Rutgers, Yes Rutgers, is Ranked in the AP Poll

[ISiddiqui]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/ncaa/09/24/bc.fbc.t25.collegefbpol.ap/index.html

For the first time since 1976 my alma mater is ranked (even though we haven't played anyone really). Though we may not be next week. I really thought that I'd never see Rutgers ranked. I'm still in a bit of shock.

[Logan]

It's a beautiful thing. Now if only we had a quarterback.

[tdydynasty]

Rutgers got some tough games with South Florida on the road Friday, Navy on the road and Pittsburgh on the road for their next three games. If they go 2-1 it will be a good road trip. Connecticut at home is a must win, Louisville will be tough to beat even at home, They wrap up at Cincinnati (must win), home to Syracuse (must win) and at West Virginia. If they go 8-4 and another bowl game will be an acheivement.

[ISiddiqui]

Rutgers got some tough games with South Florida on the road Friday, Navy on the road and Pittsburgh on the road for their next three games. If they go 2-1 it will be a good road trip. Connecticut at home is a must win, Louisville will be tough to beat even at home, They wrap up at Cincinnati (must win), home to Syracuse (must win) and at West Virginia. If they go 8-4 and another bowl game will be an acheivement.

Agreed. I think Louville and WVU are miracles to win. That's 2 losses there. South Florida on the road will be tough. As may Pittsburgh on the road. They may lose both.

[General Mike]

Agreed. I think Louville and WVU are miracles to win. That's 2 losses there. South Florida on the road will be tough. As may Pittsburgh on the road. They may lose both.

They may win both. USF is lucky to have won any of their games this year, and they lost to Kansas. Pitt is decent, but Wanndstadt coaches them. :D

[Dekanth]

Rutgers: The only winning team we have beat this decade is Navy!

[CraigSca]

Congrats, Rutgers!

[ISiddiqui]

TUSF is lucky to have won any of their games this year, and they lost to Kansas.

Perhaps, but USF wasn't that good last year and managed to beat Rutgers down at Rutgers.

[Logan]

Perhaps, but USF wasn't that good last year and managed to beat Rutgers down at Rutgers.

They were a much different team last year. Andre Hall was probably the most underrated RB in the nation.

[st.cronin]

I think they finish their regular season 10-2.

[cthomer5000]

Rutgers got some tough games with South Florida on the road Friday, Navy on the road and Pittsburgh on the road for their next three games. If they go 2-1 it will be a good road trip. Connecticut at home is a must win, Louisville will be tough to beat even at home, They wrap up at Cincinnati (must win), home to Syracuse (must win) and at West Virginia. If they go 8-4 and another bowl game will be an acheivement.

I think 4-4 in conference play would be a mild disappointment really. My adjusted expectations are

10-2 is best possible record (I view Louisville and WVU as unwinnable)
9-3 is "good"
8-4 is acceptable
7-5 or lower is borderline disaster, since it means 3-5 or worse in a pretty weak conference.

I'm still quite concerned about the QB situation. Teel is no Ryan Hart... and I can't believe I'm saying that because Ryan Hart wasn't much to get excited about.

[ISiddiqui]

They were a much different team last year. Andre Hall was probably the most underrated RB in the nation.

Yeah, but as cthomer points out, Rutgers were a much different team last year in that they could actually pass once in a while ;). I'm hopeful Rice can run it down their throats, but we'll see.

[timmynausea]

USF has a lot of speed and talent on defense, but they haven't really gotten anything going on offense. I think they will give Rutgers trouble, but as long as Teel makes good decisions, Rutgers should be ok.

[Logan]

I think 4-4 in conference play would be a mild disappointment really. My adjusted expectations are

10-2 is best possible record (I view Louisville and WVU as unwinnable)
9-3 is "good"
8-4 is acceptable
7-5 or lower is borderline disaster, since it means 3-5 or worse in a pretty weak conference.

I'm still quite concerned about the QB situation. Teel is no Ryan Hart... and I can't believe I'm saying that because Ryan Hart wasn't much to get excited about.

Right on. Only difference is I'm not set on Louisville being completely unwinnable at this point. I think we'll be a big dog, but I think the combination of the team playing well, ESPN game, crazed crowd, last year's game, etc will keep us in it and competitive. And once it becomes tight in the 4th, anything can happen. I know it's not likely, but I'm still dying for the signature win.

[Swaggs]

I've been real impressed with the progression of Rutgers over the past few seasons. I think the fact that they stuck with Schiano and let him make it into his program is really going to pay off for them. I see them, even know, turning into a Boston College-type of program that plays good, strong, physical football.

Their next step will be when/if they can find an exceptional quarterback that can win games for them, rather than just managing the game.

[Logan]

I've been real impressed with the progression of Rutgers over the past few seasons. I think the fact that they stuck with Schiano and let him make it into his program is really going to pay off for them. I see them, even know, turning into a Boston College-type of program that plays good, strong, physical football.

Their next step will be when/if they can find an exceptional quarterback that can win games for them, rather than just managing the game.

We may have him in the program already. Dom Natale transferred in from Michigan State and will be eligible next season. I believe he was the 9th ranked QB in the country coming out of school, but I could be off. Right now, I'm hoping he's learning the system well so he could contend for the spot next year, with 3 years of eligibility left.

Since I haven't seen him, I don't know if he's the stud QB we need. But I just don't get the impression that Teel is (or will be) the guy, so it can't hurt to have other options. One of the great things about Schiano is that he will always play the best player.

[ISiddiqui]

Wait... if Natale was the 9th ranked QB coming out of high school, why did he leave Michigan State? They get a better prospect?

[st.cronin]

Wait... if Natale was the 9th ranked QB coming out of high school, why did he leave Michigan State? They get a better prospect?

It's obvious that he wanted to go to a winning program.

[DeToxRox]

Wait... if Natale was the 9th ranked QB coming out of high school, why did he leave Michigan State? They get a better prospect?

Have you seen Michigan State play?

They're juggernauts most of September .. Then they decide they've had enough. If it weren't for Stanton that team would honestly have averaged 3 wins since he took over.

[ISiddiqui]

Michigan State is a much bigger "name" in college football though. And play in a bigger conference.

[DeToxRox]

Michigan State is a much bigger "name" in college football though. And play in a bigger conference.

Yeah but come on. Look at the program, it's a sinking ship. Every year they disappoint. Sooner or later it bites you in the ass. I mean it happened to PSU and Miami. Why wouldn't it happen to MSU?

[ISiddiqui]

::shrug:: I don't see many people who were thinking about MSU deciding to pack it in and go for Rutgers instead. In addition, if you were so highly rated, I'd imagine you could go to a bigger program. Unless Natale is from New Jersey, it's kind of wierd to me. Rutgers NEVER gets highly touted players transfer from another school.

[Eaglesfan27]

Maybe he realized that Rutgers is a program on the ascent and that QB was a big need.

[timmynausea]

Natale is from Princeton, New Jersey. He was Rivals' ninth ranked Pro-Style quarterback of the class that signed in Feb. 2005. Despite that, they only rated him a 3 star prospect (out of 5). Maybe it wasn't a deep class for Pro-Style QBs? Scout rated him as the 44th best QB of the class. (They don't seperate pro and running QBs like Rivals does.)

In any case, he reportedly had offers from Louisville, Maryland and Missouri among others before committing pretty early (August) to Michigan State. LSU was also recruting him.

[timmynausea]

Here is what I found regarding why he left MSU, from an article on Scout:

Natale apparently saw no chance to ever become the starting quarterback at Michigan State and decided to cut his losses after the end of spring practice.

The Warren, New Jersey area QB was highly regarded upon signing with the Spartans but failed to make an expected move ahead of backup Brian Hoyer in spring drills. In fact, offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin said after a spring scrimmage "we were kind of 'swimming' with Domenic Natale a little bit," referring to Natale's erratic play.

With highly touted Lowell, MI HS quarterback Keith Nichol headed to East Lansing and Hoyer ready to fill the void for a season, Natale wasn't going to get much playing time even as a backup.

[Butter]

If Rutgers, Georgia Tech, and Missouri are ranked, college football parity has really gone too far, because those 3 teams are barely top 50 from what I've seen of them this year.

It seems like every team has a fatal flaw that can be exposed, and no team is safe from being made to look bad.

[cthomer5000]

If Rutgers, Georgia Tech, and Missouri are ranked, college football parity has really gone too far, because those 3 teams are barely top 50 from what I've seen of them this year.

It seems like every team has a fatal flaw that can be exposed, and no team is safe from being made to look bad.

I can tell you for a fact that our weakness is QB. If/when we are absolutely forced to throw, I think it's going to be bad times.

[ISiddiqui]

Ah, Natale is from Jersey... and I guess isn't that highly rated. That explains it. Let's face it, even if Rutgers is on the ascent, it'll take more than a few good seasons (or, I guess, it could take one REALLY good season) to break the reputation Rutgers has.

[Bee]

I'm not a Rutgers fan, but I thought this was a great photo.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0610/cfb.top25.week7/content.2.html

[ISiddiqui]

16th in the BCS! And the computers have Rutgers rated 9th... above Louisville and WVU... which goes to show how bad the computers are ;).

[cthomer5000]

enjoying every minute, knowing full-well this may end up being the best season they have for another 30.

[Dutch]

Holy Crap, and to think, Shaun "The Solution" Duncan (http://www.fof-ihof.com/player/player.php?playerid=7349)is just a freshman. I bet they'll win the national championship by the time its all said and done.

[General Mike]

Rutgers picks up a huge commitment from OLB Manny Abreu (Union Hill HS, Union City, NJ)

Manny is rated the #4 OLB in the country by ESPN.com, the #9 LB in the country by scout.com and the #11 OLB by Rivals.com

[Logan]

Schiano's biggest in-season recruit to date. Huge, huge get is right. Had offers from Florida, Florida State, Michigan, and BC.

[sabotai]

14th in the BCS.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/poll?poll=BCS

[ISiddiqui]

And 16th in both polls (AP and Coaches) :D.

[General Mike]

Destiny's Darlings.

[Kodos]

Someone should do a dynasty report featuring Rutgers... ;)

[Captain2711]

If only this song had a video, too. Go RU.

http://www.myspace.com/cobblestonerecords