Quote of the Day About Quarterback Number 7

He really does remind you of John Elway, No. 7 on his back, blond, big arm and growing pains. Elway lined up behind the guard waiting for the snap in one of his early pro games.
As good as Elway was at the collegiate level, the next step was too much for a while. As good as Barkley was in high school, no reason to think the next step won't also be too big for a while.

--T.J. Simers, Los Angeles Times, 30 August 2009

So the quote isn't about our freshman quarterback wearing the number 7, Tom Savage, but it's interesting to see how many parallels there are between the two highly touted true freshmen at Rutgers and USC. I was tempted to remove Barkley's name and the LA Times tag up above; every Rutgers fan would then have thought that the quote on a Rutgers football blog about the blond quarterback with the big arm wearing the number 7 who has been widely compared to John Elway was in reference to our freshman Wunderkind, and not USC's.

Pete Carroll and USC have set themselves up for lots of media criticism and discussion with their early announcement of freshman Matt Barkley as their opening-game starter (even if it was at least partially motivated by an injury to another QB). I love that Greg Schiano is keeping the final quarterback decision under his hat until the last possible moment, as reported yesterday:

“Well, neither of them are captains so I don’t have to tell them until they’re in the tunnel, ‘Hey, you’re the guy.’ ” Schiano said, grinning only slightly. “I’m only kidding. The guy’s going to know who’s starting. I probably won’t tell you guys [i.e., the press]. That’s why I probably won’t make it public.” [ . . . ] “They’ll know soon enough,” Schiano said, referring to Cincinnati’s coaching staff. “The (quarterback) will come trotting out first series – that’s who they got.”

--Keith Sargeant, Scarlet Scuttlebutt, 29 August 2009

It may sound heretical to those who remember only Mike Teel's last seven games in Scarlet in 2008, but if I were Brian Kelly preparing the Cincinnati Bearcats for the Labor Day opener, I'd much rather be doing my game planning against Mike Teel (against whom the Bearcats defense had no small success) than against the unknown mix of Natale, Lovelace & Savage. Hell, with Greg Schiano's desire to pull out all stops in order to win this important first game in a autumn full of one-game seasons, Brian better be prepared to see D.C. Jefferson under center for the first play of 2009, or for Tim Brown running the Wild Knight, or . . .

Wild Knight -- The 63-14 Score is Deceiving (it was not that close!)

Who would've thought after the first 6 games that 2008 would turn into another good year for the Scarlet Knights?



My son asked me at last night's game if "they" (the announcers and sportswriters who mediate most of America's sports experiences) are calling it the "Wild Knight" when Joe Martinek or Kenny Britt or someone else other than a quarterback lines up in the QB's position. Since I watch all the games from my aluminum bench in section 123 without the benefit of the chattering classes to tell me what's happening on the field (and with Joe Nolan rather than the electronic yellow line telling me when that is a Rutgers First DOWN!), I had to tell him: "I don't know." But it's a great name for the formation, and for last night's systematic demolition of the Louisville Cardinals, isn't it?
What can you say except that all of us in Rutgers Stadium left last night feeling like we had already received our best Christmas/Kwanzaa/Chanukah present of the season. And what a great way for Mike Teel to end his career at R House, directing the band with the Knight's sword like Brian Leonard in 2006 (though looking sheepish and utterly unmusical while doing so). When we look back on 2008 in our stadium, we'll remember his seven touchdown passes and 447 yards and remember that he could have easily made it ten touchdown passes and 600 yards if they hadn't taken their feet off the accelerator in the third quarter. It almost totally erased those two games we watched back at the beginning of September.
What a Game. What a Knight. What a Wild Knight! Thanks for four years Mike!
We'll see you in a Bowl somewhere (I just hope it's somewhere other than the Pizza Bowl Deep in the Heart of Dixie) later this month!

Vote for Mike Teel as USA Today's Player of the Week (and next week vote for President Obama!)

CLICK HERE to vote for Mike Teel in honor of his (untelevised) 6-touchdown performance against Pittsburgh in last Saturday's 54-34 win.




(And you should know where to cast your vote for President next Tuesday.)

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Update 10/29: The voting for player of the week is closed and Mike Teel got the nod (and 58% of the readers' votes).

Only Hours Until Gametime

If you're in the mood to do more pregame reading, then here are your Game Preview & Game Notes from ScarletKnights.com and here's a blogger Q&A between bleedscarlet and Tar Heel Fan.

I've never been home from work on 9/11 before, so though I've gone to a few memorials on the day, I've never seen the hours-long reading of the names that is on every broadcast network in New York (2,4,5,7,9, & 11) as I write this. The reading of the names just ended and now they're playing taps.
All of us in this area have our own stories of where we and our friends and families were seven years ago, but here's a link to a story at Scarlet Knights Newzer about Mike Teel and his father on that day.

See you soon at the Stadium.
Go Knights!

The Scarlet beat the White 28 -14 in yesterday's game

Here's a short compilation of video clips and stills from yesterday's Scarlet-White game at the Stadium. The place looks empty because half of Rutgers Stadium was closed due to construction, but the seats that were open were pretty full; a record Spring game attendance of 14,501 was recorded, they ran out of free t-shirts and a great time was had by all.
Click on the video to see some shots of construction, the first play from scrimmage (Teel to Britt), Tom Savage taking his seat in the stands, Teddy Dellaganna's punting prowess, and people seeking autographs from Anthony Davis, Mike Teel, and the McCourty Brothers:

It's always great to spend the afternoon in Rutgers Stadium.
I can't wait until September 1st against Fresno State.

It's not the same game. Have you dug into the SI Vault yet?

I did a little browsing around in the newly-free Sports Illustrated Vault this afternoon looking for Rutgers football history, and one of the first things I found was this little paragraph from November 27, 1961 issue, when the undefeated Scarlet Knights were ranked by SI at number 3 in the East.

"Rutgers remained unbeaten, mostly because of defensive play by Quarterback Sam Mudie. While Colgate pushed the supposedly inviolable Scarlet Knights around scandalously, Mudie ran back intercepted passes 52 and 38 yards for touchdowns. He plunged a yard for another and passed 35 yards to End Bill Craft for a fourth as Rutgers won 26-6."

So why isn't Mike Teel out there intercepting passes and running them back for touchdowns?? Football in the Noughties is nothing like football in the early Sixties.
Have fun browsing around in sports history yourself.

Here's your Scarlet-White game invitation for April 19, 2008

This postcard was waiting for me when I got home tonight:

Click to enlarge.

Get there early to make sure that you pick up you free annual t-shirt (my shirt from last year is looking like it's going to need to be washed soon) and stay late to get your autographs after the game (see scarletknights.com for details and advance tickets).
See you on April 19th!

A Rutgers Record That Will Never Be Broken?

In the 2007 Season Notebook that appeared on ScarletKnights.com today, this nugget of information about the Knights' balanced offense appeared:

The 2007 Scarlet Knights are the first team in NCAA history to have a 3,000-yard passer, 2,000-yard rusher and a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in the same season.
Rutgers, 2007
Mike Teel (3,147 passer)
Ray Rice (2,012 rusher)
Kenny Britt (1,232 receiver)
Tiquan Underwood (1,100 receiver)

That sounds impressive enough, but I was thinking that there must have been at least one 3,000-yard passer / 2,000-yard rusher combo in the history of the NCAA, but no:

Only two other teams in NCAA history have had a 2,000-yard passer, 2,000-yard rusher and one 1,000-yard receiver.[emphasis added]

Oklahoma St., 1988
Mike Gundy [2,163 passer)
Barry Sanders [2,628 rusher)
Hart Lee Dykes [1,278 receiver]

Texas, 1998
Major Applewhite [2,453 passer]
Ricky Williams [2,124 rusher]
Wane McGarity [1,087 receiver]

It's interesting to see that it's a once-a-decade occurrence, usually with a star running back leading the way. Here's hoping that the Teel/Britt/Underwood airshow can keep defenses honest and open some running lanes for Kordell Young and Mason Robinson (and others) in 2008.

The Wolverines interested in Greg Schiano?

Here's a story from this morning's Detroit Free Press about the University of Michigan's possible interest in Greg Schiano for Lloyd Carr's old job. Greg says he hasn't spoken to anyone yet and Mike Teel is quoted as saying:

"This has happened once before and he was straight up with us and told us how he felt, what he wanted, and we're pretty sure none of that has changed. There's no reason for us to concern ourselves with that."

But last year the offer was from the "University" of Miami (in Florida, not Ohio) and I can understand the refusal, if for the ugly candy-colored uniforms alone, but this is the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and I could understand if Greg were tempted this time if the offer actually comes to coach in The Big House.

Rutgers vs. Pittsburgh (the 2005 version) was a turning point

Click Here for a great recap by Aditi Kinkhabwala of the last meeting between the Panthers and the Scarlet Knights at R House on Friday, September 30, 2005.

The win marked the first time Rutgers (3-1, 1-0) won its league opener in 11 years. It was the first time the Scarlet Knights took out Pitt (1-4, 0-1) in seven years, the first time they've won three games in a row in 13 years and the first time they refused to allow the old trappings of Rutgers football to wholly trap them.

For those of us who were there that night, it certainly seemed, along with the Michigan State game the year before, like a turning point for our Knights. And as with the Michigan State game the year before, we saw the lucky banner unfurled in the stands:

The biggest fan-made sign across from Pitt's bench read "Beat Visitor" . . .

Her article also reminds us how many young players who are still on the team made important contributions in that pivotal victory. Tiquan Underwood played quarterback for a number of snaps, switching places with Ryan Hart at the last minute (Ryan took Tiquan's place at wide receiver) and running a Jabu Lovelace-type shotgun offense that caught the Pitt defense (and many of us in the stands) totally off guard. Glen Lee made a memorable fumble-inducing hit on an early kickoff. Jeremy Ito kicked three field goals. "Mike Teel of Oakland" moved the team from the RU 9 to the Pitt 46 on one series. And, it isn't mentioned in her article but a kid named Ray Rice carried 15 times for 114 yards, his first hundred-yard game of many.

This Week's Injury Report

According to all my sources, Mike Teel's thumb is hurting. Badly. He can play Saturday, and probably will play Saturday, but if it gets any worse, expect him to miss some time at some point. In the event of a blowout in either direction, expect Jabu to come in fairly early to give Mike some time to think about the next interception he's gonna throw. He is getting less reps in practice, as is Offensive lineman Jeremy Zuttah, who has an undisclosed injury. Ron Girault, who was in uniform but did not play against West Virginia, WILL play against UCONN, this according to a source close to the team.

In the good news department, though he will miss the rest of the season and post season, Kordell Young is off crutches and will begin running again soon, according to one of his teammates.

Huck the Fuskies.

The Answer Was Blowing in the Wind

Greg Schiano talks with freshman Mason Robinson (24)
on the big screen after a 4th quarter kick return.

Before the game, as my son and I played catch in the parking area, it was clear that the wind would be a factor inside Rutgers Stadium. Stiff swirling breezes made it an ugly kicking and punting day for Jeremy Ito all day long, and in the first quarter when Mike Teel was passing into the wind the Knights only managed to score 3 points. That changed quickly -- with the first two long passes of the second quarter leading to the first two touchdowns of the 42-point second quarter -- once the wind was at Teel's back.

The only other highlight worth mentioning is the fact that Norfolk State's marching (& dancing) band, like Howard's band last season, was worth the price of admission to the Stadium. They brought down the house, and brought the crowd to its feet. Their marching band trounced the Marching Scarlet Knights, "The Pride of New Jersey," as badly as the Football Scarlet Knights trounced the Football Spartans on that same field before and after halftime.

Of the streaks mentioned in the last entry, all but one are still alive. 16 will be the number of weeks that the Knights will be ranked, 10 is the current home winning streak, 6 is the number of games scoring 30+ points, 6 is the number of games without a sack of Mike Teel, 4 is the number of straight Homecoming Day victories, but Ray Rice's current streak of 100-yard games ended at 5 when he (like many of the starters) didn't come back for the second half. He "only" ran for 72 yards on 12 carries (with 3 touchdowns) in his first half action.

"I wasn't yelling Boo, I was yelling JA-bu!"

The heading of this article shouldn't need any explanation for anyone who witnessed one of Mike Teel's less impressive passing performances at the Stadium during his first two years wearing Scarlet. Despite his stellar performance in Rutgers' most recent game (see illustration and click to enlarge & read the front page), there may be days in his last two years on the banks of the Raritan when some of us in the stands may again express a momentary preference to see Jabu Lovelace under center.

There's a great piece by Joe Queenan on the Op-Ed page of this morning's New York Times entitled Life in the Mean Seats; it has nothing to do with Mike Teel or Jabu Lovelace, but a lot to say about the joys of booing and the fact that Washington state is considering a ban on booing (offensive chants, homemade signs, and more) at scholastic sporting events. And if this takes off on the high school level, what's next? The RU student section won't be able to yell "SUCKS!" after each opposing student-athlete's name is announced over the PA?

...it is clear that the movement is fast infiltrating the zeitgeist. First, no booing high school teams. Then no booing the Fighting Irish. Before you know it, Mets fans will be getting ejected from their own stadium for booing the Yankees. And if Mets fans can’t boo the despicable Yankees, why go on living?

Personally, I'm not a big fan of booing amateur players (I prefer making my point with sarcastic cheering and enthusiastic applause for their dropped passes and missed extra points), but well-paid opposing coaches and anyone in a striped shirt who makes an unfavorable holding call needs to be prepared for the inevitable chorus of boos and worse (and, being, like Joe Queenan, a fellow native of the City of Brotherly Love, I'd like to ask that they please keep Santa Claus out of R house; I might not be able to control myself).

(And the Rutgers Women play #1 Duke in less than an hour in their Sweet Sixteen game. If they win, will they be on their way to becoming the first Rutgers team to win an NCAA Championship?)