Columbus Dispatch writer Todd Jones dismisses RU football. Well, thanks for the goodwill, sport.
See below or online at: http://mobile.dispatch.com/coldispatch/db_338971/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=fIgjrTK6
Big Ten football | Ohio State excites Rutgers after off-field woes
Todd Jones
10/23/2015 5:39 AM
There’s no truth to the rumor that native son Bruce Springsteen is going to ignite Rutgers — known as the State University of New Jersey — by parachuting into its football game on Saturday night while playing his guitar.
Rutgers, with a storied tradition in the Big Ten dating all the way to last year, must instead settle for undefeated and No. 1 Ohio State visiting for the first time. Still, that’s enough to cause the folks in Jersey to go bonkers with anticipation.
For context on the significance of defending national champion Ohio State’s debut, consider that Rutgers played in the first college football game on Nov. 6, 1869, when it defeated Princeton 6-4.
So an appearance by the Buckeyes (7-0, 3-0), not the Boss, has caused Rutgers to announce that its first ABC primetime game is also the first sellout this season at High Point Solutions Stadium — which has a capacity (52,454) half that of Ohio Stadium.
“Saturday night will be the best atmosphere in all of college football,” Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said.
Pardon Flood for a bit of hyperbole, for anything regarding Saturday’s game, regardless of outcome, should be better for the Scarlet Knights (3-3, 1-2) than what they experienced last month while becoming a national punch line with an eruption of buffoonery and scandal.
Google “Rutgers,” “football” and “September 2015,” and you’ll find a Stephen King novel.
Let’s see … Flood was suspended by the school on
Sept. 16 for three games and fined $50,000 after a university-led investigation found that he had improper contact with a faculty member regarding a player’s academic standing.
While Flood was being publicly rebuked in a 22-page report, Rutgers was in the midst of a two-week span in which six players were kicked off the team because of their arrests. Two were charged in connection with home invasions. Four faced assault charges.
And, oh yeah, three days before Flood was suspended, he suspended Leonte Carroo — considered to be the team’s best player — because the receiver was charged with simple assault in a domestic-violence incident.
Carroo missed two games but was reinstated on Oct. 7 after the charge was dropped in court. He’s questionable for Saturday’s game because of a sprained ankle suffered last week in a 55-52 win at Indiana.
The wretchedness at Rutgers spilled into October, as New Jersey Advance Media reported that the university has hired a law firm to conduct a review of the football program because of off-field issues.
That report stated that the law firm is looking into an allegation that former player Lloyd Terry failed drug tests while on the team. Also reportedly being investigated is the football recruiting-ambassador program, which was mentioned in the dropped assault case against Carroo.
Cynicism has long encased Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights didn’t play in a bowl game until 1978, have never finished in the Associated Press top 10, and have never played in a New Year’s Day bowl game. They went 11-64 — with 19 losses by 40 or more points — from 1996 through 2002.
Coach Greg Schiano turned the moribund program around. Flood succeeded him in 2012 and continued the Scarlet Knights’ decent success. They’ve been to nine bowl games in the past 10 years and went 8-5 last year in their first Big Ten season.
All seemed well until this season exploded into an off-field soap opera, including Flood’s suspension (associate head coach Norries Wilson filled in on game days) that ended before the Indiana game. Now there’s an open debate in New Jersey about whether Flood (26-19 career record) will keep his job, especially in light of Maryland firing Randy Edsall this month in its second Big Ten season.
>> Click for details on how to win tickets and trips to OSU games from Dispatch Reader Rewards
On Saturday, at least, the capacity crowd at Rutgers promises to be excited. Win or lose, it will sure beat September for the Scarlet Knights.
“It’s a great showcase for our program,” Flood said. “The environment is going to be electric.”
tjones@dispatch.com
@Todd_Jones
See below or online at: http://mobile.dispatch.com/coldispatch/db_338971/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=fIgjrTK6
Big Ten football | Ohio State excites Rutgers after off-field woes
Todd Jones
10/23/2015 5:39 AM
There’s no truth to the rumor that native son Bruce Springsteen is going to ignite Rutgers — known as the State University of New Jersey — by parachuting into its football game on Saturday night while playing his guitar.
Rutgers, with a storied tradition in the Big Ten dating all the way to last year, must instead settle for undefeated and No. 1 Ohio State visiting for the first time. Still, that’s enough to cause the folks in Jersey to go bonkers with anticipation.
For context on the significance of defending national champion Ohio State’s debut, consider that Rutgers played in the first college football game on Nov. 6, 1869, when it defeated Princeton 6-4.
So an appearance by the Buckeyes (7-0, 3-0), not the Boss, has caused Rutgers to announce that its first ABC primetime game is also the first sellout this season at High Point Solutions Stadium — which has a capacity (52,454) half that of Ohio Stadium.
“Saturday night will be the best atmosphere in all of college football,” Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said.
Pardon Flood for a bit of hyperbole, for anything regarding Saturday’s game, regardless of outcome, should be better for the Scarlet Knights (3-3, 1-2) than what they experienced last month while becoming a national punch line with an eruption of buffoonery and scandal.
Google “Rutgers,” “football” and “September 2015,” and you’ll find a Stephen King novel.
Let’s see … Flood was suspended by the school on
Sept. 16 for three games and fined $50,000 after a university-led investigation found that he had improper contact with a faculty member regarding a player’s academic standing.
While Flood was being publicly rebuked in a 22-page report, Rutgers was in the midst of a two-week span in which six players were kicked off the team because of their arrests. Two were charged in connection with home invasions. Four faced assault charges.
And, oh yeah, three days before Flood was suspended, he suspended Leonte Carroo — considered to be the team’s best player — because the receiver was charged with simple assault in a domestic-violence incident.
Carroo missed two games but was reinstated on Oct. 7 after the charge was dropped in court. He’s questionable for Saturday’s game because of a sprained ankle suffered last week in a 55-52 win at Indiana.
The wretchedness at Rutgers spilled into October, as New Jersey Advance Media reported that the university has hired a law firm to conduct a review of the football program because of off-field issues.
That report stated that the law firm is looking into an allegation that former player Lloyd Terry failed drug tests while on the team. Also reportedly being investigated is the football recruiting-ambassador program, which was mentioned in the dropped assault case against Carroo.
Cynicism has long encased Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights didn’t play in a bowl game until 1978, have never finished in the Associated Press top 10, and have never played in a New Year’s Day bowl game. They went 11-64 — with 19 losses by 40 or more points — from 1996 through 2002.
Coach Greg Schiano turned the moribund program around. Flood succeeded him in 2012 and continued the Scarlet Knights’ decent success. They’ve been to nine bowl games in the past 10 years and went 8-5 last year in their first Big Ten season.
All seemed well until this season exploded into an off-field soap opera, including Flood’s suspension (associate head coach Norries Wilson filled in on game days) that ended before the Indiana game. Now there’s an open debate in New Jersey about whether Flood (26-19 career record) will keep his job, especially in light of Maryland firing Randy Edsall this month in its second Big Ten season.
>> Click for details on how to win tickets and trips to OSU games from Dispatch Reader Rewards
On Saturday, at least, the capacity crowd at Rutgers promises to be excited. Win or lose, it will sure beat September for the Scarlet Knights.
“It’s a great showcase for our program,” Flood said. “The environment is going to be electric.”
tjones@dispatch.com
@Todd_Jones
