Pittsburgh won't want to see any Scarlet uniforms again soon.

Tonight:
The Rutgers men just beat the Pittsburgh Panthers 62-39 for their first Big East road win of the season in Pittsburgh.

Last night:
The Rutgers women beat the Pitt Panthers 63-39 in their Big East road opener in Pittsburgh.

So much for home court advantage.

Go Knights!

The Scarlet Knights leaving the dugout.

Another short video from yesterday's Pinstripe Bowl victory. Here are the Scarlet Knights taking the field from the dugut on the third-base line (if there were a third-base line at Yankee Stadium rather than a gridiron):
 
Watch in on YouTube to see the full width.

"Hey Big E! Hey Big E! This one's for you buddy!"

Here's a short iPhone video taken from my seat in section 122  of the trophy presentation at Yankee Stadium after the Scarlet Knights' 27-13 Pinstripe Bowl victory over the Iowa State Cyclones.  You can see Jawan Jamison getting his MVP award and Greg Schiano dedicating the win to Eric LeGrand.

What "SI Curse" for appearing on the Sports Illustrated cover right before a big game?

(Here's the lo-res version I originally posted via Blogger):

Mohamed Sanu from Monument Park.

Ready for some football.

A beautiful day for a bowl game!

I hope you're all either here or on the way!

RU in NY yet?

See you at Yankee Stadium

I'm on my way.

Eric LeGrand on the next Sports Illustrated cover

On Newstands Later This Week.

This fan choice of Eric LeGrand for the cover of Sports Illustrated's Pictures of the Year issue is an amazing honor for a great guy.  It's wonderful to know that the rest of the country is as touched by Eric's story as those of us who bleed scarlet.

Unless I've missed something over the years, I think this will be the first chance since football began in New Brunswick in 1869 that the Scarlet Knights have a chance to overcome the so-called SI Curse.

Rutgers vs. Princeton

This is not related to sports, but I was in the car over the weekend and heard the end of the "Nemeses" episode of This American Life, with this story, "A Tale of Two Jerseys" by Chris Gethard, which you can listen to at the 36 minute mark using the widget below, or read the transcript here.

I just ordered my tickets to the Pinstripe Bowl

Let's make Yankee Stadium a sea of red on December 30th for the Scarlet Knights' bowl game against Iowa State.


Not exactly "The Birthplace of College Football", but it'll do.

I know there was some disappointment after the loss to Connecticut ending the regular season, but no one picked Rutgers to finish 8-4 this year (most "experts" picked us to finish last in the Big East), so let's cheer loudly for dear old R.U. to get their ninth victory of the year over the Iowa State Cyclones.

The Soccer Run is Over

The Rutgers men didn't make the jump from the Sweet Sixteen to the Elite Eight in this year's NCAA soccer championships.

They lost tonight to UCLA, the same team that beat them in them in the 1990 final game.

Congratulations to the Scarlet Knights on making to the third round this year.

What's at stake with UConn today.

1) BIG EAST: A win in this season finale means that Rutgers will share the Big East crown with Louisville (which won yesterday) and maybe Cincinnati and maybe West Virginia. A tie between Rutgers, Louisville, and Cincinnati would give Rutgers the BCS bid, but all the Scarlet Knights can worry about is hucking the fuskies first (while rooting for Syracuse to lose to the Bearcats).

2) NATIONAL RANKINGS: Rutgers is at number 26 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, at 30 in the AP Poll, 29 in the Harris Poll, 30 in the ESPN Power Rankings... With a convincing win at Rentschler Field today, the Scarlet Knights should be ending the regular season in the top 25 in most, or all, of these polls.

After being picked by "everyone" to finish last in the conference this year, these are not insignificant accomplishments.

I'll be over on Twitter @BeatVisitor tweeting updates this afternoon.

Go Knights.

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Update at the half: UConn 24--Rutgers 10. 21 of the Huskies' points came off turnovers deep in the Rutgers half of the field. In the first drive Juwan Jamison fumbled while being injured, but the good news is that he came back in the 2nd quarter with a taped ankle and scored the one Rutgers touchdown. Connecticut can't count on Rutgers handing them the ball with a short field three more times in the second half.

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Update at the end of the 3rd quarter (because I'm not sure if I'll feel like updating at the end of the game): UConn 40 -- Rutgers 10, and we can't blame it on turnovers this time. And at the beginning of the 4th quarter, UConn just downed another punt at the one-yard line, with Gary Nova making his first appearance at quarterback. My faith in miracles is starting to dwindle though.

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Final: UConn 40 -- Rutgers 22