A New Beginning For Rutgers Football
Sixty-nine to three. No, this is not a basketball score nor a football score. It is simply the margin by which Rutgers has outscored its opponents in the third quarter this year. Yes, Rutgers, the birthplace of college football. It says it right in the stadium in Piscataway. Zero national championships. Zero BCS bids. Zero Big East championships. But that was then and this is now.
The Rutgers football program as we know it began in 2001 with the hiring of Greg Schiano by Robert Mulcahy, the athletic director at the time. Schiano, when hired, was the youngest D-1 football coach in the country and he inherited a horrible team. Schiano left in January of 2012 to become the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During his stay at Rutgers he turned down head coaching positions at Miami and Michigan and some say Alabama. He built a solid program, which was ranked in the top ten in 2006 after a stunning 28-25 win over Louisville. But Schiano finished his tenure at 68-67 and 28-48 in the Big East.
Former assistant Kyle Flood was hired by Athletic Director Tim Pernetti on January 31, 2012 and he is still undefeated at 7-0 for only the fifth time in Rutgers football history and that is since 1869.
How good is Rutgers? Well only a BCS bid will really answer the question affirmatively, but right now they look pretty good. The team relies on solid defense and a punishing running game, led by sophomore Jawan Jamison in conjunction with some solid play by redshirt sophomore quarterback Gary Nova from Don Bosco High. With Kent State and Army next, both at home, Rutgers could soon be looking at another top ten ranking and national recognition.
It's about time for a team which invented football.
