Lets face facts:
B1G Schools:
- Have struggled vs Alabama
- Have struggled vs USC
- have struggled in bowl games
- Needed a BS call in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl to win their only national championship in the last 15 yrs
- have gotten SMOKED numerous times in the National Championship Game (Florida, LSU among others)
- Don't have a very good BCS bowl track record
This is where Rutgers comes in. Rutgers will help the the B1G better compete against SEC powers as well as USC, which is why I think that we will ultimately be the B1G Flagship. Lets go over the reasons why:
Fertile Recruiting Area
There is more talent within 3 hours of Rutgers than within 3 hours of any B1G school, which is why many of them recruit nationally. For example, Of all 24 players in Ohio States recruiting class, 10 of them were from Ohio. Of Rutgers 22 players in our recruiting class, 16 of them were from NJ or the surrounding states.
Larger Media Presence than any other B1G School
When we beat PSU, we'll get the back pages of the NYC dailies. When we beat OSU, we'll get the front pages of the NYC dailies. And one day, when we win it all, we'll get the FRONT and BACK pages of the NYC dailies.
We are well positioned to be the BIGGEST college football story of 2014
Just look at the media coverage we received this year over our basketball and AD issues. We win B1G in football, and we will soon be the YANKEES of college football.
Rutgers had more NFL draft picks in 2012 than any B1G school
This shows that we are doing a good job of developing our talent to be NFL ready, and is the culmination of 13 years of doing things the right way.
Better talent and Depth than any B1G School
I get EXCITED every time I project our 2014 lineup:
LT - Keith Lumpkin (rs jr) 6-8, 310 lbs, Ryan Brodie (rs so), Jorge Vicioso (sr)
LG - Marquis Wright (rs jr), 6-3, 285 lbs, Dorian Miller (rs fr), Hugh Ahern (sr)
C - Betim Bujari (sr), 6-4 290 lbs, Derek Nelson (rs so), Brandon Arcidiacono (rs so)
RG - Kaleb Johnson (sr), 6-4 300 lbs, Taj Alexander (sr), JJ Denman (rs so), Chris Fonti (sr)
RT - Chris Muller (rs so), 6-6 315 lbs, Bryan Leoni (sr)
WR - Miles Shuler (sr),5-10 175 lbs, Ruhann Peele (rs so), Andre Patton (rs fr), David Njoku (fr)
WR - Brandon Coleman (sr)**, 6-6 220 lbs, Leonte Carroo (jr), Carlton Agudosi (rs so), TJ Taylor (rs fr), John Tsmis (rs fr)
TE - Tyler Kroft (jr),6-6 235 lbs, Taylor Marini (rs fr), Nick Arcidiacono (rs fr)
QB - Gary Nova (sr), 6-2, 225 lbs, Blake Rankin (rs so), Chris Laviano (rs fr), Tyler Wiegers (fr)
FB - Michael Burton (sr),6-0 230 lbs, Sam Bergen (sr), Kevin Marquez (rs so), Jacob Kraut (fr)
RB - Savon Huggins (sr), 6-0 200 lbs, Desmond Peoples (rs so), Dontea Ayres (so), Joshua Hicks (fr)
Defense
DE - Max Issaka, (rs jr),6-3, 255 lbs , Myles Jackson (rs jr), Kemeko Turay (rs fr) or Eric Wiafe (rs fr)
DT - Darius Hamilton (jr), 6-4 260 lbs, Josh Klecko (rs fr), Djwany Mera (rs jr), Sebastian Joseph (rs fr)
DT - Ken Kirksey (sr), 6-1 280 lbs, Al Page (rs jr), Jamil Pollard (rs so), Daryl Stephenson (rs jr), Pete Mokwuah (fr)
DE - Julian Pinnix-Odrick (rs so), 6-5 250 lbs, David Milewski (sr), Quanzell Lambert (rs so),
WLB - Kevin Snyder (sr),6-3 225 lbs, Nick Internicola (rs fr), Sidney Gopre (fr),
MLB - Steve Longa (rs so), 6-1 220 lbs, Devan Carter (rs fr)
SLB - Quinton Gause (rs jr),6-1 220 lbs, Lester Liston (so), Justin Nelson (rs fr)
CB - Ian Thomas (rs so),6-1 200, Gareef Glashen (sr),
CB - Nadir Barnwell (so),5-11 190, Johnathan Aiken (sr), Deion Stephenson (rs so)
SS - Lorenzo Waters (sr),6-0, 200, Davon Jacobs (rs so), Saquan Hampton (fr)
FS - Tejay Johnson (sr), 6-2 190, Bryan Gross-Armiento (rs fr), Sheldon Royster (sr), Jevon Tyree (rs so),
**-denotes that player may declare for draft after 2013 season
Note that:
- On offense 8 of 11 starter are projected to be juniors or seniors
- On defense 7 of 11 starters are projected to be juniors or seniors
- 11 of 11 projected defensive second string players will have been with the program more than a year
- 9 of 11 second stringers on offense will have been with the program at least two years
- there are projected to be zero true freshmen on the two deep
- This is the kind of lineup that coud BEAT USC, Alabama, and other SEC schools
- We'll be more loaded than Fort Knox in 2014
Now lets contrast our lineup with the best of the B1G, Ohio States possible 2014 lineup. The source is Phil Steeles college football preview, and wherever someone was graduating after the 2013 season, I simply took the player listed next in his depth chart.
Offense
QB - Braxton Miller, 6-2, 215 lbs
RB - Rod Smith*, 6-3, 238 lbs
Slot - Jordan Hall*, 5-8, 194 lbs
WR - Cory Smith*,
WR - Devin Smith, 6-1, 198 lbs
TE - Jeff Heurman 6-6, 250 lbs
C - Jacoby Boren*, 6-2, 287 lbs
RG - Tommy Brown*, 6-4, 310 lbs
LG - Antonio Underwood*, 6-3, 301 lbs
RT - Taylor Decker, 6-7, 315 lbs
LT - Kyle Dodson*, 6-6, 324 lbs
Defense
DE - Adolphus Washington, 6-3, 292 lbs
DT - Michael Bennett, 6-3, 285 lbs
NT - Tommy Schutt, 6-2, 303 lbs
LEO - Noah Spence, 6-3, 247 lbs
WLB - Ryan Shazier, 6-2, 222 lbs
MLB - Curtis Grant, 6-3, 241 lbs
SLB - Joshua Perry, 6-4, 243 lbs
CB - Doran Grant, 5-11, 191 lbs
CB - Bradley Roby, 5-11, 192 lbs
SS - Devan Bogard, 6-0, 192 lbs
FS - Tyvis Powell, 6-3, 201 lbs
*-Denotes New Starter
Note that:
- 4/5 of Ohio States starting Offensive Line will be all new
- Braxton Miller threw for around 1500 fewer passing yards LY than Gary Nova
- Not much of a size difference between Rutgers and OSUs players
- Rutgers talent appears to be better than OSUs, with differences most prominent at QB, WR, and RB.
Rutgers Balanced Offense
Last year, Gary Nova had 2,695 passing yards and Rutgers had 1,578 rushing yards.In contrast, B1G schools beat one another up in conference, running the ball, but they struggle in out of conference games, evidenced by their weak BCS bowl record, partly because they lack effective passing attacks. Below are the National Rankings of B1G passing attacks, of ur 2014 opponents.
2012 Season B1G Passing Attack Rankings for Rutgers 2014 opponents
17 - Indiana
35 - Penn State
85 - Michigan State
88 - Nebraska
94 - Michigan
100 - Maryland
101 - Ohio State
111 - Wisconsin
USC has been very successful against B1G Schools, sporting a 67-26-2 record
USCs previous success against the B1G is predictive of how Rutgers will fair against the B1G, because the programs are very similar in that we:
- favor a balanced pro - style offense
- feature a superfast defense
- play faster and have superior overall team speed when compared with B1G schools
- we play a sanctions effected PSU after a tuneup against Howard, which is why we are going to SMOKE them
- we play Tulane after playing Navy
- we can get ready for OSU during a bye week
- we only have one set of road games back-back
-Nebraska and Wisconsin will have to replace around 11 senior starters in 2014
- MSU will have to replace 9 senior starters
After our successful 2014 season, I expect Rutgers to CLEAN UP recruiting wise, each and every year, making the rest history, and solidifying Rutgers as the B1G FLAGSHIP.
Rutgers Stadium
Rutgers Stadium is going to be an ABSOLUTE ZOO for B1G games, because games will no longer be just football games, they will be EVENTS. All the Rutgers LOONEYS will come out for these events and Rutgers Stadium will have an electric atmosphere that will be like Louisville x 2. Rutgers stadium will be LOUDER and MORE INTENSE than any environment our B1G friends are used to. With 42K fans, the Louisville atmosphere was RIDICULOUS. With 53K fans, the atmosphere is going to be OUT OF THIS WORLD, especially with the CLOSED endzone.
2014 Schedule will allow Rutgers to get off to a fast start
After further inspection, the schedule is not quite as daunting as it first appeared:
Sat. Sept 6 - Howard
Sat. Sept 13 - PSU
Sat Sept 20 - Navy
Sat Sept 27 - Tulane
Sat Oct 4 - Michigan
Sat Oct 11 - Idle
Sat Oct 18 - at Ohio State
Sat Oct 25 - at Nebraska
Sat Nov 1 - Wisconsin
Sat Nov 8 - Indiana
Sat Nov 15 - Idle
Sat Nov 22 - at MSU
Sat Nov 29 - Maryland
