Rutgers took big step back after opening day win

[Apis Bull]

The coffee splashed on my lap not long after I started perusing the Sunday sports section. It spilled immediately after I saw this: New Hampshire 35, Rutgers 24.

What? How?

A week earlier, Rutgers had knocked off Michigan State 19-14 in perhaps the biggest win in the program’s history before a sold-out crowd. The victory seemed to validate all the preseason hype that had the promising Scarlet Knights heading to their first bowl game as a Big East Conference member.

But there it was in black and white: New Hampshire 35, Rutgers 24. That’s Division I-AA New Hampshire, a mid-level Atlantic-10 Conference program that went 5-7 last season.

The Wildcats rallied from a 24-14 halftime deficit as a quarterback making his first career start torched the same defense that looked so good a week earlier against a traditional Big Ten power. Ricky Santos, a redshirt freshman, threw for a school-record five touchdowns while completing 30 of 40 passes for 385 yards.

"It was a very disappointing effort, a very disappointing result," Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, still sounding a bit sullen during Monday’s Big East coaches’ teleconference.

The loss could give new definition in the coaching ranks to the letdown. It’s hard to imagine Rutgers ever being higher than it was after the win over Michigan State. Rutgers has been way down before, but this loss is worse than the 37-19 pounding it took from Villanova, also a I-AA member of the Atlantic-10, in the 2002 season opener or the 20-19 shocker by Connecticut in 2001, just a year after UConn started to upgrade to I-A.

Those Rutgers teams were bad and Schiano was just starting the rebuilding effort. This team has better athletes and, as a result, more depth because the Rutgers coaching staff has done a decent job recruiting since Schiano took over in 2001.

"We were concerned about this happening all week, and it proved to be true," Schiano said. "It’s a concern, and we didn’t do a good job keeping (the team psyche) even. We said the right things, but it was harder than we thought, and we didn’t respond."

Up next is Kent State Saturday night at Rutgers Stadium. If the Scarlet Knights don’t respond this time, their season may be lost before I can spill another coffee in my lap.

RIPPLE EFFECT: It looks like Rutgers Athletic Director Bob Mulcahy wasn’t too happy with the 350 percent pay raise given to UConn coach Randy Edsall.

"I think it sends a difficult message," Mulcahy told the Star-Ledger of Newark Sunday. "This is (UConn’s) first year in the league, and to all of a sudden go to the top (in salary) puts pressure on everyone else."

Heck, Edsall won’t coach his first game in the Big East until Friday night at Boston College, but he has vaulted past BC coach Tom O’Brien and Syracuse’s Paul Pasqualoni with the new deal, which pays him an average of $882,000 before incentives over six years. West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez is the Big East’s best-paid coach at around $1 million a season.

Rutgers pays Schiano $500,000 per year, but talk of a raise started after Edsall signed his new deal. Of course, a loss to Kent State this week and talks of a raise will be put on the back burner.

MOUNTAINEERS’ NEMESIS: West Virginia rose to No. 7 in this week’s Associated Press top 25 poll, but it faces a Maryland team Saturday (noon, ESPN2) that has had its number in the past three seasons.

The Terrapins, ranked 21st, have beaten West Virginia four times in that span and outscored Rodriguez’s team 75-14 last season in wins at College Park, Md., and in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.

"All everyone has been asking us since the summer is, will you beat Maryland? How are you going to do against Maryland?" Rodriguez said. "But every game counts as one in an 11-game playoff system. We’re in round three now. I won’t put this as a make or break game because that’s too much pressure to put on the kids."

But Rodriguez does admit that Maryland’s domination has been a bit baffling.

"I’ve done everything but hire a voodoo doctor," Rodriguez joked. "For whatever reason, mentally, we haven’t been able to come back on them after they get the lead. I don’t want say we shut it down, but we’ve been unable to battle back and get into the game.

"The (Gator) bowl game was extremely disappointing (a 41-7 loss) because we had good practices all week but went out and laid an egg," Rodriguez said. "So we should be the underdog this week. At the least we want to make them beat us when we play our best game."

The Mountaineers will need to get tailback Kay-Jay Harris healthy this week to have a solid chance at beating the Terps. Harris rushed for 337 yards and four touchdowns in the season-opening win over East Carolina, but he had just two rushes last weekend against Central Florida after suffering a hamstring pull.

Rodriguez said Monday the pull isn’t serious, but he listed Harris as questionable for Saturday.

Sean O’Rourke covers Big East football for the New Haven Register. He can be reached at sorourke@nhregister.com.

©The Bristol Press 2004  

Link

Will the real Rutgers please stand up?

[smazza]

step back- more like    they fell down

[bulls96go]

lose to a 1aa crap where is the pride man, you are BCS!