After 4 weeks lets see where Rutgers players land statistically:

In Total QBR - Athan Kaliacmanis is #8 in the B1G and #39 nationally. That is really good considering that our previous QB's were always at the bottom of the conference in everything. Athan is #7 in the B1G in TD's and #13 in terms of yards. He also had 1 less game so these stats are really impressive. I think it's fair to say that we finally have a competent P5 level QB.

Even after a game that was modest by Monagai standards he's still 2nd in the B1G in rushing and 5th nationally. VT sold out on stopping the run and wanted to make Athan beat him and he did. There's no doubt in my mind that Gavin Wimsatt throws that screen 10 feet over Strong's head.

Dymere Miller is top 15 in the B1G in yards. He seems to be a competent P5 receiver and Athan's favorite target.

On PFF Holin Pierce and Needam are #2 and #3 ranked tackeles in the country! Kobe and Felter are ranked #2 and 4 nationally! Zilinkas is ranked #3 nationally. Our entire offensive line is ranked top 5 in the country !!!

Defensively Djabome and Rogers have PFF Grades of 85 which are extremely high.

Some of Schiano's coaching decisions yesterday were bad. I think he needs to learn how to finish out a game. However, I don't care if we win by 30 or 3 as long as we win. The turnaround he has done with this team is nothing short of remarkable. It's not like he brought in a bunch of 4-star players. We do have some good younger guys but the upper classmen playing now were not highly recruited guys. Virginia Tech is not some garbage team. To beat them on the road is incredible.

Hello all and "welcome back!" You know the deal: Be there, be loud, be proud, and don't act like the animals who attend parties for other schools at other spots in town. THANK YOU!! Oh and don't forget to TIP your bartenders!!!


- $2 OFF BIG BEERS, SPRITZ'S, MIXED & FROZEN DRINKS
- $5 OFF Buckets
- $2 OFF Brunch Cocktails until3PM
- $5 High Lifes

They are out early this week.
According to them,the only game that really isn't winnable is USC.
Of the rest of them,only Nebraska is considered somewhat difficult.
Is a 6-1 RU team sufficient for FOX to consider moving up the game time?

No shortage of story lines for the Washington game. Hanover Park HS’s tennis player Jedd Fisch, Rutgers lacrosse and long snapper Steve Belichick, and Washington’s patchwork, transfer rich-roster, which has to drive the University of Washington’s Admissions Dept. nuts. Players from Arizona (6), Ohio State, Oklahoma, Michigan (2), Oregon, Colorado, Arizona State, Mississippi State, California, San Jose State, Indiana, San Diego State, Nevada, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Montana State, and multiple JUCOs.

Earlier this week, I called him out for underachieving over the past couple of years.
Today, he played a heck of a game and I have to give credit where it's due.
He was a difference maker today and we need more games like this from him.
Nice job👏👏👏

I'm mostly making this post to comment on one future opponent in particular

Wow. What an offensive game plan by the brilliant dual OC's at Minnesota. They are definitely competent and not the worst OC tandem in the entire Big ten.

I mean 79 total yards rushing AND a master class QB performance where the QB completed 59% of his passes for 209 yards (despite a whopping 37 pass attempts) and 2 INT to go along with two td? Gee I don't know how we will ever handle this offense.

It's amazing that some don't see how they completely mishandled putting their QB in a position to be successful last year. They are literally doing the same thing this year. They have no plan. They literally change their identity on offense at the drop of a hat and don't do anything particularly well. Thisll be an easy win

Minnesota scored 17 points against UNC. UNC yesterday gave up 70 POINTS to JAMES MADISON. 70 POINTS.

So .. in an early season game, a RU team goes on the road against a P4/P5 ACC team, in very hot weather, and makes JUST enough key plays on offense and defense (including a terrific near end game defensive stop) to win a 1-score, tight, tough game.

Is this going to grow this seasons' program/team the way RU's win on the road vs UNC did in 2006?

I remember just checking either late last year or this spring and there was at least close to 20+ players we had listed. This is the lowest amount I've seen since I graduated in 2007. Holy $hit. https://www.espn.com/nfl/college/_/letter/r

Looks like 3.5

Huge!!!!
That's it, carry on!

The B1G sched in football is an absolute grind with 75% of your games against big ten opponents, there is no reason to add another p5 team to the schedule unless its a regional game vs a BC or Cuse.

IMO our ideal out of conference football schedule every single year should be

1) FCS cupcake to start the year
2) Temple
3) a group of 6 florida or ohio school FIU/FAU/USF/Bowling Green/Miami Ohio/Ohio

This is a fine schedule that can properly prep our guys for the grind that is ahead, pretty much guarantees we get an extra home game $$$ every year and allows us to get exposure in our out of state recruiting footprint. Id sign 2 for 1’s with the #3 group of schools along with temple

Kirk basically told the Virginia Tech coaches to try to take that away from us. They could not. Normally I like to see the ball distributed around. Sometimes it is as simple as if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

WAKE UP, IT’S RUTGERS FOOTBALL GAMEDAY!

🕰️: 3:30pm ET
📺 : ACC Network
🏟️: Lane Stadium (VA)
💰: #VirginiaTech -3.5pts

Don't want to hit the panic button yet, but our run D looks suspect. All three games now.
This is a problem.

A week out and all of the models are showing the significant rain being over for the Blacksburg area by late Friday as a front comes through, but there still looks to be a low level risk of a light shower or two, as of now. Being this far out, much can change, still, but I'd say it at least looks promising. Highs are expected to be close to average (74/53F is typical for Blacksburg on 9/21) or maybe a few degrees cooler.

https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-80.42678836360574&lat=37.23531699325312

National Weather Service Blacksburg VA
1000 AM EDT Sun Sep 15 2024

.LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
As of 200 AM EDT Sunday...

An upper level trough over the Mid Atlantic should keep conditions
unsettled into Thursday and Friday with daily chances of showers.
With the flow no longer being out of the northeast, there may be
enough instability in the afternoons to spark a slight chance of
thunderstorms. Temperatures should also moderate closer to normal
values for this time of year. An upper level ridge building stronger
to the north will finally push the upper level trough southward by
Saturday, so chances of showers may begin to decrease. Temperatures
could dip a little by Saturday as the flow moves back to the
northeast as another area of high pressure wedges against the
eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge.

I was a big critic of 1.0’s gameday coaching. I’ve been very pleased with 2.0’s gameday coaching until today. I know we left points on the field, but in the 2H we completely lost any sense of situational football. It was almost like Greg wanted to test us to win a close game. Call me crazy but no HC would make some of those decisions.

Bottom open @ 11
Top opens @ NOON

Athan played really well today. He hung in there after taking some shots. He made very few mistakes, used his legs when he needed to, slid at the right times and make great reads on the RPO. Moreover, he had 269 yards passing which our last QB never came remotely close to doing. While it can be argued that most of his yards were YAC. That pass to Strong won the game. Gavin throws the ball 10 feet over Strong's head and that play never happens. I thought Athan was solid. Think about how many pick 6's Gavin threw in game changing situations. Athan protected the ball and was pretty accurate with very few mistakes. Clearly the best QB we've had since Nova.

Supposedly, the University Florida BOT is meeting with the expected result that they will Fire their Head Football Coach. Even if they don’t decide to Fire him today, he’s a dead coach walking, and it’s just a matter of time before they get rid of him. And once that happens, it will be a matter of time before Jimmy Sexton, Schiano’s agent, floats his name for the job.

I am always monitoring the college football landscape for risks to our program, which is why I brought up last September on an NJ.com group podcast that we had to extend Schiano and give him a suitable increase in a question to our best writers. I’m thankful this was done in a timely manner, thx in part to articles that Steve Politi wrote, advocating as such. So Hobbs pushed for the extensión and suitable raise, and got it done. Probably his biggest accomplishment in the last year, before leaving.

And consequently, we’ve gotten commitments from outstanding prospects, and are poised to enjoy one of our best seasons ever.

But unfortunately, success can be a double edged sword, especially when in college football, the haves take from the have nots. Rutgers takes from Temple. Penn State takes from Rutgers. And Ohio State and Michigan takes from Penn State. Greg Schiano’s name will be mentioned for reputable program openings, imo, because he has done a tremendous job in turning our program around. In particular, he has the skillset and name recognition to be successful at Florida.

The University of Florida is a Have. They are a selector school which has won two National Championships within the last 20 years, and another in 1996, which is one I attended, in person at the SuperDome.

They have top notch facilities, strong fan support, strong fan attendance, and most importantly, the financial support to win at the highest level. They even have a jet to shuttle around coaches and recruits.

Financial Support is where we are severely lacking. NIL support isn’t where it needs to be and the Fieldhouse, which was a contractual point, isn’t going to be built anytime soon.

This would put us at a very disadvantageous position, if Schiano were to have the opportunity to choose between Florida and Rutgers. Other risks are we don’t have an athletic director and the status of our President is unclear, to say the least.

Florida fans think they’re getting Urban Meyer or Nick Saban. But if those types of candidates fall through, Greg Schiano would be very attractive to them. He’s making a decent salary at $6M a year, but they could afford to pay him $8M. They’d Give him a huge budget for his coaching staff. The Florida job would also carry risks for Schiano. He’d be expected to win right away, even though that team needs talent. Whereas at Rutgers, he could go 6-6 to 7-5 in perpetuity.

So what’s the point of this rambling soliloquy?
We haven’t done enough to support Greg Schiano.

So, If you have any inclination of supporting NIL, NOW is the time. Schiano has said NIL is his #1 priority.

I’ve given what I can, but am also contemplating doing more. I understand that all of us have our budget priorities and that’s fine. This isn’t curing Cancer and I’ve given my tithe to my Catholic Parish.

But if you want to see Rutgers continue to be successful, if you want to build Rutgers into a selector school, and Championship Contender, you have to do your part. It doesn’t happen on its own. Show me a successful football team, and I’ll show you the supporters who make it happen. The Towers and the Garruti’s have done their part. Now it’s on us.

And if you don’t want to do NIL, Give to the RFund. We have to be proactive and worry about these things now, not wait till he gets another offer. Below are the relevant links.

In this high stakes game we call college football, all that matters is Wins and Losses
I said earlier that this game would be make or break for the year, and if (when) we win, next week vs. Washington will be a madhouse rivaling the PSU atmosphere in 2014

I've been very critical of Greg for playing not to lose - yesterday, though they went conservative after the 2nd missed field goal (which they should have punted), they came up big when we had to
From the 4th and goal call in the first quarter, to the 4th and goal in the 3rd quarter, he's showing the ability to get out of his comfort zone and go for the jugglar when he has the

A Greg speciality is creating turnovers and doing just enough offensively to win, with a lethal 1-2 punch of Kyle and Sam, plus some timely, much needed and long overdue solid QB play, we got the W in hostile territory is always a beautiful thing to watch

We dont fumble inside the 2 yard line going in late 2nd quarter and this game is on ice before halftime
Could have easily won by 3 TD's

Kudo's to GS & Co.
Now the challenge is keeping the intensity up and playing agressive Friday night vs. Washington
The place will be jumping and what GS has done here in 5 years has been remarkable

Given how heavy VT was packing the box in the 2nd half when Kyle was in the game and how he was less effective than when Sam was carrying the rock, should Kirk have gone to Sam as the primary ball carrier given how he was forcing his way through their defenders?

I know for some this is going to be controversial since many think Kyle is untouchable. But Sam showed us again today what type of nightmare he can be when healthy.

as our toughest game of the year

Half Kidding - but when the next poll comes out, they will be the highest ranked team on our schedule. Most of us had them along with Minnesota and UCLA and Mich St as most probable wins

and dont look now, but Mich St could be 4-0 in the next 10 minutes

The first 2 games were and felt like a “pre-season”. Yes we had to take care of business and we did, with no drama.

Now the season and excitement and “prove it” opportunities start and keep coming !!!

For the first time since maybe 2013 it feels like nearly every game we have a great chance to win .. or lose.

Going to be a lot of fun! (We hope)
Let’s enjoy it !!