Game 13: Virginia Tech

Bowl games often come down to who wants to be there and who doesn't. Rutgers could easily have no motivation in this game, since it is a consolation prize for them after blowing their chances of playing in a BCS game, but there is still plenty on the line today. A Rutgers win would give them their 10th win of the season, something they have only achieved twice before before in school history (1976 and 2006). A win would also extend the nation's longest bowl winning streak, send the seniors off the right way, and build positive momentum for the program heading into the 2013 season. With the way Rutgers has handled playing in less than premium bowl games after a dispointing end to the regular season in the past, I don't expect motivation to be a problem for them. If anything, Virginia Tech could be the unmotivated team, since they may just want their first disappointing season in while to end.

As Andy Staples points out, teams have used the Russell Athletic Bowl (formerly the Champs Sports Bowl, Tangerine Bowl, Blockbuster Bowl and Mazda Bowl) as a "launching pad" to greater things. Florida State and Notre Dame played in this bowl a year ago, and the Irish are now in the national championship game and the Seminoles are in the Orange Bowl. Two years ago, West Virginia played in this bowl and they parlayed that into an Orange Bowl win last year. Wisconsin played in this game in 2009, and they have won three consecutive Big 10 titles in the wake of that. Hopefully Rutgers will be the next school to join that group with a big 2013 season, and a win today would build momentum towards that.

Injuries
Rutgers is pretty healthy coming into this game. Brandon Jones will be able to go after missing the second half of the Louisville game with an injury and Jawan Jamison and Andre Civil are back to 100% after playing hurt at the end of the season. Kicker Nick Borgese had a minor back problem this week, but he will kick today over the now healthy Kyle Federico.

Prediction- Rutgers 16 Virginia Tech 13
I'm fairly confident that this will be a close game and I think Rutgers will be able to make a big play on special teams or force a big turnover to swing the game in their favor.

Keys For Rutgers in The Russell Athletic Bowl

Virginia Tech and Rutgers seem to be very similar teams at a glance. Both teams have very strong defenses to go along with erratic offenses, and they both rely heavily on turnovers in order to win games. Friday's Russell Athletic Bowl appears to be a close match up, at least on paper, since these two teams are so similar, but there is one big variable during bowl season: both coaching staffs have had a month to prepare for this game. With that much time on their hands, the two coaching staffs could add wrinkles to their offenses and defenses, or concoct ways to keep the other team's strengths in check. As someone who has watched Virginia Tech play on TV a handful of times this season, I think the keys to Rutgers keeping Tech's strengths in check lay in the hands of their offensive linemen and corner backs.
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Offense

Blitz Pick Up
Virginia Tech runs the vaunted 4-4 G defense, and with eight or nine defenders in the box most of the time, it is difficult to run against them. With that in mind, Rutgers very well might have to win this game on offense through the air. That will be no easy task though.

Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster loves to send exotic zone blitzes after opposing quarterbacks, bringing guys from everywhere, including off the corner, while also dropping defensive lineman back in coverage. Those types of blitzes make it tricky for offenses to throw short passes over the middle, as we saw when Gary Nova threw 6 interceptions against Kent State. So in order to prevent the same thing from happening, Rutgers should attack the Hokies deep and on intermediate routes towards the sideline.That is easier said then done, however. In order to throw the ball down field, Nova will need time to stand in the pocket, and that will be difficult when the Hokies are bringing extra defenders at him.

Here is an example of one of Virginia Tech's zone blitzes:

The boundary corner is creeping in, showing blitz, so Nova should recognize where the pressure is coming from and adjust his protection scheme accordingly, probably by sliding everyone but the right tackle to the left. A running back would likely have to pick up the corner, and Kaleb Johnson would have to pick up the linebacker blitzing off the edge. Antwan Lowery would have to take the end slanting into to him, while Bujari takes on the nose with help from Civil or Alexander. RJ Dill would not slide to his left and would instead take on the guy over his head.

If they are able to pick up this blitz, Rutgers could exploit match ups on the outside that are in their favor. Wide side corner Antone Exum is at his best pressing at the line and being physical, but he is some what vulnerable when giving up a lot of cushion covering the deep third. Brandon Coleman can out run him. Towards the boundary, the receiver would be matched up with a safety deep or with a linebacker who has a lot of ground to cover getting to the flat. A quick out, a comeback or a curl could be open in that deep flat area.

Get Jamison In the Open Field Behind the Hogs
As stated above, it's difficult to run the ball against Tech's 8 and 9 man fronts, but it's not impossible. Teams with big offensive lines have over powered the Hokies' front, with their small, shifty backs making Tech defenders miss in the open field to break off big gains. Giovanni Bernard of North Carolina, Duke Johnson of Miami and Rushel Shell of Pittsburgh all exploited the Hokies, each rushing for over 100 yards against them behind their massive offensive lines.

Rutgers does not have a massive offensive line as a whole like the Hurricanes, Tar Heels and Panthers, but Dill and Lowery are very big, so running off the edge to the right or up the middle to the left seem to be the ideal places to run the ball. If they can over power their guy at the point of attack and everyone else can get a hat on a hat, Jamison could use his shiftiness (assuming he is fully healthy) to juke or spin a defender out in the open field in order to break off a big run. 

Defense

Stop Logan Thomas on the Inverted Veer
Logan Thomas is the Hokies leading rusher and he is the only inside running threat they have. Their bread and butter run play is the inverted veer, which is basically a power play read option, where Thomas will read the defensive end and either keep it himself up the gut behind a pulling guard or hand it off to his back, who will run sideways and look for the edge that is set by the H-back. It looks like this: 

With the way Khaseem Greene and Jamal Merrell play in space and the way corners Logan Ryan and Brandon Jones can tackle, the outside run should not be a problem. I'm more concerned with Thomas running up the middle.  I think the end, who is left unblocked, should crash down on Thomas and force him to hand it off. If the end sits still or goes to the outside though, the most important defender will be the defensive tackle to the play side. Hopefully that defender will be Scott Vallone, as he is adept at taking on the double team that would come towards him as part of the power play blocking, but if it is Jamil Merrell or Darius Hamilton in that spot, they must hold the double team at the line or fight though it. If they can do that, it will allow Steve Beauharnais to fill the hole and make a play. Thomas is a load to bring down and he is bigger than Rutgers' linebackers, so the safeties must fly down in run support to get multiple defenders on him.

The Hokies' line is not very good, so hopefully they can be over matched by Vallone and co. on these plays, but they did do a good job with the down blocks required on this play against Miami and Florida State.

Don't get beat deep
Thomas has struggled with his decision making and accuracy all year, but he has no problems at all when it comes to his arm strength and throwing the ball down field. Nobody in the nation throws a better deep ball than Thomas, and with speedsters Marcus Davis and Corey Fuller at receiver, he can really burn you over the top. If Rutgers is able to take away the deep ball, Tech will be forced to settle for short passes, which hasn't always worked out well for them.

In order to not get beat deep, getting pressure on the quarterback would be the obvious solution, but Rutgers hasn't gotten a ton of pressure from their front four this year. In order to stop these deep balls, Logan Ryan, Brandon Jones and Marcus Cooper must be physical at the line while pressing Davis and Fuller. Neither of those two are particularly physical players, so getting in their grill and knocking them off their routes could frustrate the hell out of them, and cause them to be off their game. Using Mason Robinson and Wayne Warren more at safety would allow the corners to have more help deep if they are unable to re-route the receivers.

Force Turnovers
This seems like an obvious one, but it's importance can not be stated enough. Rutgers is undefeated this year when they win the turnover battle, and with an offense that could struggle yet again, they will need to set them up in good field position or score for themselves. Thomas makes some poor decision passing the ball, and the defenders must take advantage of it when they get their hands on the ball.


Special Teams

Prove it
Virginia Tech has been known as the the preeminent special teams program for a while, but their success has fallen off in recent years, and Rutgers could be on the verge making their claim as the best special teams program in the nation. Against Miami, the Hokies allowed a punt to be blocked and they gave up a long kick return, so this unit has been vulnerable for them. Rutgers leads the nation in blocked kicks since 2009, and they have turned many games around with big plays on special teams. If they can out Beamer Ball a Beamer team, they could prove that they have over taken the Hokies' special teams mantle and maybe turn this game around too.

The offensive line and cornerbacks are going to be the deciding factors for Rutgers in this game. If the line can pick up the blitzes and over power Virginia Tech's front, Jamison could have a big day and Nova could hit on some pass plays over the top. If the corners take away the deep ball and hold strong in run support, the Hokies could have problems moving the ball. If these two groups don't have outstanding games, it will come down to turnovers and special teams. This should be a close game and these keys could be the deciding factor whether Rutgers wins or not.

Know Your Opponent: Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech was, of course, an original football playing member of the Big East, and during their time in the conference, they grew into one of the most consistently great programs in the nation. During their time in the Big East, the Hokies finished ranked in eight of their 13 seasons in the league, won or shared three conference titles, and played Florida State in the Sugar Bowl for the National Championship after the 1999 season. They were a big part of building the Big East into one of the top football conferences in the nation, and they have continued their levels of success in the ACC, which they joined along with Miami and Boston College after the 2003 season. The Hokies have appeared in 5 BCS games over their nine year ACC tenure, but this season they fell well short of the lofty standards they have set for themselves. They only went 6-6 after having to replace most of their offense from a year ago. Although they had this down season, they are still a very well respected program nationally, and are making a bowl game for the 20th consecutive season. A win over Tech would really help Rutgers' program nationally, as they continue to look for more respect.

The Hokies So Far- Virginia Tech started the season 2-0 after an over time victory over Georgia Tech on Labor Day and a win over FCS school Austin Peay. They followed that up by losing 3 of their next 4 to Pittsburgh (in blow out fashion), Cincinnati (on a late pass from Munchie Leagux) and North Carolina, with a win over Bowling Green thrown in there. They were able to beat Duke soundly at home, but they were then beaten by Clemson before dropping consecutive Thursday night games to Miami and Florida State. The Hokies were able to defeat Boston College and Virginia in their last two games in order to attain Bowl eligibility.

Coaching- Frank Beamer is in his 26th season as the head coach at his alma mater Virginia Tech, and he is the longest tenured coach at the FBS level right now. Beamer owns a 215-104-2 record as the head Hokie, and he has won 7 conference titles (3 Big East, 4 ACC) in those 26 seasons. Beamer's teams have attained all this success by playing "Beamer Ball," which entails being a tough, physical, run first offense, playing great defense and making big plays on special teams. Beamer holds special teams in a higher regard than most coaches, and the Hokies were once the preeminent program in the country when it came to special teams, but their success has fallen off in recent years. The Hokies have also had to go to more of a spread attack to run the ball in order to accommodate the talent on the team, but Beamer still wants them to be a run first offense. Tech's defenses have remained as tough as ever though. Beamer's teams are always flled with very tough players, and they all buy into the program's blue collar mentality, and they have a lunch pail to prove it.

Bud Foster, who has been with Beamer since 1979 when Beamer was the defensive coordinator and Foster was one of his linebackers at Murry State, leads the defense. Along with Beamer, Foster has built very tough defenses over the years, using their pressure heavy 4-4 G scheme, which has adapted to offenses changing over the years. Brian Stienspring and Mike O'Cain are basically the co-offensive coordinators, and they both appear to be on the way out after the bowl game, following years of criticism from the fans and media for being overly conservative in their play calling.

Offense- 80th in PPG, 81st in yards per rush, 94th in passing efficiency, 82nd in yards per play
The Hokies' offense has struggled mightily this year, after they had to replace almost their entire unit from a year ago. Logan Thomas, came into this season with very high expectations on the heels of a strong 2011 campaign, but he has taken steps back with a worse group around him. He struggles big time with his accuracy and decision making, but he has a dangerous skill set as a massive (6'6'' 260) duel threat, and he is just as capable of making an amazing play as he is a poor one. He has a rocket for an arm and shows nice touch on his deep passes. Thomas is also the leading rusher for the Hokies, using his power between the tackles more than his speed in space.

 The offensive line in front of him does a solid job pass protecting, even against blitzes, but they leave a lot to be desired in the run blocking department. They deliver some nice down blocks on power plays, but they are usually stalemated when blocking a guy man to man, and they give up too much penetration on zone plays. They are waist benders with poor technique. The group featured four new starters at the beginning of the year, and they have gotten a bit better as the season progressed, but they have been very poor overall. Their best player up front is guard Michael Via, who was honorable mention all ACC selection.

The Hokies have three tailbacks with at least 60 carries, and they have had trouble finding a lead back to replace David Wilson. JC  Coleman, a speedy freshman who runs outside in space, leads the trio in carries, while Tony Gregory and Michael Holmes are the power backs who run inside.  Marcus Davis is the team's leading receiver, and he is a lot like Rutgers' receivers in the fact that he is very big and fast, but has problems with drops and is not as productive as he "should" be. Unlike RU's WRs however, his effort as blocker is.....not very good, to put it lightly. Corey Fuller is the team's second leading receiver and he is a former tack star.

Virginia Tech's offensive schemes is similar to Louisville's, as they run a lot of plays out of the pistol, spread you out to pass, and run some I-formation. Instead of running a lot of bootlegs like the Cardinals, the Hokies will sprint Thomas out quite often, and he uses his arm strength to take shots down field. Tech seems to run a lot of crossing routes on third downs as well. The Hokies will run inside zone plays to run down hill out of the pistol, attack the perimeter out of spread sets, and man block out of the I. Their go to run play is the inverted veer option, where Thomas will either take it himself up the gut or hand it off to Coleman, who will stretch the play top the outside.

Defense- 39th in PPG, 37th in yards per rush, 24th in passing efficiency, 25th in yards per play
Virginia Tech has two very good corners in Antone Exum and Kyle Fuller. Fuller is the boundary corner who plays very loose in coverage and is a fast player who can keep up with receivers down the field. Exum is a converted safety, and he is a big, physical player who will press receivers that the line. Exum also has very good ball skills, leading the ACC in passes defended this season. Both of their safeties are very good against the run, and do a solid job covering tight ends and slot receivers. The Hokies have a very good secondary overall, but they have given up some big plays through the air.

Virginia Tech has a strong front 7 that features linebackers who are all smart, instinctive players. Junior Jack Tyler is their best player on defense, leading the team in tackles with 112 and Senior Bruce Taylor is an explosive blitzer who makes a lot of plays in the backfield. Defensive end James Gayle is a very good pass rusher and  Derrick Hopkins is a big run stuffer at defensive tackle.

Virginia Tech runs a pretty unique defensive scheme, the 4-4 G. In this defense, they utilize an under front and usually walk a rover down into the box as an eight run defender. This defense is difficult to run against, but they have had trouble stopping smaller, shifty backs (similar to Jawan Jamison) this season. Against the pass, Foster loves to dial up zone blitzes to confuse the quarterback, dropping lineman back into coverage and sending corner off the edge every so often. The Hokies usually play cover 3 behind these blitzes, but the primary coverage they use is quarters, which allows both safeties to play close to the line of scrimmage.

Conclusion
Virginia Tech had a down year this year as they had to replace most of their offense from a year ago, but they still have a very strong defense and a quarterback in Logan Thomas who is capable of greatness. They have gotten away from what has made them one of the most consistently strong programs in the nation a bit, as they don't run down hill as much and have not maintained their extraordinary special teams play, but they still have a tough, blue collar mentality that Frank Beamer's teams always do. Virginia Tech is a well respected program, and Rutgers could gain more respect for themselves if they are able to defeat their former conference mates.

Link: Kyle Flood's Keys to Zone Blocking

Earlier this season, I wrote about the bread an butter play of Rutgers' offense, the outside zone play. I broke down a long, touchdown scoring run Jawan Jamison had on the play, in the victory over South Florida, explaining the blocking techniques used by the offensive lineman, tight ends and fullback and the read Jamison had to make running the ball. I used general zone blocking ideology to describe what went on, and today Chris Brown wrote about the specific ways Kyle Flood teaches the play to his lineman and running backs. Brown had seen Flood lecture on the play at a coaching clinic, and he passed along Flood's 3 keys to the play:

"Rutgers runs it the same way most NFL teams do, which is essentially the same way the old school Nebraska teams used to run it under Tom Osborne (the diagram above is from Milt Tenopir, Nebraska’ legendary offensive line coach). There are three keys to Flood’s outside zone:

1. The runningback’s read;
2. The technique of the “uncovered lineman”; and
3. Where the fullback “inserts” into the defense."

For the "running back read," Flood teaches his backs to only make one read, on the outside man on the line of scrimmage, rather than two (on the end man on the line and the second to last man on the line) like most offenses teach. It simplifies things for the back and gets the play going downhill, on what is an east-west play for a lot of teams.

The uncovered linemen are taught to, first and foremost, secure a double team on the defensive lineman immediately down the line from them towards they play side where they are stepping. Once that block is secured, one of the two blockers will go to the next level and block a linebacker, and which backer they block depends on the fullback insert.

The fullback (or H-back, which Rutgers has primarily used since Mike Burton got hurt) will normally lead off the edge and block the strong safety. In this case, the offensive lineman will have to take care of all three backers. Other times, the fullback will lead on the strong side backer with the tight end taking the force, and the lineman would then be responsible for the middle and weak-side backers. The fullback will also sometimes head towards the backside of the play and cut off the weak-side linebacker, in which case the lineman will block the middle and strong-side backers.

It is very important for everyone to know who they are blocking and for them to all be on the same page, so Gary Nova will normally call out the number of the player the fullback or center is going to block. This is what you hear when TV field mics pick up the QB saying "55 is the MIKE" or whatever.

Brown's article is very informative and a great read (everything he writes is), so check the whole thing out.

Big 10 Divisions

With Rutgers and Maryland set to join the Big 10 in 2014, the conference is reconsidering their divisional alignment and looking for fan feedback on the topic. Most Big 10 fans hate the current set up, especially the names of the division ("Legends" and "Leaders"), so the conference is looking to rectify those mistakes the second time around post expansion. The league has given fans three options to rank in order of preference: the current format with Rutgers and Maryland each added to a different division in the current set up, an East- West alignment, or what they are calling the inner-outer option. Each choice has its pluses and minuses, but I think there is one option that is head and shoulders above the others when it comes to geography, competitiveness and preserving rivalries.

  

This is the divisional alignment as it stands right now, with Rutgers and Maryland each being thrown into a different division. The divisions are pretty balanced competitively, but it is a mess geographically and a number of the conference's rivalries are devalued or neglected. The Ohio State/Michigan rivalry is maybe the most storied rivalry in college football, and they are in separate divisions. Although their yearly game is protected as "cross over rivals", the regular season game could be rendered meaningless if they meet the following week in the Big 10 Championship game. That would not be a good scenario for anybody; they belong in the same division.

The team that gets screwed the most in the rivalry department right now is Wisconsin. Their traditional rivals, Minnesota and Iowa, are both in the other division, as is Michigan State, with whom they have a budding rivalry with after a recent run of exciting and competitive games.

For Rutgers or Maryland, there wouldn't be any close road trips for the team that ends up in the "Legends" division (the one with Michigan), and it would make the most sense to keep those two and Penn State in the same division.

 

In an East-West format, geography is not a problem and the traditional rivalries are kept intact, but the divisions are not very balanced. In the original division lay out a couple years ago, the Big 10 split the 4 traditional powers (Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska) and the two emerging powers (Wisconsin and Michigan State) up evenly, and it has resulted in balanced and competitive divisions. With this proposed set up, three of the traditional powers and one of the emerging powers would be in the eastern division, making it seemingly a whole lot stronger than the west. Even when you consider Penn State is likely to take a few steps back as they deal with their NCAA sanctions, it still seems like the much, much stronger division.

 

Option 3 is the format I prefer. This divisional alignment is competitively balanced, preserves traditional rivalries, and the geography of it isn't as bad as you would think. The four traditional powers and the two emerging powers are split up evenly, and none of the traditional rivalries are lost. The Buckeyes and Wolverines would preserve their rivalry with in the same division, and Michigan's other main rival, Michigan State, is also aligned with them. Wisconsin would now be joined by their two main rivals, Minnesota and Iowa, and the intra-state rivals (Purdue/Indiana, Illinois/Northwester) would be tied together.

Geographically, all the "inner" schools are fairly close to one another, but the "outer" division seems messy. The three eastern schools are lumped together, which is ideal, but they would also be in the same division as teams more than half way across the country. That's not a big deal for travel though, as Maryland and Penn State are the only schools within driving distance from Rutgers, and a flight to Lincoln, Nebraska is only about an hour longer than a flight to Detroit is.

Whatever option is chosen, the Leaders and Legends names will have to go. For the new division names, there have been a lot of suggestions, including the Plains/Lakes, Black/Blue, and Woody/Bo divisions. Obviously if option two is picked, it will probably just be East/West, but I have my own suggestion for options 1 and 3. My somewhat serious idea is calling one division (division A) the "Corn Division"and the other (division B) the "Wheat" division. Nebraska and Iowa are obviously known for their corn production, and corn is grown in New Jersey as well (people across the country seem to forget that we are the Garden State) and wheat is one of the top crops grown in the mid-west.

From Rutgers' perspective, I think the most important thing will be for them to be in the same division as Penn State and Maryland, in order to have some close road trips and hopefully start regional rivalries. That throws option 1 out the window. The East-West set up is too unbalanced competitively and Rutgers could get buried in it, so that leave option 3 as the preferred choice for the Knights. The divisions are balanced and they get to be in the same division as the other two north eastern teams.

Recruiting Updates

Rutgers has assembled a pretty good 2013 recruiting class up to this point in Kyle Flood and his staff's first full recruiting cycle, with just about two months to go before signing day. Rivals has the class rated 29th nationally, and ESPN has them 34th. New Jersey is very deep in in-state talent this year, but Rutgers has missed out on most of the top tier guys, and their ranking is based more on quantity than quality. There are still some top players on the board though, and some players who may be on the verge of decommitting, so there's still a lot of room for improvement.

As far as uncommitted players go, Al-Quadin Muhammad is the consensus top remaining player in the state of New Jersey. The defensive end from Don Bosco was Rivals' number 6 rated player in New Jersey coming into the season, and he had a very good year in 2012 for the some what disappointing Iron Men. It has been rumored for a while that he has secretly given a verbal commitment to Notre Dame, but he is waiting to officially announce it at the Army All American Game on January 5th. It's not a stretch to believe that he has in fact given his commitment to the Irish considering they went undefeated this season and one of his best friends Elijah Shumate is already in South Bend, but I wouldn't totally rule Rutgers out on him yet. The coach recruiting him for Notre Dame, defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, is a candidate for some head coaching vacancies, and of course he has quite a few of his high school teammates playing for the Scarlet Knights who could sway him to stay close to home.

Another instate defensive end may be on the verge of decommitting. Immaculata's Tashawn Bower has been wavering on his commitment to Auburn for a while, and he is now looking to take official visits at other schools in wake of Gene Chizik's dismissal from the school. Gus Malzahn, who is the new head coach on the Plains, has already visited him in person, but Bower has scheduled official visits to Rutgers, LSU and Florida. Bower was rated as the 8th best player in New Jersey before the season, but he is know arguably the top prospect in the state after a strong senior year. He has made numerous unofficial visits to Rutgers this season, and many recruiting analysts view the Scarlet Knights as the heavy favorite for his services.

2012 safety DJ Singleton is back on the market after singing his letter of intent with Wisconsin last year. He failed to qualify because his SAT scores were a few points too low, and he is looking around for potential new suitors after Bret Bielema left the Badgers for Arkansas. Rutgers figures to be in the mix for the three star prospect after they offered him a scholarship a year ago, and Savon Huggins, his teammate at St. Peter's Prep, has reached out to him on Rutgers' behalf. The Scarlet Knights already have a number of safety types committed in this recruiting class, so it will be interesting to see how hard they go after Singleton. Wisconsin and other major programs figure to go after him as well.

Elsewhere, Asiantii Woulard, one of the top duel threat quarterbacks in the nation, has reopened his recruitment after South Florida fired Skip Holtz. According to ESPN, the Winter Haven, Florida product is considering Rutgers, Maryland, Syracuse, Tennessee and Ole Miss, with the Volunteers appearing to be the favorite. None of the recruiting sites have him listed as having an offer from Rutgers though, and in fact Rutgers is not even listed as having interest in him. Teams very rarely take more than one quarterback in a recruiting class, and with Chris Laviano already in the fold, I doubt Rutgers goes hard after him.

Rutgers already has 22 commitments for 2013 so far, so they don't have a ton of room to add more recruits (the limit is technically 25, but it is very easy to get around that rule). Hopefully they will get a few upper echelon guys to commit so they can have a top 25 class for the second year in a row. I think it is vital for them to either get Bower or Muhammad, and that was very apparent to me during the Louisville game when their lack of an impact pass rusher was painfully obvious. Regardless of what they do, their class appears to be in good shape.

Rutgers Will Take on Virginia Tech in the Russell Athletic Bowl

 Rutgers has accepted an invitation to the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando, Florida, where they will take on the Virginia Tech Hokies on December 28. It's not the BCS game the team and the fans were looking for, but it's a nice consolation prize, and this is probably the best bowl game Rutgers has ever been selected to. The Scarlet Knights are of course some what familiar with the Virginia Tech, as the Hokies were their conference mates in the Big East from 1991-2004, but the teams will face off for the first time since Tech jumped ship to the ACC. The Hokies had a disappointing 6-6 season, but this is still an exciting match up for Rutgers, as they take on a very well respected program who plays a similar style of football as them.

Rutgers is only 3-11 all time against Virginia Tech, but obviously a lot has changed since they last met in 2004. The Scarlet Knights are no longer a doormat, and the Hokies will have a much tougher time winning this one than they have in previous match ups. The most memorable game these two played was the 1992 contest on Halloween, in which the Scarlet Knights rallied from behind to pull off a last second 50-49 victory on home coming. That Rutgers team featured freshman Marco Battaglia and Ray Lucas playing in a limited role, and current athletic director Tim Pernetti. It was Rutgers only win over Virginia Tech while they were both Big East teams. There's a video on Youtube with some of the highlights of the game, if you're interested.

The Hokies have been a disappointment this year, finishing only 6-6, but Frank Beamer has his squad in a bowl game for the 20th consecutive season. They are a very similar team to Rutgers, as they have a very strong defense that is especially tough against the run, but an offense that has struggled mightily at times. Logan Thomas was supposed to improve off his very good 2011 and play himself into a first round pick, but the QB took some steps back this season, committing too many mistakes. Their running game was sub par, as they had a bunch of inexperienced players on the offensive line, and were  unable to replace David Wilson in the backfield. Jack Tyler is the leader of their defense at linebacker, and James Gayle is a dangerous pass rusher of the edge. Corner back Kyle Fuller is also a stand out player. The Hokies are known for their special teams, but that unit has not been very strong this year.

I know a lot of Rutgers fans are disappointed and down on this game, but this is another opportunity for the team to play on a national stage against a well respected program and they need our support. The team needs to send the seniors off the right way and build towards next year. Virginia Tech is a similar team to Rutgers, and they are probably the most intriguing opponent the team has played in a bowl game since maybe Kansas State in 2006. Going to Orlando is a nice reward for the team for their strong season, and hopefully they are able to extend the nation's longest bowl winning streak.

2012 All Big East Team

The Big East announced their individual post season awards and the all conference team for the 2012 season today, and Rutgers was very well represented. They had a league high 8 players who were first or second team all conference and won two of the individual awards. Khaseem Greene repeated as the conference's defensive player of the year, and Kyle Flood shared the coach of the year honors with Louisville's Charlie Strong. The coaches actually did a nice job voting on this, there weren't a ton of omissions, which is a nice change up from the voting the past few years. You can see the full results here.

I had planned on posting my own Big East awards and all conference team before the official one came out of Providence, but obviously that didn't happen. Here it is though, better late then never.

 (Warning: some Rutgers homer picks ahead)

Offensive Player of the Year: Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville
Bridgewater was by far the best player in the conference this year, and he was one of the top quarterbacks in the entire nation this year. He turned in a great performance while injured and on the road to win the conference against Rutgers, and was consistently brilliant through out the year, putting up some great numbers. He was 7th nationally in passing efficiency (161.6), 8th in yards per attempt (8.9), 6th in completion percentage (69%) and 21st in TD passes, and leading the Big East in all of those categories.

Defensive Player of the Year: Khaseem Greene LB Rutgers
Greene was the most dominant player on the defensive side of the ball in the conference this year, leading the number four scoring defense in the country. Greene led the league in total tackles (125) and forced fumbles (6), while also finishing 4th in sacks (5.5), 8th in tackles for loss (10.5) and interceptions (2), in addition to 7 passes defended. His biggest performance was in a win over Syracuse,when he recorded 14 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, an interception and 1.5 sacks.

Coach of the Year: Kyle Flood Rutgers
Flood took over the Rutgers program after Greg Schiano departed for the NFL, and the first year coach kept a steady hand at the wheel, leading the team to a 9-3 record and winning a share of the conference title.

Offensive Freshman of the Year: Rushel Shell RB Pittsburgh
Shell rushed for 562 yards backing up Ray Graham.

Defensive Freshman of the Year: Nate Smith LB Temple
Smith, the brother of former Scarlet Knight LJ Smith, recorded 75 tackles for the Owls.

First Team
QB- Teddy Bridgewater Louisville
RB- Montel Harris Temple
RB- George Winn Cincinnati
WR- Alec Lemon Syracuse
WR- Marcus Sales Syracuse
TE- Travis Kelce Cincinnati
OT- Eric Lefeld Cincinnati
OT- Kaleb Johnson Rutgers
OG- Antwan Lowery Rutgers
OG- Austin Bujnoch Cincinnati
C- Mario Benavides Louisville

DE- Trevardo Williams Connecticut
DE- Brandon Sharpe Syracuse
DT- Scott Vallone Rutgers
DT- Aaron Donald Pittsburgh
LB- Khaseem Greene Rutgers
LB- Yarwin Smallwood Connecticut
LB- Steve Beauharnais Rutgers
CB- Logan Ryan Rutgers
CB- Dwayne Gratz Connecticut
S- Calvin Pryor Louisville
S- Shamarko Thomas Syracuse

K/P Brandon McManus Temple
KR- Matt Brown Temple

Second Team
QB- Tino Sunseri Pittsburgh
RB- Jawan Jamison Rutgers
RB- Ray Graham Pittsburgh
WR- Devante Parker Louisville
WR- Brandon Coleman WR Rutgers
TE- Ryan Griffin Connecticut
OT- Justin Pugh Syracuse
OT- RJ Dill Rutgers/Alex Cooper Louisville
OL- Martin Wallace Temple
OG- Mark Popek South Florida
C- Betim Bujari Rutgers

DE- Walter Stewart Cincinnati
DE- Dan Giordano Cincinnati
DT- Cory Grissom South Florida
DT- Ryan Wirth Connecticut
LB- Sio Moore Connecticut
LB- Jamal Merrell Rutgers
LB-Greg Blair Cincinnati
CB- Adrian Bushell Louisville
CB- Brandon Jones Rutgers/ Blidi Wreh-Wilson Connecticut
S- Duron Harmon Rutgers
S-Hakeem Smith Louisville

K- Maiokan Bonani South Florida
P- Matt Yolik Pitt
KR- Ralph David Abernathy IV

20-17 Heart Break

Rutgers had the opportunity on Thursday night to take the next step as a program and gain national relevance, but as they have so many times in the past, they were unable to take it over the top, as they lost an absolute heart breaker to Louisville 20-17. The game, an outright conference championship, and an elusive BCS bid were right in their grasps, but they let everything slip away with constant mistakes and blown opportunities. The referees made some....let's say questionable calls too, but I really don't like using officiating as an excuse. The stars seemed to be aligning for Rutgers to finally break through and win this game, but there appears to be some kind of hex over the program that leaves them constantly snake bitten and looking for answers as to why this always happens.

Despite the loss, Rutgers probably played their best half of football in the first half of this game. Usually Rutgers comes out flat in the first half or feels out the opponent before making adjustments, but they came out firing early, and it payed off big time. Teddy Bridgewater sat out the first quarter for Louisville, and Will Stein and the Cardinals running game were not able to accomplish much against a stingy Rutgers defense. Stein was able to get Louisville into Rutgers territory on some bootleg runs on the opening series, but Steve Beauharnais brought running back Jeremy Wright down in the backfield for a loss and Brandon Jones made a big tackle on third down to force a punt. Gary Nova then led the offense out onto the field for the first time with the ball on his own 15 yard line. With the way Rutgers has been calling plays this year, it seemed like an obvious running situation, but I had a feeling they would take a shot down field off play action on the first play. And that's exactly what they did. Nova faked the hand off and hit Brandon Coleman on a post route between two defenders, and with the safety over playing the ball in the air, Coleman kicked it into gear and took the reception all the way for an 85 yard score to give Rutgers a 7-0 lead. The crowd was going wild and it seemed like Rutgers had all the momentum on their side.

When the defense went back onto the field, Marcus Cooper forced Louisville receiver Eli Rodgers to fumble a quick screen pass, and the Scarlet Knights were able to recover it. They reviewed the play and overturned the ruling on the filed, making it an incomplete pass instead of a fumble. From the replay they showed on the board in the stadium, it looked very close to me. I could not tell whether he had full possession of the ball or not, but he did take a few steps. I didn't see any conclusive evidence one way or the other, and thought the ruling on the filed should have stood. The Big East officials didn't agree though. Questionable call number one. The Knights were able to get a big stop though, setting the offense up in good field position though, as Scott Vallone stuffed a 4th and 1 QB sneak at midfield. Handed good field position, the offense was unable to take advantage, as another drive was set back by a penalty. Nova did complete two passes to set up a 4th and 1, but Jawan Jamison was wrapped up in the backfield for a loss on the play. After the turn over on downs, Khaseem Greene and Jamil Merrell both made plays in the backfield to force another punt. Nova then completed a pass to Coleman for a 15 yard gain, but they were unable to move the sticks again, and ended up punting as the time expired in the quarter.

Bridgewater came onto the field to open the second quarter, but Corvin Lamb was the impact player on Teddy's first drive. Lamb broke of runs of 16, 13 and 11 yard to set up a Cards field goal that made it 7-3. When the Knights' offense came back onto the field they responded with another uncharacteristically quick strike. Louisville was playing a soft coverage, and Nova hit Mark Harrison on a quick curl. Harrison muscled his way through a tackle and ran right past an over pursuing defender and the safety for a 68 yard touchdown that made it 14-3. Dave Brock finally came out with an aggressive plan and it was working. Nova looked composed, his receivers were making plays, and they were scoring points. It was nice to see. At this point in the game, Rutgers' defense really started to shut down the run. Beauharnais and Ka'Lial Glaud both recorded tackles for loss early in the series, but Bridgewater was able to make big plays with his arm when he was dropping back and ripping it. Jamil Merrell was able to sack him after Louisville entered Rutgers territory again, to finally put a stop to the drive. Rutgers went 3 and out on offense, and Louisville returned the favor, with Glaud and Beauharnais both making big stuffs against the run on 2nd and 1 and 3rd and 1. With 1:28 remaining in the half, the Knights just ran the clock out, despite picking up a first down and having a hot passing attack. They went into the locker room with a 14-3 lead.

Rutgers went three and out again on the opening possession of the second half, and once again had to punt. Bridgewater completed a couple passes to open the drive, and a bull shit personal foul penalty called on Greene set the Cardinals up in RU territory again. Greene made a tackle after the Louisville receiver narrowly stepped out of bounds and kept running. It didn't end up hurting the Knights though, as Scott Vallone recorded a sack for a big loss and Louisville missed the field goal try. When the Knights got ht ball back, a 7 yard run by Jamison and a 36 yard reception by Harrison set up a 43 yard field goal attempt. Kyle Flood called for a fake, and holder JT Tarcoff completed a pass down field to DC Jefferson for an apparent touchdown, but it was called back by yet another questionable call. The Big East officials ruled that Devin Watkis was down field as an ineligible receiver, and that infraction voided the touchdown. I was at the game and had no idea what was called until after the game, and when I finally saw the replay,  still thought it was ridiculous. Watkis was three yards down field when Tarcoff released the ball, which is perfectly fine by the rule book definition; I do not think a penalty should have been called. It was all the way on the other side of the field, and it had no bearing on the play either. Visual evidence:

Instead of being up 21-3, the Knights were in no man's land after the voided touchdown. Nick Borgese has done a solid job kicking in Kyle Federico's absence, but a 48 yard field goal attempt is well out of his range and a 4th and 14 would be difficult to convert. Kyle Flood eventually decided to punt and I was ok with this decision, but I think the best choice would have been to go for it, take a shot down filed, and hope for a completion or a penalty. The punt only netted them 20 yards of field position, and that's where it all went terrible wrong.

Bridgewater tore Rutgers' defense apart on this next series, completing pass after pass, including a 3rd and 12, to march his team right down the field. On another 3rd and 12 from the 14, Bridgewater was able to escape pressure from Merrell on his sprained ankle, and he shoveled the ball to Jeremy Wright, who dove into the end zone for a score to make it 14-10. I try to stay positive, but this gave me a sinking feel. Things got worse when Jeremy Deering fumbled the ensuing kick off, after a Louisville player put his helmet right on the ball to force it out. A Scarlet Knight dove on top of it right away, but it slipped away from him and Louisville recovered. On the first play after the sudden change, Bridgewater threw a perfect pass on a go route to DeVier Posey in the back of the end zone, over Logan Ryan who provided tight coverage on the play. It looked like a safety was supposed to help him over the top, but he could not get there in time. The score was 17-14 in favor of Louisville heading into the final quarter.

As well as Bridgewater was playing, Gary Nova was able to answer him right back. On the next series, Nova completed passes to Harrison and Quoron Pratt to get the ball to mid field. On a first down, he took another shot down field on play action, and threw a perfect pass to an open Tim Wright, but the sure handed senior left the pass fall right through his hands. If he caught it, it would have likely been a touchdown, but at the very least, a completion would have gotten Rutgers to the Louisville 20. The drive instead resulted in another punt. Lorenzo Waters then got Rutgers the ball right back, intercepting an errant Bridgewater pass over the middle, returning it 29 yards to the Louisville 42. Nova completed another pass to Harrison and Wright caught a third down pass to set up a Borgese field goal, which was successful from 38 yards out to tie the game at 17. The defense held Teddy in check again on the next series, and Kevin Snyder got the defense off the field with a big sack on third down. After a disastrous second half, it looked like Rutgers was set up to retake the lead.

Nova and co. got the ball back on their own 25 with 4:39 left. On a 3rd and 8, Nova hit Wright in the chest with a deep pass over the middle, but he was unable to hang on and he kicked the ball into a Louisville defender's arms for an interception. Louisville started yet another drive in Rutgers territory, but the Scarlet Knight defense was able to hold them to a field goal this time. The offense would get another chance to win or tie the game with just under two minutes left. Nova completed a pass to Jamison to pick up a first down to get RU to mid field again. Nova took another shot down field, but he was not on the same page as Brandon Coleman, and Louisville intercepted the pass uncontested, to basically end the game.

Overall, the offense was very inconsistent on the night. They hit on a few big plays (and should have hit on a few more), but they had no success running the ball and were thus unable to sustain a lengthy drive. Jamison was never able to get going, and I'm unsure why Savon Higgins didn't even get one carry. Gary Nova played a very good, throwing accurate deep balls and averaging more yards per attempt than Bridgewater. His receivers really let him down, if they were able to catch some of the passes they should have, Nova would have been the hero of this game. Mark Harrison was the only reliable receiver on the night, and he recorded his second 100 performance in the last three games. Coleman had the TD and the mishap on the last play, and I feel terrible for Tim Wright. He's battled back through injuries to be a captain and a reliable receiver for this team, and then he had his season marred by one really bad day. I hope he's able to rebound and have a huge bowl game. The offensive line played very well, giving Nova plenty of time to throw and getting a push in the run game.

The defense played a great game. They held a very good offense to only 20 points, in-spite of a very lopsided time of possession margin and two Louisville drives that began in Rutgers' territory. Louisville was able to get absolutely nothing going on the ground, with Vallone and Merrell penetrating the backfield on almost every play. The Knights did not have a strong pass rush from the front 4 though, despite recording 3 sacks, and the defensive backs seemed to miss numerous opportunities to put their hands up to knock a pass down. The secondary really seemed to miss Brandon Jones, who missed the entire second half with an injury he suffered early on, but they did record and interception and they did force the fumble that was overturned. With the Cardinals passing the ball and the defensive line totally shutting down the run, the linebackers had a pretty quiet game. They covered well, but had limited opportunities to make plays.

Teddy Bridgewater is about as good of a quarterback as you will see, and he turned in one of the toughest performances I have ever seen playing with a sprained ankle and broken wrist. He played a very good game and carried the team on his back, but I wouldn't say he totally dominated the game. Regardless, I have a ton of respect for the guy after that effort he turned in.

This game was just another heart breaker for the Scarlet Knights, who have still not gotten over that hump to take the next step as a football program. The coaching staff came into the game with a good game plan and the team played very well on both sides of the ball, but mistakes absolutely killed them. They got off to a hot start, and the game completely turned around when the fake field goal was called back, and they were unable to overcome the eventual deficit. The crowd went through such a wide range of emotion in this game. The place was very loud and jumping for most of the game, but the air was totally let out of the stadium at the end, as everyone sat in stunned silence, unable to believe what had just happened. Eventually this program will have another break through and finally get over the top. But this was not that night, and the coaches, players and fans are left wondering why.