Record: 7-5, 5-2)
Projected Bowl: Meineke Car Care Bowl
So long as Rutgers doesn’t look ahead to their bowl game, they should get the win here.  Granted, this game last season tripped them up, so you never know. Still, with the International Bowl off the table since that was last year’s game and a hot streak to end the season, Rutgers goes to North Carolina.  With South Florida now bowl eligible, the backup pick is the PapaJohns.com Bowl.

Pittsburgh (Final Record: 8-4, 4-3)
Projected Bowl: PapaJohns.com Bowl
Similar to West Virginia, they split their remaining games (beat West Virginia, lose to UConn).  The PapaJohns.com Bowl and International Bowl could go either way between Pittsburgh and UConn, with neither team having been to either bowl yet.

Connectciut (Final record: 8-4, 4-3)
Projected Bowl: International Bowl
UConn beats Pitt to end their regular season.  Either the PapaJohns.com Bowl or the International Bowl picks up UConn.

South Florida (Final Record: 7-5, 2-5)
Projected Bowl: St. Petersburg Bowl
South Florida beat UConn to make the bowls, but can’t beat West Virginia to climb further up the conference rankings.  With the St. Petersburg Bowl being so close to home, South Florida is the pick.

Left out: Louisville, Syracuse

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Rutgers

More Rutgers & Zoffinger

In checking out a few links and doing a quick Google search, I stumbled on a fascinating read. Though brief, it shows how controversy dogs Zoffinger at every step around Rutgers.

Resolution in Opposition to the Nomination of George Zoffinger to the Rutgers University Board of Governors

First Introduced by Senator Adam Cooper on the Senate Floor, October 22, 2004

Whereas, Governor James E. McGreevey has recently nominated George Zoffinger to the Rutgers University Board of Governors; and

Whereas, George Zoffinger is currently the chair of the New Brunswick Development Corporation (Devco); and

Whereas, Rutgers and Devco are currently involved in a number of construction projects together, and the two will be working together more often on construction and development projects in the years to come; and

Whereas, the Rutgers University Board of Governors has significant influence over new construction projects at Rutgers; and

Whereas, Mr. Zoffinger’s position as chair of Devco would constitute a major conflict of interest should Mr. Zoffinger become a member of the Board of Governors; therefore

Be it resolved, that the Rutgers University Senate opposes the nomination of George Zoffinger to the Rutgers Board of Governors as a result of this inherent conflict of interest; and

Be it further resolved, that the Rutgers University Senate encourages the New Jersey State Senate to reject the confirmation of George Zoffinger to the Rutgers University Board of Governors.

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Rutgers

Zoffinger & Rutgers

The Asbury Park Press had an article on George Zoffinger, a controversial figure on the Rutgers Board of Governors.

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News Rutgers

Rutgers News Roundup

Rutgers is hitting the bigtime, with more success on the recruiting trail and more scrutiny over the athletic department. Although most of the negative articles seem to be reporters chasing a story more than a story waiting for reporters, it’s still news. And with that, here are a few worthwhile links I’ve read over the past few weeks.

Just a few of the key stories that have been written about in the lead up to the start of the next season. For which, I am happy to say, I can’t wait.

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Rutgers

A Different Kind of Community?

Artifacts from the Raritan Landing settlement were found at the site of the football stadium expansion during the excavation in the south end zone. One of the key finds was the Rising Sun Tavern, a key meeting place during the heyday of the town. Which is why I find this quote so funny:

“This will be the gathering space for a whole new different type of community,” Elizabeth said.

How different, really? Drunk people will still be meeting up in the same place they did 200 years earlier.