I'm Back!

Hey everybody I am sorry for keeping you all waiting for the past two weeks. I have been very busy with my AP classes and I have been very busy. Sorry once again though.

Life as a Devils fan has been tough the past few weeks. After being knocked out in an uninspiring 5 games to the Flyers, I now have to watch the Flyers come back from 3-0 and crush the Habs in game 1. There is still hope though. The Habs have lost both of the past game ones and Halak always plays better the next game after he is pulled. All I have to say is, somebody beat these guys already!

Anyways, I said a few weeks ago that I was going to do a Rutgers Scarlet Knights season preview, so here I go.

Rutgers football has improved dramatically under head coach Greg Schiano. Rutgers used to be one of the laughing stocks of college football. Nobody believed that a New Jersey school would ever be a factor in college football. However, under Schiano Rutgers has gone to 5 straight bowl games and won four of them. They were one catch away from a Big East title and a BCS bowl game bid in 2006, and rose to the top 10 that year too. They have had 3 NFL first round picks, and the embodiment of Rutgers football these past few years, Ray Rice, has proven to be a force as a starting running back for the Baltimore Ravens.

Now what does the future hold for Rutgers?

At Quarterback, Rutgers, I believe, has a future Heisman trophy candidate and possible winner in Tom Savage. After a fabulous freshman year, Savage returns as a true sophomore with the most experience of any quarterback in the Big East. A freshman All American by many different associations, I believe Savage is capable of being a first team Big East player this year and leading Rutgers to a successful season. However, a lack of depth at the position is a problem. Only Steve Shimko has any playing experience before and even that is very limited. Chas Dodd, the 3 star QB recruit out of South Carolina, is talented but it would be tough for him to have to play as a true freshman.

The wide receiver position became a position of weakness to a position of strength over the past year. Lead by Mohamed Sanu, also a freshman All American last year, the group consists of much improved players in Mark Harrison, Tim Wright, and Quron Pratt. This is definitely a group to look out for, even with the loss of all time leading receiver Tim Brown graduating.

The defensive line is probably the deepest and best position Rutgers has right now. The line is lead by a mixture of veterans and strong underclassmen, but also has a lot of depth

The rest of the defense is strong. Cornerback remains a position of strength, despite losing first round pick Devin Mccourty. Brandon Bing, a junior, is expected to start, but expect a lot of competition and depth coming from Billy Anderson, Brandon Jones, Logan Ryan, Abdul Smith, and Darrell Givens. At linebacker, Manny Abreu, Antonio Lowery, and the highly athletic Steve Beauharnais might form one of the best line backing corps in the conference. Joe Lefeged and Khaseem Greene seem to be the favorites at the safety positions.

I think overall, this is a very good but very young team. Lets look at the best and worst possible year for Rutgers

Best: Rutgers destroys Norfolk State in the season opener, and heads down to Florida International and takes an easy win home. They go back home to face top 25 ACC power UNC and pull of the upset. They take the momentum to next week and destroy Tulane. Against UConn, Rutgers shows its strength in the Big East season opener and rips UConn apart. Rutgers then takes another easy victory at home against Army. In possibly the biggest game of the season, and maybe biggest road game in school history, Rutgers pulls off the huge upset against top 25 and Big East favorite Pittsburgh. In the next game, Rutgers once again dominates South Florida. Rutgers gets revenge for last years horrible loss to Syracuse in a blowout. Rutgers than takes down defending Big East champs Cincinnati on the road in a stunning upset. Rutgers takes it to Louisville at home and continues their dominance against them. Rutgers then breaks with their struggles against West Virginia and finishes the regular season undefeated and with their first ever Big East championship. Rutgers barely misses the BCS Title Game, but ends up with a Rose Bowl bid against local rival Penn State. Rutgers pulls off yet another upset and takes a close one and begins to establish a new recruiting dominance in the area. Tom Savage and Mohamed Sanu

Worst: Rutgers takes a win against Norfolk State, but in the next week Rutgers barely escapes Florida International. Rutgers gets destroyed at home against the killer UNC defense and lose Tom Savage, and with Steve Shimko unable to perform his duties, freshman Chas Dodd is thrown into the starting position. They bounce back in a win against weak Tulane. They lose to UConn at home in a close one, but bounce back to beat Army, but once again close. They cannot compete against the much tougher Pitt, and then lose on the road to South Florida. Rutgers once again falls victim to the upset minded Syracuse, and then loses to defending Big East champions Cincinnati. They win their game against Louisville, but fall to West Virginia yet again. They fall to 5-7 and do not make a bowl game.

Most likely to happen: Rutgers wins its first two games, and the UNC game is a true tossup. They win against UConn and Army, but lose to Pitt. They beat South Florida and Syracuse, but fall to Cincinnati. They then bounce back to trounce Louisville, and I believe they are finally able to break the curse against WVU in a thriller at WVU.. They finish the season probably 9-3, maybe 8-4 depending on the UNC game. They finish third in the Big East and go to the Meineke Car Care Bowl and win against another ACC team. The young team develops and Mohamed Sanu and Tom Savage are named to first or second All- Big East teams and Rutgers continues to gain ground and become possible favorites to win the Big East next year.

Thanks for reading. My next post will be about the Devils offseason priorities and new ideas.

Seeya later!