The Big Question Answered. There will be a cannon and a horse at R House in 2009!

Here's a short video clip of the cannon firing from its temporary position in the south endzone construction site last September 1st after a San San Te P.A.T. at the Fresno State game (and I challenge you to say san-san-tay-pee-ay-tee five times fast!).

Click here for the word from Tim Pernetti that there will be a cannon somewhere in the Stadium this September when the bowl is closed and the folks in Revolutionary garb can no longer light the fuse on the top of the green shady knoll.

"Having played in that old-old stadium, I know how important the cannon of all things is. And the horse was kind of brought into that scene with (coach)Doug Graber when I played for him." -- Tim Pernetti

Vote Early and Often

Don't ask me why ESPN formed a natural grouping of Delaware and New Jersey, but you can vote in this SportsNation POLL today for the best DE/NJ football team, coach, player, and give your opinion on when you think the Scarlet Knights will make it to a BCS bowl game.

The Quote of the Day

"Having Joe Paterno endorse Rutgers as the 12th member of the Big Ten is akin to having Noah support you for a spot on the Ark."

--Steve Politi, Star-Ledger Sports Columnist, 29 May 2009

Scarlet Knights in the Big Ten in 2010??

Is this story from this morning's Smoking Musket about Rutgers moving from the Big East to the Big Ten (soon to be twelve) appearing anywhere else on the internet??

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UPDATE 5/28/09: Of course it became obvious immediately after my post yesterday that this "story" from a West Virginia blog was not true when it was not appearing anywhere else on the web (except here at Beat Visitor and some WVU blogs that picked it up from the Smoky Muskrat). But there is good reason to believe a headline that reads, "Rutgers University to Leave Big East, Join Big Ten Conference," especially when we see that Joe Paterno is in the news around the nation again today calling for a twelfth team in the Big "Ten":

"If I had my choice, someone that can give us the biggest TV exposure in the East," Paterno said, offering as possibilities "Syracuse, Pitt, Rutgers. Not in that order." [emphasis added]

I don't think there's any doubt that he exactly reversed the order of his personal preference.
And I don't think that Tim Pernetti and Rutgers should hesitate for one second if the offer is made!

The South Endzone at R House Continues on Schedule

Here's some fiscal stimulus you've got to love (unless you're one of those Knights Who Say Nay).

Click here to go to the Rutgers Stadium Expansion page, scroll down to the "Construction Photo Gallery" and you can see the full May 20th slide show (or any one of the earlier slide shows).

Compare today's picture from the screenshot I posted on April 8th and it seems clear that we'll be looking out at seats filled with new season ticket holders in the South Endzone in 108 days!

But does anyone know where they're going to put the cannon??

Here's a Series I Can Get Excited About!

CLICK HERE for more details about "Rutgers football in negotiations with UCLA for home-and-home series".

I really hope this comes to be. Not only will a series with the Bruins at Rutgers Stadium and the Rose Bowl be a big step in the Scarlet Knights' continuing rise in national prominence, but I have a personal reason to see this come to pass. Both my parents have connections to UCLA and the first college football games I ever attended in the 1960's were Bruins games when they were playing in the Coliseum and fighting for dominance of the city of Los Angeles, the state of California, and sometimes the nation, with USC.

Thanks to Tim Pernetti for all his early efforts to push Rutgers football schedule to the next level.

The Scarlet beat the White 31-3 on Saturday (here's the video to hold you until Labor Day)

Here are some film clips and photos from Saturday afternoon's 2009 Scarlet-White Game at Rutgers Stadium in beautiful Piscataway.
Once again, it was beautiful weather for the Spring game -- you didn't need to wear anything more than your free scarlet t-shirt. The Scarlet beat the White 31-3 after we watched the Rutgers Lacrosse team fall to Penn State by a score of 9-4 in the 11:30am opener (which explains the yellow lines you may notice on the field).
This video features film clips and shots of quarterbacks Domenic Natale and D.C. Jefferson, wide receiver Tim Brown, kicker San San Te, running back Joe Martinek, the ongoing stadium construction, the on-field postgame autograph session, and more. The background music -- variations on our Alma Mater "On the Banks of the Old Raritan" -- was recorded specifically for this three-minute video. The guitar was played by R. Mumma, but if you want to play along at home the bass and drums are courtesy of a Fender G-Dec Junior (ballad setting in the key of A).
See you at the next game at R House on Labor Day versus Cincinnati!

The 2009 Rutgers Football Schedule Has Been Finalized (TBA is now TSU)

Exactly like last year, it took until April 16th to finalize this fall's lineup of fall guys, and here they are (games at R House are in Red):

Mon September 7 vs. CINCINNATI

Sat September 12 vs. HOWARD
Sat September 19 vs. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL
Sat September 26 AT Maryland
Sat October 3 vs. TEXAS SOUTHERN
Fri October 16 vs. PITTSBURGH
Fri October 23 AT Army
Sat October 31 AT Connecticut
Thu November 12 vs. USF
Sat November 21 AT Syracuse
Fri November 27 AT Louisville
Sat December 5 vs. WEST VIRGINIA

You can read more details about the addition of Texas Southern to the schedule by clicking here on today's news release at ScarletKnights.com. More exciting than the late addition of Football Championship Subdivision Texas Southern to this year's schedule, the news release also contains details about upcoming dates with Penn State, Miami, and Tulane in the second decade of the 21st Century.

You can get more information about the TSU Tigers by clicking here.

The End Zone Is Taking Shape at R House

Click here to go to the Rutgers Stadium Expansion page, scroll down to the "Construction Photo Gallery" and you can see a new April 8th slide show (or any one of the earlier slide shows).

We'll be looking out at more than a hole in the ground at this year's Scarlet--White Game.

Kenny Britt Is Meeting With the Jets & Giants

Here are some details: http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2009/04/former_rutgers_wr_kenny_britt.html

How great would it be to see Kenny move up the Turnpike to continue his career with one of New Jersey's two pro franchises? To move from high school in Bayonne to college in New Brunswick to the pros in East Rutherford? As we asked a few months ago, who needs Plaxico (or T.O. or Ocho Cinco or any of the other interchangable preening professional prima donnas) when you can get Kenny Britt?

The 2009 Scarlet & White Game tickets are on sale -- with a special bonus this year

In addition to the free t-shirt with your $5 ticket (and your poster, and your hour on the field after the game getting that poster signed by the players), on April 18th of this year you will also get to see a real Rutgers game as the lacrosse team plays the Penn State Nittany Lions before the Scarlet play the White.

Here's the scene from last year via YouTube:

Here's your link for tickets.

See you there! A fan of the Scarlet Knights can never have too many red t-shirts.

The 2009 Rutgers Football Schedule is (almost) Set

With some eerie echoes of last year, there's still one TBA on the calendar, and there's still a date with Howard on the calendar, so I'm taking all of the non-conference schedule with a grain or two of salt until it's absolutely final, but here's the list of games that appeared on ScarletKnights.com earlier today:

Sat., Sept. 5th (or 6th or 7th) - Cincinnati

Sat., Sept. 12th - Howard

Sat., Sept. 19th - Florida International

Sat., Sept. 26th at Maryland

Sat., Oct. 10th - TBA

Fri., Oct. 16th (8pm) - Pittsburgh

Fri., Oct. 23rd at Army

Sat., Oct. 31st at Connecticut

Thurs., Nov. 12th (7:30pm) - USF

Sat., Nov. 21st at Syracuse

Sat., Nov. 28th at Louisville

Sat., Dec. 5th West Virginia

That last game of the season against the Mountaineers is going to be broadcast on "ABC/ESPN/ESPN2". It would be great if that game has meaning. But even if it doesn't, it always feels like the start of something new when the fall schedule is first announced.