Was 2006 a Fluke for Rutgers in Football?

On August 30^th against the University of Buffalo, the Scarlet Knights from the University of New Jersey also known as Rutgers will begin their quest to prove that the 11-2 season of a year ago was no fluke. After flirting with returning to take the helm at the University of Miami, Rutgers grad Greg Schiano decided to stay home and continue to build the Scarlet Knights program. After nearly a half century of mediocrity, the Rutgers football team shocked the world by finishing in the top fifteen in the nation. But can the magic of 2006 be duplicated in Piscataway, NJ?

With Big East juggernaut Louisville taking a hit when its coach, Bobby Petrino took the head job at the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, Rutgers and West Virginia will be competing for top honors if Rutgers and Coach Schiano can prove they can win the games they are supposed to and win a few of the ones they are not. In a surprising twist, the Rutgers team won Saturday after Saturday last year before falling late in the season to its Big East rival. But the bitterness of that defeat may serve as a catalyst for this band of Scarlet Knights who will look to avenge their two defeats at the end of the season proving that the Rutgers program is not only on the rise but here to stay.

But there are some questions that Coach Schiano must answer before the football world mentions this team in the same breath as West Virginia and Louisville. Namely, they have to beat one of those two teams. With Pittsburgh and South Florida getting better, the road may get a little bit tougher in the Big East for the Scarlet Knights but with only the Louisville game on the road of the four Rutgers could finish with an even more impressive record in 2007 than they did last year.

The major question is can the Scarlet Knights stay healthy? This spring, twenty one players were held out of the team's spring game which was attended by almost 12,000 fans. Some of these guys were already hurting or healing while others were held out to avoid getting injured. Big play running back Ray Rice who rushed for over 1,700 yards last year had a minor bone chip surgery performed during the spring with hopes that dealing with the issue now will avoid any recurrence once the season starts in the fall. Along with Rice, star defensive tackle Eric Foster who was named to the watch list for the 2007 Lott Trophy given to the nation's top lineman was held out as well. If Rutgers can avoid injuries their schedule is favorable enough to help them earn a New Years Day bowl.

The biggest improvement may come from the Rutgers starting quarterback Mike Teel. A liability early in the season when Ray Rice was so heavily depended upon to carry the workload, Mike Teel improved over the course of the season and began to make big plays in his own right when the offense needed it most. Along with Teel and Rice, the Rutgers offense should be explosive with a number of speed guys on the outside.

On the defensive side of the football, Greg Schiano's brand of aggressive, speed defense will be well served with Foster and other members of the defense getting healthy and playing to their potential. In a Big East Conference with only Louisville playing a high speed brand of football, the hard-hitting, hard-charging style of defense favored by Schiano will keep the fans at Rutgers Stadium on the feet waiting for a big turnover or stop like they experienced so many times last season.

The greatest asset for the Rutgers team may very well have little to do with speed, tempo, or the game at all. Maturity and experience may be the biggest strengths of this team over last year's squad. With most of the team either freshmen or sophomore's who were asked to play a lot of downs; this year's squad will be poised to raise the standard and their game from having been in tough environments and games before. In a Big East Conference that should be Rutgers's championship to lose, do no be surprised if you see the Scarlet Knights in the BCS Bowl Championship Series as the representative of the Big East Conference.

If they play up to their potential and the potential of their coach Greg Schiano, the Rutgers football team will prove that not only was 2006 not a fluke but it was the first of many, many great seasons for the State University of New Jersey, also known as Rutgers U.