The Importance of Game One

In this year for Rutgers Football between the Big East and the Big Ten, there will be a scarcity of games that will mean something on the national level, especially early in the season. So I was glad to see the Fresno State Bulldogs are ranked at 22 in the preseason Athlon, Phil Steele, and USA Today polls.

From CollegeFootballPoll.com

If the Scarlet Knights can drive the ball with authority into the red-and-white checkerboard end zones of Bulldog Stadium more often than the home team on the night of August 29th, Rutgers has a possibility of making a dent in the polls by Labor Day.  There won't be another chance to impress national voters until the Arkansas game on September 21. The games against the second-tier Norfolk State Spartans on September 7 and the Eastern Michigan Eagles (touted to finish last in the MAC) on September 14 won't make the news unless Rutgers fails to win those home games by at least three or four touchdowns.

The Rutgers Football quotes of the month come from Tampa Bay

I'm a little slow catching up with the news from the NFL this month, but it's just recently come to my attention that our favorite Knight Brian Leonard is hooking up with  his college coach Greg Schiano again and moving from the Bengals to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (otherwise known as the Scarlet Knights South in opposition to the Scarlet Knights North playing at Gillette Stadium).

Brian Leonard's last game wearing
the Scarlet's 23 on 12/26/06.

Here are a couple of quotes from the July 10 article in Brian's local Watertown Daily Times:

“We felt Brian could help us win and that’s why we brought him here. Brian Leonard’s a winner. I have a history with him since he was 16 years old. We’ve been through a lot together. This guy is an unselfish guy who will show up big when we need him.” -- Greg Schiano

and

“It’s comfortable going back to a coaching staff I already know and I’ll also be playing with some former teammates from Rutgers. [...] I’m excited. I had a great time in Cincinnati and have some good friends there, and the fans are great. But I needed a change and I think Coach Schiano knows how to use me. Hopefully I’ll progress throughout camp and show my skills, and my role with the team will get bigger and bigger.” -- Brian Leonard

It's hard not to wish them both the best. This is a coach/player combination that trumps any other loyalty I might have to any other NFL team.

A Commercial Worth Rewatching

The Dates On Which You'll Be Busy in 2016 and 2017

After years and years of certain schedule uncertainty in the Big East, it's hard to get used to the fact that the full Rutgers football schedule for 2014 is already set, let alone 2015, but now we also have the conference games for 2016 and 2017 scheduled:

2016 Rutgers Big Ten Games
October 1                    at Ohio State
October 8                    Michigan
October 15                  Illinois
October 22                  at Minnesota
October 29                  Iowa
November 5                Indiana
November 12              at Michigan State
November 19              Penn State
November 26              at Maryland

2017 Rutgers Big Ten Games
September 23             at Nebraska
September 30             Ohio State
October 7                    Idle
October 14                  at Illinois
October 21                  Purdue
October 28                  at Michigan
November 4                Maryland
November 11              at Penn State
November 18              at Indiana
November 25              Michigan State