jellyman

I was at the RU-UNC game, and rewqatched it on tape. I think you folk are better than UNC, whihc does not mean you will win. Grothe is excellent, and your defense is buco fast.

jellyman... congrats on the win. Yes we need a running game.  We actually do, but our starter was out after 4 rushes in the first game and our back-up (the back-up for Andre Hall last year) was caught being STUPID! RU is a good team.  Remember that USF has (had) won 40 of their last 48 games at home.  We are a different team at home and we had some mistakes that really hurt us. Good luck the rest of the season (and stay in the Top 25 for as long as you can).

Why should USF have won? RU forced 3 turnovers, and USF made otehr costly mistakes. RU's QB was not great, but he made just ONE mistake, on the interception. I only recall one bad call against USF that hurt USF (the spot on leonard's 3rd down catch that eld to a 1st down and the 1st TD). I do recall a number of bad calls that hurt RU (several times USF twsited Ray Rice's head and helmet well after the play was over with no call, and the awful non-call when #51 of USF tackled leonard before he could get the pass ... that was defensive holding if I ever saw one). But the ref were pretty consistent both ways. RU made fewer errors. RU dominated time of possession. RU managed the clock better and forced USF to take crucial timeouts that eventually cost USF dearly. RU outolayed USF in a very tough game, and RU outcoached USF, as well. RU EARNED that win. USF did not give it awya, and did not sdeserve it. But iw as very imopressed with Grothe, and with the speed of your defense.

Yes, RU is a joke ... but the joke is on YOU. RU crammed the ball down USF's throat most of the night. You gusy played 8 and even 9 in the box, and RU still rushed for for over 200 yards (heck Ray Rice ran for over 200 yards himself). I don't know if RU has a shot at WVU or Louisville (I would say not), but that is no shame .. they are each top 10 teams. But RU has a shot against Pitt ... not sure RU will win. RU made some mistakes (9 penalties, which are very unusual for RU). If RU does not commit all those penalties, RU wins much easier. I wll say that I was very impreswed with USGF's defense. You guys are FAST. And Grothe is very, very good, despite his ints (under great pressure, he made some mistakes). But you gusy have to find a running game, and RU';s defense played JUST well enough for RU to grind out a win.

Then the LB's are going to have to get back into pass coverage awfully fast, or they will not be providing as much support to the run game. If they are able to successfully get back intop pass coverage on play action, then I am okay with that ... because that means they are not attacking the line of scrimmage against the run.

Old news ... meaning been all over the internet, press media, radio media and TV media for at least a week. On the one hand, you would think it would be tough to turn down an offer from a program like Miami (or the money they might offer). On the other hand, the Miami job is an awful job, if you think about it. The facilities are pretty bad, the fans extremely fickle, and the expectations are off the charts (winning 9 or 10 games a year is NOT acceptable). At RU, Schiano is a hero already, and if he stays (with an altered and upgraded contract, no doubt, despite the fact his contract was recently redone) he has a chance to become to RU what Joe Paterno is to Penn St. (well, not quite, as Paterno is so powerful, and times are different now). Schiano is still just 40 years old, still just the 4th youngest coach in the US (in college), yet has 6 years under his belt. Actually, many RU fans are not terribly worried about Miami, figuring that any Miami offer or pursuit will just increase Schiano's pay ... at RU (and enhance RU's reputation as well). Many are worried about PENN STATE. When Paterno is gone, Schiano would be a great fit for THEM, and he spent a lot more time at Penn St. than he did at Miami ... and his style is more Central PA than South Beach. Though personally, I think replacing and following a legend such as paterno si an almost IMPOSSIBLE job. Perhaps as the coach AFTER the coach who replaces Paterno. But ... if Schiano succeeds at RU ... why would he leave? The money will be there, and there will be no college job in the country, except Notre Dame, that will draw more media attention. The NY Metropolitan area, despite being a professional sports area, is STARVED for a quality football program. For goodness sakes ... look at the media attention RU is getting now, with just 4 wins against relatively weak opponents. Can you imagine the media attention should RU actually accomplish something real?

I think it is less love for USF than lack or respect for Rutgers.

What he meant was that he thinks Grothe is tough to get on the ground ... that Grothe has excellent "escapability," as Sanders did. As others saidx, I am sure he, like every other coach, is talking coachspeak and talking UP his opponent, so as not to providfe bulliten board material .. and maybe to send a message to his OWN team, about properly wrapping up Grothe when they get him is their grasp.

Hey, I don't really know what will happen on Friday night. And i know RU has not played that difficult a schedule. But what makes you'all so confident? USF is clearly worse off than last season (no running game, young, undersized and thin d-line, lousy punting and kicking, the most penalized team in the Big East, and general depth issues partially due to suspensions of some key players). RU is not clearly better than last season, but their defense is. And Ray Rice has taken it up a notch as a runner. And I can tell you that RU's OL is a step up from last season. And RU is creating a LOT more turnovers than last season. Is it because USF beat RU last seaosn by 14? If so, that is really poor thinking. USF certainly played well in that game, and played better than RU in that game (earned the win). But there were a lot of flukes in that game ... maybe flukes caused by USF's play, but even so it would be highly unusual for those same or similar flukes to occur again. Thinak about this: Last season USF beat RU 45-31, or 14 points. And USF had ZERO turnovers, while RU had SIX turnovers. Think about it ... USF was 2 TD's better than RU in last year's game ... with a PLUS SIX turnover margin ... think about it. PLUS SIX turnovers, and USF was just 2 TD's better. In fact, with 4-5 minutes left in the game, I think RU was down 1 TD, WITH THE BALL, after committing FIVE turnovers. It took that 6th turnover for USF to hold on. Think about that. If the turnovers are even, RU would have won that game going away. They were not even, of course, and USF gets credit for a number of those turnovers. My point is that this is a different season, and the odds of USF having a plus 6 turnover margin would seem rather slim. Also, though RU's schedule has not been that great ... why does that give USF fans faith that USF will win by 14 or more points? Because USF's schedule has been so good, and USF has done so well? I don't think so. RU's schedule is not materially worse than USF's schedule ... and may not even be worse at all. And RU has not struggled to win. RU played weaker teams, and basically dominated them (even in the UNC game, a close game, RU dominated that game, and only let UNC have a chance late because of a horrible preventless defense scheme that purposely left the WR's uncovered by playing more than 10 yards off the LOS for the last 2 drives). USF played weaker teams ... and struggled. I am still very nervous as an RU fan, as I am not used to sustained success by RU football, and am always waiting for the seemingly inevitable let-down.

wind, I do not know all the proper nomencalture on patterns. But I do know that RU loves to run crossing routes with the TE, and has been successful with that. RU also like to run crossing routes witht he WR's. RU will take 2 WR's wide, and run the inside WR up and out and the outside WR across the middle underneath ... and usually ONE of them is then open. If USF does not play the safeties up ... then I think RU will have reasonable success running. If USF's D-line is not pretty good, then RU will run easily, no matter how good your LB's are (not to say the USF LB's won't make nice plays ... surely they will). Why do I say this? Because Rice is really superb at finding the creaes and seams in the blocking schemes, and RU's OL is bog and athletic. If the DL's cannot make the OL's block ONLY them, then that leaves at least 1 pulling (or not pulling) OL to block a LB,a nd also Leonard the FB to block ... and Rice will get to pick and choose where to go after the defense commits. If a team plays 8 in the box, that implies they have 8 players lined up within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage, and though not inside the tackles, at least just outside the tackles. That implies the safeties (or at least 1) are pulled up too close to the LOS to get a quick enough drop back into pass coverage if RU runs play action. One of the reasons RU has run so much this year is that teams have NOT sold out to the run, and have NOT played 8 in the box even 25% of the time. This has surprised me all year, as you would think RU's opponents would want to make Teel beat them with hsi arm. But the ACTIONS on the field have not played out that way. And I cannot remember very many plays at all where a team played 9 in the box. By the way, I do not say Harris CANNOT be covered (I mean I did kind of say that) ... I did not mean that. But it is tough to cover him. He is seriously good, and at 6'6" 260 with good speed ... well you can see how that might result in match-up problems. I think it will be an exciting game for us USF and RU fans, though I wish it would only be exciting for the RU fans.

2.  TE and FB are good receivers too.  Not sure why he says that single coverage on WRs wont help that.  freeing up safeties by constantly playing man-on-man at the corners frees up safeties to play run and cover these apparently talented TE and FB. 3)  RU likes to run the ball a lot and uses some blocking schemes summary:  if our LB's are blocked, RU will run the ball well. Windbane, While I would rather RU successfully run the ball, so as not to put the offense on Teel's (RU QB) shoulders, if the CB's are in single coverage on the WR's, and the safeties are close to the LOS in run support, I like the match-ups for RU ... I have yet to see a safety successfully cover Harris (RU's TE) ... he egnerally feasts on safety coverage. And with that set-up, if Harriss or Leonard beat just ONE SINGLE DEFENDER, it is a TD ... that is just the way it sets up with that type of defense. Plus, with the safeties in run support, and besically single covering HArris, if any of our WR's beat the CB's even on simple slants, theer is no safety support, and a big gainer is likely. Which all presupposes that the RU QB can and will successfuly deliver the ball, and the OL will successfully protect.

Eagleton has it right, basically, but I will add, expand and clarify. 1) Clarification on the WR's - We do not really know how good they are. Tucker, who just broke his ankle, was very good (over 100 career receptions). The rest are basically unknows. Willie Foster, who is apparently listed as 1 starter, is a senior, but has been a return specialist (and a good one). He is from Florida, and very fast ... but also is small, and has never had more than 12 recptions in a single season. Foster has been known to drop a pass or 2 in his time. The other starter, stepping in for Tucker, is Tiquan Underwood, a true sophomore. Underwood is listed at 6'2" and 175, but looks to me to be between 6'0" and 6'1" and skinnier than 175 (though definitely stronger than last season). He is very fast as well, maybe faster than Tucker (who he is replacing). he also retuns kick-offs. Underwood has decent ot above average hands. He played last season as a WR, returner, and a "Slash" QB (running the spread as QB for a coupel series in 4-5 games). RU's 3rd WR is Dennis campbell, a redhsirt freshman, also a Floridian. Campbell is very fast, seems to have very good hands, and is about 5'9". Though fast, some of us see in him a replacement for RU's career leader in receptions Tres Moses (who graduated after last season). I am not saying he is as good, but he shows some of the same ability to be elusive, and also run patterns over the middle, as did Moses ... but is faster than Moses. We do not know for sure who the 4th WR will be (and RU plays 4 or 5 WR's in any given game). I could be a transfer from Iowa, James Townsend, who is supposedly one of RU's 3 fastest players, and has some good size (6'0"). Townsend has been a demon on special teams, and had lost practrice time since he transferred due to injury, but is 100% healthy now. Or, it could be a true freshman, Tim Brown, yet another Floridian. Brown is a smurf, and is certainlyu smaller than he is listed in the program, but may just be the fastest player on RU ... but a medium wind might snap him in half. he has played a few plays not in junk time ... and has been brought in tio run fly patterns (and beat his man each time, I might add, though the ball was never thrown well enouggh to come close to him). RU also has a 4 or 5 star true freshman WR who has played a little in garbage time, who maty be introduced, by the name of Kenny Britt. he was slowed by losing half of August practice due to NCAA clearinghouse issues. He is the full package ... 6'3" or 6'4", strong and fast. But we really do not know what we will get out of any of the WR's ... but they are ALL very fast. However, Tucker was by far and away RU's best blocking WR this season (and 2nd best to Daniels, who got hurt in early August and must redshirt). RU is going to miss Tucker's blocking and ability to make the catch over the middle. 2) The problem with teams playing single coverage on RU's WR's, and blitzing or playing the other 9 defenders in the box, is that RU's greatest playmakers are the TE and FB. RU's senior TE, Clark Harris, is considered one of the 3-4 best receiving TE's in the entire country. He is 6'6" 260, and has good speed. He is generally faster than the LB's, and is way bigger than any DB's. When a DB tries to cover him, the QB can easily throw over the DB for the completion. But Harris is generally too fast for larger LB's ... whom he is bigger than also. And with 8 or 9 in the box, Harris can release from the LOS rather quickly, and be behind the LB's pretty fast, especially with play action. Without safeties in coverage, Harris easily has the potential to break the long play (45-yard TD reception against Howard in that situation). And Leoanrd, the FB, is widely considered the best FB in the country. He has not had huge stats this season, as every team has put nto place a special game plan to stop leonard (which has opened up terrific running lanes for Ray Rice, I might add). Leonard is particularly good at running the screen, and has often broken big plays. Usually, after the 1st 2-3 screens that break for big gainers, the opposing team backs off and reads the screen, which of course reduces the pressure on the QB. Leoanrd is also very dangerous in the flat, and with 8-9 men in the box, he is able to run a terrific "wheel" route. My point is that even with 2 WR's, RU usually has FOUR dangerous receivers in the game. 3) RU rarely lines up in the I Formation. RU almost always has a variety of motion and shifts before the snap, so the defense cannot get a sure fix on where the key playmakers might be lining up. In particular, Leonard is often in motion, and can end up anywhere from the FB in a traditional I Formation, to in motion between the tackles to act as a pulling OL to block, or even lining up as a slot receiver, or a motion receiver. And RU can run or pass out of any of those positions. RU will also sometimes set up in a 1-back set, usually with Leonard as the 1 back, and either run or pass out of that formation. RU will also run out of the shotgun, as usually either Rice or Leonard will line up next to the QB in that formation. RU will also run the screen out of any formation. Ray Rice runs mainly between the tackles, finding the seams. He is tough to locate because he is just 5'9" and RU OL is so huge (OT's are 6'4" and 6'5", OG's are 6'5" and 6'8" and C is 6'3"). Rice loves to run behind the 6'8" pulling guard, and pick and choose which side to cut off of. Rice will run off a hand off, he will run the traditional sweep (often cutting back), he will run of a traditional pitch, and also off the quick pitch. Both Rice and Leonard are power runners more than speed runners. Though Leonard is extremely athletic (note the expression the Leonard Leap, which some of you may have seen or heard of) and much faster than you would think at 6'2" 235. Rice has a tremendously quick burst through the hole, though is not abalzer byond the 1st 15+ yards of a run. Both Rice and Leonard have that ability which cannot be taught, to both cut INSIDE the hole, and to make their cuts without losing speed ... which makes them both rather elusive. If the USF DL's cannot keep the pulling Center and Guards (and Leonard, who is a superior blocker in addition to his running and receiving capabilities) away from the LB's and support safeties ... RU is going to run the ball very well, because Rice is going to have seams all day long to run through and to cut within.

Since no one else will, I'll answer these. Starters? Hell, it's game 4, I forgot abuot last year. Bottom line is that this is a very young offense, all learning and growing together. The "back 7" of the defense are the same as last year I believe, all veteran. The DL has been a revolving door. The DL has been pretty much putrid, to be honest. No push, no pressure on the QB, and RBs that shouldnt be running up and down the field on us have been....running up and down the field on us. The secondary has created turnovers with Trae Williams (#21 in your program, #1 in your hearts), picking off I believe 3 balls this year. The other corner is Mike Jenkins. He'll be #4 in your program, and also the guy that Rutgers wants to put their best WR on....because he'll burn him. Mr Jenkins is fast as hell.......and he needs it when he's trying to catch up with the opposing WR. The safeties havent really done anything spectacular and the secondary as a whole has been pretty soft so far this year, considering the talent they were up against. Special teams has been hot and cold. Hot: Ean Randolph. It would be in RUs best interest not to punt to him. Cold: 2 freshman punters and a kicker who started the season 0-5. Coverage wise, my memory tells me that we've been pretty good in punt and kickoff coverage. Nothing jumps out at me, good or bad. I like posts like this, dont let the **** talkers(except sheriff and smazza, those were hilarious) get to ya. Stick around and lets talk football. shoop, Thanks. I am worried about USF's return game ... good returns can really run around games and field position. And RU has been a HUGE beneficiary of winning the field position battle this season so far (due to excellent punting and great punt blocking). I am also worried about the mobility of Grothe and the speed of USF's WR's, which could be a deadly combination if RU cannot contain Grothe in the pocket while at the sasem time pressuring him. Hiowever, if USF's D-Line is weak ... I would have some comfort as an RU fan. RU's O-Line has been solid, at its worst, this season, and well better than solid at its best. RU's OL averages something like 6'5" and oover 300 pounds ... and are NOT stiffs, but are quite athletic this season. And they are experienced (a HUGE deal), with 2 seniors and 3 juniors, of whom 3 were starters last year, and 1 a part-time starter last year. If USF's DL is weak, RU will have a field day running the ball, maybe even if USF stacks the box.

Never offernded ... how can one be offended on the internet by so-called personalcomments, when people do not actually know you. If they don't know you, it cannot be personal. I just like to talk about the game ... it sends me, what can I say? To the others who are starting to talk football ... THANKS. The more I think about it, the more I would add the following comments: 1) I am nervous about USF's team speed. College scores are NOT transitive, and never have been. Just because RU crunched someone, or evene a common opponent, and USF did NOT crunch someone, does not mean anything. And the speed thing is huge. RU has been siginificantly speedier than each of its last 3 opponents. Speed is a real killer, as RU fans have learned over the years. Speed differentials AMPLIFY errors by the opposition, and can make easier games turn into blowouts, and closer games turn into easier games. When a team like RU faces a team that is as fast, or even faster as RU is ... then things become much closer ... maybe even too close for comfort. 2) RU's special teams have been very, very good ... real difference makers. But 1 weakness has been punt retun defense (though only 6 of 16 punts have been returned, 1 was for 60 yards). USF has a VERY good punt returner. That worries me. But ... USF has been terrible punting the ball, and RU has blocked 2 punts and tackled another punter before they could even block the punt. That could really help RU win the field position battle ... and with RU's excellent OL and strong running game, field position can be a difference maker. 3) USF's OL will be really important here. RU's d-line and front 7 have thrived in the last 3 games against OL' that are weak (either big but slow, like Illinois; or not so quick like Ohio and Howard). But the game was much closer when RU faced a large and relatively athletic OL on the road against UNC. What ids USF's OL like? Are they athletic and strong? If so, that could seriously negate RU's very quick DL. On the other hand, UNC had a fast and powerful running back who could punish RU's lighter DL ... my understanding is that USF does not have such a running back. Which means RU will have to stop USF's QB ... and if RU can limit him, then USF should have trouble scoring unless RU turns the ball over. 4) RU's running backs are much better than any running backs USF has faced this season ... and USF's defense is much quicker and faster than any defense RU has faced this season. Can ERU's blockers keep the holes open long enough for Ray Rice to use his quick burst to get into the LB's and DB's? Can USF plug those holes? Will USF's aggressive and fast pursuit open up the reverse (with RU's very fast WR's), the counter or trap, or the screen pass (to Leonard, who is very, very dangerous in the open fiedl or with the screen)?

bump - for discussion, or would USF fans just want to talk smack?

I hardly think most RU fans are overconfident (as if that actually matters, though). actually, most RU fans, though excited, are extremely nervous ... we have been kicked in the teeth too many times to be overconfident. If RU can manage to win Friday ... now then the overconfidence might begin. I am sure when the RU message Boards start their official game pick threads, most RU fans will predict a win ... just like I noticed that all except maybe 2-3 USF fans are predicting a win over RU by USF. We are excited about our new ranking (1st time in 30 years), but I think all RU fans are aware that USF beat RU at RU last season.

economics, I'll bite on this question. There are a number of ways this RU team is different: 1) The offensive philosophy is very different. Last season Ru averaged about 30 pass attempts per game, and almost NEVER threw fro less than 25 times a game. This season RU has averaged only 19 pass attempts per game, and has never tried to pass MORE than 26 times in any game. Last season, RU used the run to set up the pass, but was a passing team for the most part (though RU actually had more runs than passes). Thsi season RU is primarily a running team, by choice ... RU has rushed the ball 172 times and passed the ball just 78 times (more than 2-1 rushing to passing). 2) RU entered the season with TWO bona fide All Big East quality running backs, whereas last season RU entered the season with just 1 ... and even he (Leonard), as good as he is, had never rushed for more than 800 yards in a season, or so. RU now has two high quality starters KNOWN, which has influenced point number 1. 3) RU's Defense is much smaller across its front 4 ... but also much quicker. Much was made about how RU lost 3 starting DL from last season due to graduation. That was accurate, including losing two players who each had 10 or more sacks last season. However, people had forgotten severla items. First, people had forgotten that 1 of the lost "starters" was not really a starter, but a back-up, who stepped in to start after the starter got hurt. And theat injured starter, eric Foster, redshirted alst season and returned this year. Many thought Foster was RU's best DL last season (or going to be) before he got hurt in the 2nd game. Second, people gorgit that RU retunred a starting DT who had 9 sacks last season (meekins). Third, people forgot that RU had as 1 starter this season a back-up DE who had a lot of experience last season, and 4 sacks as a reserve. But I was certainly concerned about RU's front 4's lack of size (and still remian a little concerned). But so far this season, RU's D-line has made up for its lack of sixe with great quickness and speed. For perspecdtive, this season so far, RU ranks 9th in the country in tackles for losses. The RU staff made a concerted effort ot get faster acorss the entire front 7, not just the front 4. 4) RU's punting is much better. RU's punter, a senior, has always had a big leg. but in previous years he was astoundingly inconsistent, to the point of uselessness. Last season RU was amongst the worst teams in the country in net punting. Thsi season? His big leg has been consistently big. RU's punter ranks 5ht in the country in gross punting and 32nd in the country in net punting, a VAST improvement over last season. But since RU has only punted 16 times, of which 6 were downed inside the 20, and 2 were toushbacks, just 1 isolated punt return can skew things (only 8 rrturned punts in 4 games) ... and there was 1 60 yard punt return. Without that punt return, Radigan has a net punting average above 41 yards per punt, which would rank him in the top 5-7 in the country. 5) RU is creating MANY more turnovers this season than last season. RU already has 7 interceptions in 4 games versus 6 interceptions ALL OF LAST SEASON. and RU has vreated 13 turnovers in total this year. As a part of that, RU's punt and kick blocking teams have been incredible, rivalling Virginia Tech's special teams. RU has 2 punt blocks, a punter tackle (the blocker got in so fast the ounter could not even try to punt), has caused the opposing team to commit at least 5-6 illegal procedure penalties, and has forced 2 of its 4 opponents to change punters in the middle of the game. The kick blocking team has blocked 1 or 2 FG attempts, and 1 extra point (I think). 6) The defensive secondary is much more experienced, while also having greater depth, and greater speed. They have not really been tested yet this year by a really good passing QB, so we are not SURE whether they are improved. 7) The OL is generally more experienced (a huge factor, as many of you know), and much laregr, whle still being a tad more athletic and quicker than last season. Three starters returned, and 1 player who started 3 games. The 5th starter was a player who had been on the 2-deep two seasons prior, though had backed up on the d-line last season. But they are BIG, and solidly athletic. 8) RU has a new QB (this is NOT a positive), who is much less experienced than last season's primary starter. he is big and strong, with a good arm. but admittedly he is still elarning on the job.

smazza, Duh ... if any team stops RU from running the ball, and in turn plays error free and efficient football, of course they will win. And someone, maybe more than 1 someone, will do that to RU, I am sure. USF's defense is certainly the fastest, and toughest, that RU will have faced this season to date. And Schiano says the USF offensive players are also the fastest that RU has played so far. Thus I expect this game to be a large challenge for RU. Unfortunately, I have not seen USF play yet this season, so I do not have a feel for how RU actually stacks up at all. The least RU has rushed for in any game this season is about 175 yards. But the most RU has pased for this season is 145 yards. I suspect RU is going to have to gain a few more yards in the air against USF than in any other game so far, in order to win. And your QB worries me. But we shall see. USF has had some important players either hurt or suspended, so their depth will really be tested. RU is definitively better than last season, in my opinion as an RU fan (RU is not as flashy, and its offense is not as accomplished, but the offense is more efficient, and its defense is much quicker and more effective). And I do not think USF is as good as it was last season. On the other hand, RU just lost its top WR for an extended period of time due to a broken ankle, and is left with a VERY young WR corp ... though very fast. As I said, we shall see, eh?

Just wanted to start some preliminary discussion on the big game on Friday night. I know RU fans are veru excited: Road game, against a conference opponent, againsta team thast beat us last season, and RU is ranked in the tiop 25 for the 1st time in 30 years. I am sure USF fans are excited to be playing a nationally televised game, at home, against a conference foe that USF figures to have to beat if they want to rank ahead of this foe (both middle of the pack Big East teams). As to the game, here are some stray thoughts: 1) I never make predictiopns about RU (or other) games. I have hopes, of course, but try not to have expectations (RU fans are like Charlie Brown kicking the ball while Lucy is holding it). So I make no predictions about who I think will win. I HOPE RU will win, and I thionk RU is CAPABLE of winning, but I truthfully have no idea what will happen. I will talk up RU, however (I am an RU fan, after all). 2) I think this game will be VERY different than last year's game, for several reasons. First, I do not think RU will commit 6 turnovers again. If RU had committed 3 turnovers, they probaly win last year's game pretty easily. But RU did not take care of the ball, and USF took it to RU, earning a good win. Second, each team's offensive philosphies and tendecies are very different versus last season. USF had a star RB upon whom it relied on very heavily ... though USF's QB lit up RU's defense as well. That RB graduated, and now USF relies almost entirely on its QB (passing and running). RU? Well, RU had arunning attack last season (had a 1000-yard rusher and a 750 yard rusher), but was FIRST a passing team, especially at the time RU played USF. This season, RU is primarily a rushing team (more on that later). Unstray Thoughts: Reasons an RU Fan Hopes for a WIN: 1) RU's Defense. While it is true that USF will likely be the best offensive team RU faces (believe it or not, I think it may be true), still, RU's defense has been a revelation this seaso, so far. While USF's QB worries me (as RU has hstorically had troubles with mobile and running QB's), all 4 teams that RU has faced this season have boasted mobile and running QB's. RU fared worst against UNC's QB, showing very poor tackling, poor discipline (missed assignemnts and not keeping "contain" on the QB), and allowing some big gains. But in the next 3 games, RU has just smothered its opponents. And I do not mean that RU did well ... I mean the RU defense has been completely dominating. Okay, the opposition has not been the most intimidating, but even so ... RU held Illinois and Ohio each to less than 125 yards in TOTAL offense (and Illinois never crossed the 50-yard line) ... Howard did have 170 yards in offense, but 72 of those yards came on the last drive of the game against RU's 3rd string defense ... RU has allowed a total of maybe 3 3rd down conversions in the last 3 ames (out of 35-40 attempts). RU's front 7 is small, and that remains a worry. But the front 7 has proved to be very, very quick ... and when it has played disciplined assigment defense, has completely obliterated the opposing offenses. 2) RU's offense is efficient. Last year, RU could put a lot of points on the board, and had a number of big plays. This season, RU has very few big plays. I think RU has only 3 plays from scrimmage of over 30 yards all year, and maybe only 10 plays of over 20 yards. The offense is designed to provide the QB several options for each play, depending on his read of the defense. Despite the inexperience of the QB (100 pasees thown in his career coming into this season, and still a sophomore), few teams have actually stacked the box with 8 or 9 players, so RU has been able to run quite effectively. It is treu that until Howard, RU's All American quality FB (and Leonard is the consensus best FB in the country) has not been a major impact, but because teams have focused so much of their defense on Leonard, the "other" RB has gone wild (Ray Rice has averaged 151 yards per game, on 5.7 yards per carry, and has scored 11 TD's so far this year ... on pace for 1800 yards rushing and 30+ TD's). Also, the offense has worked very well to take advantage of the new clock rules ... by running so well, RU has won the possession time battle in each game, and kept the defense off the field, and shortened the game. In addition to shortening the game, it has helped RU's field position greatly. As 1 peice of evidence of efficiency, RU has converted 48% of its 3rd down conversions. Yet, though RU has not shown it, the RU offense also has some terrific playmakers, and potentially BIG play players. Leonard and Harris (one of the best 3-4 TE's in the country) are veterans who could break a long play on any snap. Rice does not have the speed to make huge plays, but has just about the fastest burst through the hole you will ever see, and routinely breaks off 12-20 yard runs. And RU's WR's are very, very fast ... much faster than last season. The question is: Can Teel, the QB, get the playmakers the ball effectively? 3) Special teams: Significant parts of RU's special teams have been spectacular this season. RU's punt coverage has been weak, and RU's terrific FG kicker missed 1 short FG, and an extra point. Also, RU has not yet broken an decent kick-off runs, nor shown any consistency in punt returns (but that in part has been due to some of the worst punting from opponents you have ever seen, cutting down on rrturn chances). Still, RU's special teams have been spectacular. The FG kicker is very good, with a strong leg. RU's kick-off specialust (also the FG kicker) has been excellent this saeason (50%of his kicks have been touchbacks). But, while those are very good, it is the other areas that have been just great. RU's punter, who has been maddeningly inconsistent in his career (he is a senior), has been absolutely terrific this season. He has averaged 47.5 yards perpunt this season, with 6 of his 16 punts inside the 20 yard line. His net is just 37 yards per punt (which is actually pretty good) ... but that is distorted by just 1 single 60-yard return (4 broken tackles) ... without that return, his net would be 41 yards per punt. RU's kickoff return coerage has been excellent also. But RU's kick and punt BLOCKING has been great. RU has blocked a FG, and has blocked 2 punts, and got in on 1 punt attempt so fast the punter wass tackled before he could punt. RU's punt block efforts have been so intimidating that 2 of RU's opponents have been completely rattled (3 teams changed its punter mid-game, one using a WR to rugby kick to punt), and has drawn 5 illegal procedure penalties on punt attempts. The special teams has created 4 or 5 turnovers this season. In addition to the turnovers, the special teams have created an ENORMOUS field position advantage for RU. 4) Turnovers: RU has been a much better turnover team thsi season so far. RU has created 13 turnovers so far (6 fumble recoveries and 7 intercpetions), and in fact already has more interceptions after 4 games than they did all last season, in 12 games. RU has committed 9 turnovers, but is winning the turnover battle. 5) Mental Attitude: RU, while still losing points due to untimely turnovers, has displayed a MUCH superior mental toughness and killer instinct that in prior years (last season in particular). RU is very physical, both offensively and dfeensively, and also very business-like. 6) Offensive Line: RU's offenisve line is very big, and yet quite athletic. And they have experience (2 seniors and 3 juniors ... 3 fulltime starters from last season and 1 part-time starter from last season). The OL has only given up 4 sacks, and has generally done an exceptional job blocking for the rushing game. Reasons an RU Fan Worrie About and Loss to USF: 1) USF ... USF may be the best team RU has played so far. In fact, USF is almost certainly the best team RU has faced this season. So ... though RU has dominated most of its competition to date, USF is a level above those teams. And in college football, though scores are not transitive, still, one fact is that speed kills, and compounds oppoennts' mistakes. RU has been materially quicker and faster than any of its 1st 4 opponents. USF is much faster across the board than any of RU's 1st 4 opponents. Thsi worries me. 2) RU's QB is turnover pronce, and has not been great. While Teel has MANAGED the offense quite well, making many of the correct play choices, he has not completed a high enough percentage of his passes to win against really good teams. He was just outstanding against UNC (70% completions, impeccable play calling and no interceptions). He also had an excellent 1st half against Illinois, when RU went up 30-0. But he had a poor 2nd half against Illinois, and by everyone's admission (including his own), he was simply awful against Ohio (he was 10-24 with 4 interceptions). He did do better against Howard (osh, we should hope so, eh?) ... he was 9-16 for 133 yards (but he paassed better than he showed, as he had 3 dropped passes). We RU fans do not yet know if Teel can actualy WIN a game for RU when it is on his shoulders. We know he can manage a game and not LOSE a game. But to WIN a game? The jury is still out. 3) Leaving points on the board. RU's offense, despoute being generally more efficient than last season, is still leaving too many points on the board with untimely turnovers. Of Teel's 5 interceptions, 2 have been in the endzone after good drives, and another was inside the opponents' 20 yard line. Of RU's 4 loat fumbles, 1 was at the goal line on a careless reach holding the ball with 1 hand, and at least 1 other was at the opponents' 30-yard line (returned for a TD). 4) RU lost to USF last season. Need I say more? Well, yes ... last year RU lost at home, while this season RU plays on the road. Anyway, I hope you'all enjoy this post, and we look forward to the game on Friday night.

Too bad you folk didn't pull off that game against Kansas. Come and join football discussions on the most active RU message board: http://rutgers.rivals.com/forum.asp?sid=988&fid=642. We have not talked about USF that much yet, as many foans have learned that as an RU fan you face so much more disappointment that you better just look at one game at a time. Also, the fans are a little excited at RU's first ranking in the top 25 of the polls since 1976 ... so there is still a lot of talk about that. The game talk will start to percolate as the week goes on, I am sure.