What a DIfference a Day Makes.

Yesterday I sweated my .... well, I sweated a lot as I wrestled some cut logs over to the splitter and stacked the results. The afternoon temp reached 85-86 degrees with a bright sunlight. (Luckily, the place I set up the splitter was in the shade most of the time.)

Today, I woke up to a low of just 46 degrees and a forecast of a 68 as the afternoon high. I took advantage of that and put in two and a half hours finishing up the remaining logs between 8:30 and 11 AM while the temperatures were still in the 50s. I never even broke a sweat.

I've still got some cut pieces of fallen trees (read partly rotten) up in the woods, but they'll stay there. I've more than enough to keep the house warm since we only use the fireplace when the temperatures remain below 30 degrees all day long. 

Now I'm ensconced in my recliner and tuned in to the Rutgers vs. Iowa game. Let's go RU!

Good News!

Got the word today that the closing on the Bolt Hole went without a hitch and that the checks are in the mail. Along with no longer paying town and county taxes (spring), school and library taxes (fall), phone bill, electric bill, and insurance bill, I'll no longer have to worry about mowing the grass, maintenance, rebuilding the garage, repainting the barn and finishing the painting of the roof, or any of the myriad number of things a neglected piece of real estate really, really needs. Which is mainly some TLC.

Yeah, I'll miss it a little. But the extra $$$ and the time will free me up to make some additional trips in the travel trailer to places near and far.

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Did some further declutering today making a quick run to the dump with a few bags of assorted trash and half a dozen half empty paint cans. Still sorting through some of the stuff from Terry's Mom and the Bolt Hole. If I ever get around to doing inventory, I might have more stuff in my shop than Mr. Burns had in his hardware store when I worked there 50 years ago. (Some of it might be as old, too.)

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I was notified that the ATV--a Yamaha ProHauler--was repaired and ready for pickup. All, that is, except for the tail light cover which is backordered. Okay. I can't pick it up until Monday anyway, how 'bout if I call you Monday morning to see about that light cover? (I've no immediate need to use the Hauler, anyway. AND I've still got to clean out a spot for it in a cluttered garage!)

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Mets swept the Nationals in a three game series. They had to come from behind in all three games bit opened a 7 game lead in the NL East. Then they went and beat the Braves to make it a 7 1/2 game lead. Things are looking pretty good for some post-season play!

Oh! And the Jets and Giants open their NFL play on Sunday.

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My Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-0) will be playing the Washington State Cougars (0-1...they lost to he Portland State Vikings for crying out loud!) on Saturday at 3:30 PM EDT.

It will be interesting to see how the Scarlet fair in the running game (last week they had something like 280 yards on the ground) and who the quarterback will be. Both did well last week against Norfolk State, but the second half combo of Chris Laviano and receiver Leonte Carroo (three complete passes for 129 yards and three TDs) have earned Laviano this week's starting assignment.

Go R U!

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[Added]
Almost forgot we harvest more acorn squash today. That brings the total to nine. Pretty good considering I didn't plant any. These are volunteers that grew in the compost heap from seeds dumped there last year. Guess I need to distribute the compost to the growing beds of the garden!

College Football: Week 14 Results

Along with some real blowouts, there were a couple of great games played this last weekend and a few of them ended up in upsets. The biggest upset was that of #4 Mississippi State by #19 Ole Miss. That loss is sure to scramble the playoff picture. 

Ranks on the left are those of the Selection Committee/AP/Coaches Top 25/CBSSPORTS.COM 128 Polls as reported by CBSSports.com. NR = Not Ranked.

1/2/2/2 Alabama (11-1) The Tide trailed at the half but came back to defeat the #15 Auburn Tigers (8-4) 55-44. Bama trailed 36-24 in the third quarter when they went on a 28-0 scoring streak to take a 55-36 lead. Blake Sims threw for 312 yards and four TD passes—three of them to Amari Cooper—and ran for another for Alabama. Nick Marshall threw for 456 yards and three TDs for Auburn.

2/3/3/3 Oregon (11-1) The Ducks trounced the Oregon State Beavers (5-7) 47-19. Marcus Mariota threw for 327 yards and four TDs and also ran for two more TDs. The Ducks had a 30-0 lead before the Beavers were able to get on the board.

3/1/2/2 Florida State (12-0) The Seminoles edged the Florida Gators (6-5) 24-19. Their play may be far from perfect, but the Seminoles’ record is. Jameis Winston threw three INTs—in the first quarter. But the FSU defense allowed only field goals off those turnovers, returned an interception 94 yards for a TD, and allowed only one field goal in the second half. Winston did throw two TDs to Nick O’Leary.

4/4/4/4 Mississippi State (10-2) The Bulldogs were upset by the #19 Ole Miss Rebels (9-3) 31-27. Jaylen Walton ran for 148 yards and one TD on 14 carries and freshman running back Jordan Wilkins took a pitch from Bo Wallace and threw a 31 yard TD pass to Cody Core.

5/6/5/5 TCU (9-1) The Horned Frogs routed the Texas Longhorns (6-5) 48-10. Trevon Boykin threw for 233 yards and two TDs, Terrell Lathan returned a fumble 40 yards for a TD and Josh Carraway returned an interception 33 yards for another so even the TCU defense outscored the Longhorns.

6/7/7/7 Ohio State (11-1) The Buckeyes trounced the  ichigan Wolverines (5-7) 42-28 but lost J.T. Barrett to a broken ankle. Barrett had thrown for one TD and run for two more before injuring his ankle. Ezekiel Elliott (121 yards on 17 carries) rushed for two TDs in Barrett’s absence and Darron Lee returned a fumble 33 yards for a TD.

7/5/6/6 Baylor (10-1) The Bears got a scare but managed to hold off the Red Raiders of Texas Tech (4-8) 48-46. Patrick Mahomes threw for 598 yards and six touchdowns for the Red Raiders in a losing cause. Shock Linwood rushed for 158 yards and two scores for the Bears. Bryce Petty threw for 210 yards and two TDs but was knocked out of the game with a possible concussion and did not play the second half. His replacement, Seth Russell threw for 82 yards and a touchdown.

8/9/10/10 UCLA (9-3) The Bruins were beat by the Stanford Cardinal (7-5) 31-10. Kevin Hogan went 14 of 15 for 189 yards and two TDs—in the first half. Then the Cardinal played ball control in the second half. Hogan finished 16 of 19 for 234 yards and the Cardinal had 202 yards on the ground as they held the ball for nearly 38 minutes.

9/8/9/8 Georgia (9-3) The Bulldogs fell to the #16 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-2) 30-24 in OT. It was a wild one! The two teams combined for three fumbles at the 1-yard line and three blocked kicks. Georgia pulled off a fake field goal, while Georgia Tech recovered a botched kickoff. Oh, and there was a blocked extra point in OT. Damian Swann returned one of those goal line fumbles 99 yards for a Georgia score. Zach Laskey rushed for 140 yards and three TDs, including the one in OT, for Tech. Nick Chubb ran for 129 yards and a TD for Georgia.

10/10/8/9 Michigan State (10-2) The Spartans handily defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions (6-6) 34-10. R.J/ Shelton returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a TD and Jeremy Langford rushed for 118 yards and two TDs for the Spartans.

11/12/12/14 Arizona (10-2) The Wildcats downed the #13 Arizona State Sun Devils (9-3) 42-35. Anthony Lopez returned a fumble 25 yards for a TD on the third play of the game, Nick Wilson rushed for 178 yards and three TDs, and Anu Solomon threw for two TDs for the Wildcats. Demetrius Cherry had a 2 yard fumble return for a Arizona State score. Taylor Kelly was 13 of 22 for 144 yards and two TDs but was pulled in the third quarter for Mike Bercovici who went 14 of 22 for 123 yards and a TD.

12/11/11/12 Kansas State (9-2) The Wildcats trounced the Kansas Jayhawks (3-9) 51-13. Jake Waters threw for 294 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for another to lead the Wildcats. Michael Cummings threw for two TDs for the Jayhawks.

13/13/13/13 Arizona State (9-3) The Sun Devils lost to the #11 Arizona Wildcats (10-2) 42-35. Moe above.

14/14/14/11 Wisconsin (10-2) The Badgers downed the #18 Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-4) 34-24. Melvin Gordon rushed for 151 yards and one TD and Joel Stave threw for two TDs for the Badgers. David Cobb rushed for 118 yards and a TD and Mitch Leidner scored twice for the Gophers.

15/15/16/15 Auburn (8-4) The Tigers put up a fight for three plus quarters against the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide (10-1) but got overtaken 55-44. More above.

16/16/15/16 Georgia Tech (10-2) The Yellow Jackets upset the #9 Georgia Bulldogs (9-3) 30-24. It was a wild one! More above.

17/17/17/18 Missouri (10-2) The Tigers beat the Arkansas Razorbacks (6-6) 21-14. Maty Mauk threw for 265 yards and a TD to lead the Tigers. Brandon Allen threw for two TDs for the Razorbacks.

18/22/22/23 Minnesota (8-4) The Golden Gophers were beaten by the #14 Wisconsin Badgers (10-2) 34-24. More above.

19/18/19/19 Ole Miss (9-3) The Rebels upset the #4 Mississippi State Bulldogs (10-2) 31-27. More above.

20/20/18/20 Oklahoma (8-3) The Sooners had this weekend off.

21/23/24/24 Clemson (9-3) The Tigers beat the South Carolina Gamecocks (6-6) 35-17. Freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson played with a torn ACL. All he did was throw for 269 yards and two TDs and score two more TDs on the ground. Wayne Gallman added 191 yards and a TD on the ground. Artavis Scott had seven catches for 185 yards and scores on 53 and 70 yard plays.

22/24/23/21 Louisville (9-3) The Cardinals edged the Kentucky Wildcats (5-7) 44-40. Fred Tiller returned an interception 40 yards for a TD and Mike Douglas ran a fumble back 30 yards for another UK score. BUT, Kyle Bolin threw for three TDs and Brandon Radcliff ran for two TDs. His second came with 2:47 left and put the Cardinals ahead. That lead was protected when Gerod Holliman made his 14th interception this season—tying an NCAA record—with 35 seconds left.

23/25/25/25 Boise State (10-2) The Broncos rolled over the Utah State Aggies (9-4) 50-19. Jay Ajayi carried the ball 27 times gaining 229 yards and scoring six touchdowns for Boise. Jalen Davis returned a blocked extra point for two points and Daniel Gray returned a fumble 50 yards for a TD for the Aggies.

24/19/20/17 Marshall (11-0) The Thundering Herd lost to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (6-5) 67-66 in OT. After going back and forth all game, the Hilltoppers elected to go for two after scoring in the first OT and succeeded. Brandon Doughty threw for 491 yards and eight (8) touchdowns while Leon Allen had 237 yards rushing and one TD for the Hilltoppers. Steward Butler rushed for 233 yards and scored two TDs and Rakeem Cato threw for 417 yards and seven (7) touchdowns for the Herd.

25/NR/NR/NR Utah (8-4) The Utes had to come from behind to defeat the Colorado Rams (2-10) 38-34. Christian Powell scored two TDs for Colorado. Utah’s Travis Wilson passed for 311 yards and three TDs and Dominique Hatfield returned an interception 20 yards in the fourth quarter for the lead and the win. NR/21/21/22 Colorado State (10-2) The Rams were edged by the Air Force Falcons (9-3) 27-24 when Will Conant made a 39-yard field goal as time ran out.

My Rutgers Scarlet Knights (7-5) came from w-a-y, w-a-y behind to edge the Maryland Terrapins (7-5).

Rutgers fell behind 35-10 in the second quarter and it didn't look like the defense could stop a Pop Warner team--if the Pop Warner team did nothing but run the ball.
But with a few minutes left in the first half something strange happened. Rutgers scored a TD to make it 35-17. They got the ball to start the second half and after a 71-yard kickoff return, scored another TD to make it 35-24. Then another to make it 35-31. Maryland got a 50-yard field goal to make it 38-31. Then, early in the fourth quarter, RU got yet another TD to tie it 38 all and followed that up with a field goal with 6:14 left in the game to go ahead 41-38.
Meanwhile the defense had decided to show up. They had bent but never broke in the second half but the best was yet to come. After RU had gone ahead, they stopped the Terrapins an d forced a long field goal attempt which was ever so close but inches to the outside of the left goal post. It was the kicker's first miss of the season but that miss would affect decisions later on as well.
RU took over but on the second play form scrimmage there was a fumble and and Maryland recovered. The RU defense was back on the field and Maryland was again RU territory. But the New and Improved defense stopped the Terrapin attack three times and it was fourth and a yard. Rather than try to tie the game on a long field goal, Maryland went for it--and RU held. 
RU ran the ball three times without getting a first down. On fourth and something, with six seconds left, they had wide receiver Leonte Carroo take shotgun snap and run around a bit before stepping out of the endzone for a safety as time ran out. Several yellow hankies littered the field and replay showed three or four offensive lineman literally tackling the Maryland rushers as Carroo ran around. Ten yard penalty on Rutgers. One more untimed play to be run by Rutgers. Two points come off the board. Gary Nova took the snap and knelt down for the win.
The 25-point comeback is the biggest in RU history; the second greatest in all of FBS football this season--so far; and the biggest in the Big Ten since 2009. Nova finished the day with 347 passing yards after going 28 of 42 with no INTs and four TDs. Three RU receivers had more than 100 yards: Janarion Grant 8 catches for 105 yards, Andre Patton 8 catches for 101 yards and two TDs, Leonte Carroo 6 catches for 104 yards and two TDs.
The win was Rutgers' seventh of the season and their third Big Ten victory. Maryland finished the year in third place in the Big Ten East with a 4-4 in Conference record and 7-5 over all. Rutgers ended up right behind them in fourth place with a 3-5 Conference record and also 7-5 over all. (If not for the second half collapse against Penn State, a 13-10 loss....)

Rutgers 41, Maryland 38

I spent the afternoon watching football and rooting for my Rutgers Scarlet Knights against Maryland. Have to admit they really ticked me off early in the game. They fell behind 35-10 in the second quarter and it didn't look like the defense could stop a Pop Warner team--if the Pop Warner team did nothing but run the ball.

But with a few minutes left in the first half something strange happened. Rutgers scored a TD to make it 35-17. They got the ball to start the second half and after a 71-yard kickoff return, scored another TD to make it 35-24. Then another to make it 35-31. Maryland got a 50-yard field goal to make it 38-31. Then, early in the fourth quarter, RU got yet another TD to tie it 38 all and followed that up with a field goal with 6:14 left in the game to go ahead 41-38.

Meanwhile the defense had decided to show up. They had bent but never broke in the second half but the best was yet to come. After RU had gone ahead, they stopped the Terrapins an d forced a long field goal attempt which was ever so close but inches to the outside of the left goal post. It was the kicker's first miss of the season but that miss would affect decisions later on as well.

RU took over but on the second play form scrimmage there was a fumble and and Maryland recovered. The RU defense was back on the field and Maryland was again RU territory. But the New and Improved defense stopped the Terrapin attack three times and it was fourth and a yard. Rather than try to tie the game on a long field goal, Maryland went for it--and RU held.

RU ran the ball three times without getting a first down. On fourth and something, with six seconds left, they had wide receiver Leonte Carroo take shotgun snap and run around a bit before stepping out of the endzone for a safety as time ran out. Several yellow hankies littered the field and replay showed three or four offensive lineman literally tackling the Maryland rushers as Carroo ran around. Ten yard penalty on Rutgers. One more untimed play to be run by Rutgers. Two points come off the board. Gary Nova took the snap and knelt down for the win.

The 25-point comeback is the biggest in RU history; the second greatest in all of FBS football this season--so far; and the biggest in the Big Ten since 2009. Nova finished the day with 347 passing yards after going 28 of 42 with no INTs and four TDs. Three RU receivers had more than 100 yards: Janarion Grant 8 catches for 105 yards, Andre Patton 8 catches for 101 yards and two TDs, Leonte Carroo 6 catches for 104 yards and two TDs.

The win was Rutgers' seventh of the season and their third Big Ten victory. Maryland finished the year in third place in the Big Ten East with a 4-4 in Conference record and 7-5 over all. Rutgers ended up right behind them in fourth place with a 3-5 Conference record and also 7-5 over all. (If not for the second half collapse against Penn State, a 13-10 loss....)

We did some socializing on Saturday.

We did some socializing yesterday.

The Rutgers' Alumni Club of Central Pennsylvania had a planned Summer Sendoff for kids in our area that were going to Rutgers this fall. It was held at the home of the gal who has become the default club president (Hey! It was her idea to form the group.) down near Lewisburg. Mindy said she had heard back from a little more than a dozen folks that they would try to attend and we thought it would be pretty cool to see who else in the area were RU grads.

Turned out that the four students (from as far flung places as Altoona and Bloomsburg) couldn't make it. One was on a family vacation, one was already at RU attending "captains' practices" with the football team (incoming QB prospect from Bloomsburg), and the other two...well, they didn't respond. And the Alumnae weren't much better. We ended up with just four couples. Terry and I and Mindy and her husband are all grads. Then one of her neighbors, Cheryll, is a grad of Cook and another gent--Roy, a retired law enforcement officer--was also a Cook graduate. (CAES and Cook were pretty well covered!) All of us were once resident's of New Jersey but moved to PA for pretty much the same reasons--taxes, cost of homes, and/or jobs.

We had a  good time visiting and talking about New Jersey and PA. Terry and I were by far the oldest couple there having graduated in 1971. The next oldest graduate, Cheryll, got her degree in 1991. Roy got his in 1997. (He obviously was working while a student.) Mindy and her husband are babies in comparison!

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We left Mindy's house around 4 PM heading over to Jersey Shore to visit Joe and Pat. Joe had called early Saturday to ask for some help. He had a slew of cucumbers and wanted to know if we wanted any so we were going to swing by and pick a bucket of them up. We ended up with a whole lot more.

Heading north we saw some pretty impressive thunderheads in the distance and ran into a brief heavy downpour as we turned west on I-80. Turns out if we had been heading home through Williamsport we would have really hit some rain! They got over 4 inches in 2 hours around the time we would have been passing through. (Holy Buckets!) As it was, once we were out of the little rain we hit just as we left Route 15 to head west on I-80, we got nothing. There was no rain at Joe's at all.

We had a great time visiting with Pat and Joe, had a very nice--if unexpected--dinner, and came home with a two gallon bucket filled with cucumbers, a huge head of lettuce (Stonehead, I think Joe called it) and a couple of very nice eggplants.

Just a little of Joe's produce.

Joe has a heck of a green thumb when it comes to growing vegetables. The two of them also do pretty good with flowers.

Terry and I finally got home around 8:30 PM to be greeted by three cats who were complaining of having been seriously shorted on their crunchy quota.

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Thursday's line of severe storms that produced  the damaging tornado in Elmira are now being credited with a tornado in Coudersport, two in Corning and two more in eastern PA (Montrose and somewhere else I can't recall).

R U Rah! Rah!

Today was National Signing Day for college football recruits and my Scarlet Knights succeeded in inking the best class in school history. ESPN ranks this Rutgers' class as the #25 class in the nation and better than any other Big East squad. MaxPreps says it's #23. Rivals has it as #23 and 247 has it as #22. Any way you slice it, when you consider the turmoil created by the departure of head coach Greg Schiano to take the same position with the NFL's Tampa Bay Bucs, this was one heck of an accomplishment.

Those recruits who were truly committed to the Rutgers' program and philosophy, as well as the assistant coaches and Athletic Director did a marvelous job in holding the group together.

As for the class' composition, it meets the teams needs. Six of the 20 in the incoming class are offensive linemen. One, is the #3 center in the nation. Two others are among the top 25 offensive tackles. One is an experienced transfer from Maryland. They are all very, very big guys who have been outstanding players in high school and should help revitalize a running game that has been missing since Ray Rice left to join the NFL Ravens.

Add defensive end Darius Hamilton, ranked by some to be among the top 10 players in the nation. (His Dad played 12 years with the New York Giants.) Sprinkle in a couple of wide receivers, several linebackers and a few exceptional athletes capable of playing on either side of the ball and you've got on heck of a promise.

I can't wait for the 2012 season to start.

A New Coach at RU

Today, Rutgers athletic directer Tim Pernetti introduced the 29th head football coach, Kyle Flood.

I just watched the press conference and am suitably impressed by the former offensive line coach who seemed to say all the right things. Rutgers is NOT a program that is in need of rebuilding. It IS one of strong academics and improved performance on the football field.

The Scarlet Knights went to five bowl games in the last six years and won them all. They were not the top tier bowl games to be sure, but no other college football team can boast a current bowl winning streak of greater length. In his comments and answers, AD Pernetti and Coach Flood seemed to acknowledge this saying the vision of the program will not change.

One humorous moment that made me smile came when a reporter from the Newark Star Ledger asked Coach Flood about the status of two big name New Jersey recruits who, I believe, have not committed to any school yet. Coach Flood's response went something like this: "Per NCAA rules, I am not permitted to comment on their status. However I am looking forward to doing so tomorrow." Tomorrow is National Signing Day. Could it be that the recruiting class will be even better than originally thought?

I'll be following the signings tomorrow as they begin at 2 PM. Could get interesting.

Tough Time on the Banks

A soggy, wet, rainy day here at the Aerie. We had 1/2 inch of snow overnight but then the temperature rose above freezing and we got light rain all day which melted virtually all the snow that fell. We're supposed to get lots more rain tonight and tomorrow. The wind is coming out of the south-southwest and the moisture has been streaming up out of the Gulf along with (slightly) warmer temperatures.

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Lots of news out of Rutgers today. Coach Greg Schiano has signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be their new head coach. At age 45 it's an opportunity that's pretty damn hard to pass up.

The move leaves RU in a bind, however. National signing day for new recruits is February 1, just six days from now, and the loss of a head coach will throw a monkey wrench into the works. RU was about to have one of it's best recruiting classes ever and had been penciled in by some to start the 2012 season in the Top 25 with excellent chances of winning the Big East next year.

Hopefully the young men who have made verbal commitments to the Rutgers squad will stick with those commitments and join the Scarlet Knights. A good deal of that depends upon who Athletic Director Tim Pernetti gets to replace Coach Schiano. For the time being Pernetti has designate offensive line coach Kyle Flood as the interim coach but Pernetti hopes to have a new head Coach before next Wednesday's national signing day. (More here from ESPN's Andrea Adelson.)

Schiano did a great job in the 11 years he was at Rutgers and it seemed like he would stay forever. But, there are only 32 men that can call themselves "Head Coach" on the NFL level and it's tough to pass on a job offer like that.

The Rutgers Alumni Club of Central PA

Terry and I drove down to Lewisburg, PA and Damon's Grill to meet up with some other Rutgers Alumni and watch the Pinstripe Bowl. The Rutgers Club of Central Pennsylvania is a newly formed chapter of the Rutgers Alumni Club so we were interested in seeing who would show up.

Out hostess and chapter organizer (Mindy) turned is a graduate of Cook College ('99) and the Graduates School of Education ('01). She currently works at Bucknell University located in Lewisburg as Dean of Student Affairs(?). Her husband is a graduate of Rutgers College and is a neurosurgeon working at Geisenger. Their two young sons are 2 1/2 and 1 year olds who were a real joy to be around.

Our hostess, her husband, and their kids.

One other couple stayed with us for the entire time. He was a graduate of the College of Engineering ('72) and is currently semi-retired, his wife, a very pleasant woman even if she is not an RU grad, is a speech therapist working with very young children, and his son is a senior at Annapolis.

The Engineer, his son, and his wife.

I missed getting a photo of the Rutgers track coach and his wife (who works in the athletic department of Bucknell (Assistant AD?)).

We got into a conversation with the bartender (who is also the Bucknell baseball coach) and found out his late uncle was a graduate (RC '70) and track coach at Rutgers.

We had a great time with good people, food, a Rutgers' win, and some fine trivia challenges. More folks would have been nice. Mindy said she expected more to show up but their absence was understandable. After all, it was a workday and folks were busy.

(FYI: We're both RU College of Agriculture and Environmental Science '71 graduates. Terry also has her MS from CAES '72.)

While we were there, a contingent of the Bucknell basketball team came in for dinner. (They are about the only folks on campus during this winter break.) They were followed by the Cornell basketball team who were in town to play the Bison on Saturday. Our Rutgers contingent, which included the two previously mentioned Bucknell officials, proved to be the buffer between two.

It's Friday. Now we’re getting serious!

There are four bowl games being played today:
Noon: Armed Forces Bowl with BYU (9-3) vs. Tulsa (8-4)
3:20 PM: the Pinstripe Bowl has Rutgers (8-4) vs. Iowa State (6-6)
6:40 PM: the Music City Bowl with Wake Forest (6-6) vs. Mississippi State (6-6)
10 PM: the Insight Bowl sees No. 19 Oklahoma (9-3) vs. Iowa (7-5)

Starting with the Armed Forces Bowl being played in Dallas, Texas…

The independent BYU Cougars (9-3) will look to exploit the weak passing defense of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (8-4, 7-1, 2nd in the Conference USA West).

The Cougars ended the season winning eight of their last nine games. Their only loss in that string was to TCU. They won their last three games 42-7, 42-7, and 41-20. BYU’s offense is more than adequate but their defense is their strength. They’re 28th in pass defense and 21st against the rush.

Tulsa has put points on the board even though their offense is only so-so. They rank 41st in pass offense and 24th in rushing. They won seven of their last eight with only a final loss to Houston spoiling their run. In the two games prior, they posted 59 points against Marshall and 57 against UTEP. Besides the loss to Houston, the Golden Hurricane lost early in the year to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Boise State.

This could be a close game but the Cougars should be able to keep Tulsa under control while their offense should be able to take advantage of that porous pass defense. BYU 31, Tulsa 28.

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Yankee Stadium will host the Pinstripe Bowl with nearby Rutgers (8-4, 4-3, 4th in the Big East) squaring off against Iowa State (6-6, 3-6, 8th in the Big 12).

The Scarlet Knights had something of an up-and-down year. They strung together winning streaks of four and 3 games sandwiched around two losses to Louisville and West Virginia. The lost their final game of the regular season in a lopsided, error filled game against Connecticut. They have also struggled and shifted back and forth at the quarterback position between Gary Nova and Chas Dodd. They have had virtually no running attack for most of the season although Jawan Jamison has shown promise. But they have Mohamed Sanu at wide receiver. They have managed to get their pass offense to 46th in the nation despite their rushing offense being just 111th—a position that allows their opponents to pretty much concentrate on the pass. The Knights defense, however, is where they shine. They are 12th in pass defense and, while their rush defense is ranked as 52nd in the nation, they are much better than that. They played both Navy and Army—and beat both--when those teams were #1 in rushing and held them to about half their average. (Even so, that was enough to raise the number of yards per game RU permitted and drive them down in this particular stat.)

Iowa State Cyclones also had an up-and-down year. Three wins were followed by four losses, then three wins and two losses. They beat Oklahoma State along the way, knocking the Cowboys from the unbeaten rank and ruining their drive to a National Championship game. They also played UConn early in the year in Connecticut and won 24-20. It could be argued that Iowa State faced tougher competition, and that that drove their offense and defense rankings down. (Pass offense was 71st, while the rush offense 34th; the pass defense was 71st and the rush defense 94th.)

Look for Rutgers to get their rush game going. If they succeed (yeah, it's a BIG IF), it will allow Nova (or Dodd) to connect with a respectable corps of receivers lead by Mohamed Sanu. On defense, look for Rutgers to create turnovers and capitalize on them. If they can stay away from turning it over themselves, Rutgers should be able to win 31-24.

(I’m a partial RU graduate. Terry and I graduated from Rutgers' CAES, Class of ’71. Terry and I will be watching this one at a sports bar with a crowd from the Rutgers Alumni Club down in Lewisburg, PA.)

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Down in Nashville, Tennessee, the Music City Bowl pits the Mississippi State Bulldogs (6-6, 2-6, 4th in the SEC West) against the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest (6-6, 5-3, 3rd in the ACC Atlantic).

Mississippi State managed to go through the season not putting two wins together. The only back to back victories came over Kentucky (5-7) and Tennessee-Martin (5-6) of the Ohio Valley Conference of the FCS. The Bulldogs’ strength is their pass defense.

Wake lost four of its last five games and had only two victories against teams with winning records (Florida State and N.C. State). Their strongest asset is their pass offense.

This should be a close game but look for Mississippi State to edge the Deacon Demons 24-21.

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Finally, the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Arizona will have the Iowa Hawkeyes (7-5, 4¬-4, 4th in the Legends division of the Big Ten) against the #19 Oklahoma Sooners (9-3, 6-3, 4th in the Big 12).

Iowa won just two of their last five games (Michigan and Purdue) and struggled on both offense and defense.

Oklahoma won three of their last five, losing on the road to Oklahoma State and Baylor. The Sooners are 4th in the nation in pass offense.

Look for the Sooners to put a licking on the Hawkeyes 45-20.

Rutgers 21, Navy 20

It should have been a larger margin, but RU got stopped inside the 10 yard line--twice--in the first half, once when Savon Huggins fumbled the ball on the one yard line and once when they failed to convert a field goal.

On offense, the Scarlet Knight's redshirt freshman Jawan Jamison carried the ball 22 times and gained 101 yards and one touchdown as the Knights finally produced a running attack with 152 yards on the ground. True freshman quarterback Gary Nova completed 23 of 31 tosses for 271 and two TDs. Sure, he also threw two INTs--one getting returned for a Navy touchdown--but he gained some invaluable experience.

On defense, the Knights continued to produce turnovers getting two interceptions against Navy. Considering that Navy only threw the ball 13 times, completing six, that's quite an achievement. They also stifled the Navy running attack. Navy came into the game leading the nation with an average 366 yards a game on the ground. They only managed 162 yards on 42 carries against Rutgers' stingy defense led by Junior LB Khaseem Greene and junior DT Scott Vallone who achieved career-highs with 14 and 12 tackles, respectively. Junior CB Brandon Jones blocked a 31-yard field goal attempt that would have put Navy ahead with 4:43 to go in the game.

Stories here and here.

Rutgers is now 5-1, 2-0 in Big East play, and will face Louisville in Kentucky on Friday night. Then it's at home against West Virginia on Oct 29 and South Florida Nov 5. The Knights play Army in Yankee Stadium on Nov 12 and Cincinnati at home on Nov 19 before closing out the season at Connecticut on November 26th.

BELIEVE!

CBSSports.com has a heartwarming and beautiful story about Rutgers' ex-football player Eric LeGrand.

On Sunday, Oct. 16, it will be one year since the 21-year-old LeGrand played his last football game, made his last tackle. Rutgers had just scored, and kicked off to Army late in a game at the new Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey. LeGrand, then a 270-pound defensive lineman for the Scarlet Knights, made a hit on Army kick returner Malcolm Brown and fractured his C3 and C4 vertebrae. LeGrand remembers going down and being dazed, but didn't understand at the time how severely he was hurt.

Eric was paralyzed from the shoulders down. He hasn't let that stop his spirit, however.

The amazing thing now is, for a guy who still can't scratch his nose, LeGrand will tell you with a smile -- always with a smile -- why he has so many reasons to be grateful.

He survived an injury that not everyone survives.

He's breathing without a ventilator, something doctors had told his mother would be unlikely.

He spent five months as a patient at Kessler Institute in West Orange, N.J., where he saw people with spinal cord injuries who could not even eat. Now he's an outpatient there, rehabbing three days a week.

After missing most of his junior year, he's back to working on his degree at Rutgers. He takes classes three nights a week, using an online video conference to watch the lectures from home.

He greets his former teammates in the locker room before each Rutgers home game, then he goes to his new job.

Like most athletes do when they are done playing, LeGrand is now a sportscaster. He does analysis during pregame, postgame and halftime of Rutgers radio broadcasts. He's already done his first TV spot, too.

This is an amazing young man who speaks of when (never IF) he walks again. As Coach Schiano and Rutgers keep preaching he just keeps chopping. Doing what he has to do so someday he will be able to do what he wants to do: Get up and walk off the field under his own power.

I've heard Eric on the pregame, half time and post game shows of the Rutgers' football radio broadcasts. (Saturday's Home Coming Game against Navy is set to kickoff at 2 PM. You can hear Eric and the rest of the broadcast staff on WCTC if you tune in about an hour before that.) He has a wonderful radio personality and is very knowledgeable of the game. Go on over to read the entire story.

One thing missing is a link to the Eric LeGrand Believe Fund. If you can help in any way please do so.

How Cool Is That!

The Rutgers Fight Song (The Bells Must Ring) in sync with flashing Xmas lights. Somewhere in Spring Lake, NJ.



The music can only be heard if you tune your radio to 103.9 so as to keep the annoyance level to a minimum for the neighbors' sake.

Terry and I are both RU grads (CAES or College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, now Cook College) class of '71. Terry also got her MS there in '73.

(Got it from Jimbo over at Parkway Rest Stop who is also an RU grad.)

Rutgers 31, Norfolk State 0

Rutgers Scarlet Knight got off to a slow start Thursday night and lead Norfolk State just 6-0 at the half on two San San Te field goals (31 and 20 yards—he had missed two others). Tom Savage had already been sacked three times and things were not looking good for the boys on the banks of the old Raritan. Then the second half started.

Joe Martinek ran 6 yards for a TD. Joe Lefeged returned a blocked punt 3 yards for a TD. Tom Savage connected with Mohamed Sanu for 10 yard TD. (Sanu also ran for a 2-point conversion after Martinek’s TD.) San San Te finished the scoring with a 27 yard field goal.

Martinek ended the night with 20 carries and 109 yards De’Antwan Williams carried 6 times for 69 yards and Jordan Thomas had 13 carries gaining 47 yards. In all, RU gained 268 yards on 50 carries while holding Norfolk State to just 25 yards on 24 carries. Savage finished the night completing 10 of 19 passes for 148 yards and the one TD.

The 1-0 Knights will travel south to play Florida International on Saturday, September 11th at 8 PM. It will be the Golden Panthers first game of the year.

Rutger Over UCF, 45-24 in St. Petersburg

In case you missed it last night, the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers won their fourth consecutive bowl game when they trounced the Golden Knights of Central Florida 45-24.

The win gave Rutgers a 9-4 record for the season. Two of those loses, to Pittsburgh 24-17 and to West Virginia 24-21, could have gone the other way with a few breaks. They got blown out by Cincinnati in the opener 47-15 with Dominic Natale under center, and--inexplicably--31-0 to Syracuse.

And things look bright for the near future. nearly all the offense returns including Freshman QB Tom Savage, who threw for 294 yards and two TDs last night, and Freshman WR Mohammed Sanu, who ran for two TDs out of the wildcat formation and scored another on an 11-yard pass. Freshman D.C. Jefferson, a quarterback in high school, is still learning the tight end position but should be a big (literally at 6' 6" ) target next year. All of RU's running backs will be returning and the only receiver they will lose to graduation is TD Timmy Brown. The offensive line will lose the most, especially if, as expected, junior left tackle Anthony Davis opts to enter the NFL draft.

The defense will see several players graduate and/or opt for the draft, and not all of them will be easy to replace. Senior LB Damaso Munoz will be playing on Sundays next year. Cornerback Billy Anderson, who came in for an injured Devin McCourty and ran an interception back for a TD, is graduating. McCourty, listed as having a year left, may join his brother in the NFL. SS Zaire Kitchen, LB Ryan D'Imperio, and DE George Jefferson will graduate.

The roster holds plenty of underclassmen who are waiting their turn and the recruiting class is strong once again. With a stronger out of conference schedule in 2010, RU could join the Top 25 early and stay there.

Scarlet Knights are 8-3

Rutgers 34, Louisville 14

How the heck did RU lose 31-13 to the Orange of Syracuse last week? They totally dominated the first half today. Freshman Tom Savage was nearly perfect in the air during the first half as RU leaped out to a 28-7 lead. Freshman wide receiver Mohamed Sanu ran for 148 yards out of the wildcat formation and scored two TDs doing so. He is the fourth to run for more than 100 yards in a game for the Scarlet Knights this year. Sophomore Joe Martinek (one of the four) added 90 yards on the ground. Senior WR Tim Brown made seven catches for 124 yards and a TD which increases his school record TD number to 19. He has also reached 1,051 yards receiving giving him 1,000 yards for just the first time in his career and making him only the fourth receiver in RU history to surpass the 1,000-yard mark.

Okay, last week RU was held to just 130 yards total offense as the Orange crushed (sacked) Savage seven times.

(The RU story is here.)

The Knights play once more during the regular season on Saturday, December 5th against West Virginia in Rutgers Stadium. A win in that game would move RU into third place in the Big East behind Cincinnati (11-0, 6-0 with a win over Illinois today) and Pittsburgh (9-1,5-0 facing west Virginia tonight) and boost their position in the bowls. Pittsburgh faces off against WVU tonight (Friday). I'll be watching that game with great interest. Not just to see how those two teams fair, but to see how RU will stack up against WVU. (They have already lost to Pitt--and Cincinnati.) Then there's Cincinnati's final game at Pitt on December 5th. Should the Panthers beat the Mountaineers tonight, that December 5th game will be for a Big East title and a BCS Bowl appearance.

Aerie Report, November 12, 2009

We had a successful day at Cabela's. Picked up the ThermaCELL (package of two linked to yesterday) with two sets of replacements and Christmas presents (clothes) for several people on our list. Terry found a nice blouse she liked and that fit her. She usually has trouble at Cabela's finding clothes to fit her, but this was a Woolrich product. I got myself a new set of heavy duty insulated long johns for those cold days on stand, a new rifle sling (since I only have one and have to switch when I change the rifle I carry), a three-legged stool for sitting in a ground blind, and a few other odds and ends. I looked at some of the bows and a couple of firearms but decided to pass on those right now. We dropped some change to help boost the economy, but between a rebate card for Cabela's, a rebate card from Cooper Tires, accumulated points from use of a Cabela's Club VISA card, and a $20 off coupon...well, it didn't take a lot of green out of the wallet.

******

I keep forgetting just how far it is from the Aerie (on the northern edge of PA) to Cabela's (in Hamburg on I-78 on the very southern edge of the state). From door to door it was 150 miles. It took us 3-1/2 hours going down (Rt. 15 to Rt. 61) and just 3 hours to return. Two hours shopping and it was a long day.

******

Sitting here now watching Rutgers dismantle South Florida. The game just ended and RU won 31-0 over the #24 Bulls. And the Scarlet Knights should have lead by more having settled for FG attempts instead of TDs on several long drives in the first half. The offense may have struggled in the opening half, but the defense! My goodness did the defense dominate in this game.

The win makes RU bowl eligible with a record of 7-2, 2-2. Three games remain on the schedule for Terry and my alma mater: @ Syracuse, @ Louisville, and West Virginia at home.

******

Speaking of the Big East.... There are three teams in the hunt for the Big East title: Cincinnati at 9-0, 5-0 in conference, are on top being chased by Pittsburgh (8-1, and also 5-0 in conference) and West Virginia (7-2, 3-1). Each of these teams have yet to play the other two. Each has a one home and one away game against the other two.

Tomorrow night, West Virginia plays at Cincinnati. The Bearcats have to figure out which of their excellent quaterbacks should start. The Mountaineers have a more troubling problem. RB Noel Devine may have to sit the game out due to an ankle injury. That will put the WVa squad at a disadvantage.

Meanwhile, Pitt squares off against Notre Dame on Saturday.

Another Excellent Football Weekend...

...at least as far as I'm concerned. Your mileage may vary.

On Saturday, the Rutgers' Scarlet Knights defeated the Maryland Terrapins 34-13. RU now has a 3-1 record. Their only loss, unfortunately, came in their opening game against Big East rival Cincinnati.

Sunday afternoon saw both the Jets and Giants extend their records to 3-0.

The Jets jumped out to a very early lead (14-0 before Tennessee ran a second play from scrimmage! The first was an interception returned for a TD) and then held on as the Titans attempted a comeback. They failed due to the Jets D and some an offense able to take advantage of forced errors. The final: Jets 24, Titans 17. I can't recall the Jets D looking this strong since the Namath Jets beat Baltimore in Super Bowl III.

The Giants demolished Tampa Bay shutting out the Buccaneers 24-0 in a game that wasn't even that close. (I have to take the word of the reporter and the talking heads on TV for that. I was busy watching the Jets. This was one of the very few times I can recall when you had to make a choice as they usually schedule one NY area team for the 1 o'clock time slot and the other for the 4 o'clock game.)

All three teams now have three-game winning streaks. Rutgers has the week off; next playing at home against Texas Southern (who?) on Oct 10. The Giants should breeze past Kansas City in KC on Sunday at 1 PM. The Jets will have the toughest game at New Orleans against the high scoring Saints in the 4 PM slot.

Rutgers takes it on the chin, 47-15

Cincinnati QB Tony Pike threw for a career high 362 yards in leading the Bearcats to a 47-15 romp over the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers. What makes it slightly more ominous for Rutgers is that their defense was supposed to be a strong point.

When fifth-year senior Dom Natalie proved ineffective in the first half, Rutgers switched to true freshman Tom Savage to start the second half. The young man showed some promise but needs to take more snaps to get in sync with his receivers. They've got four games (Howard, Florida International, Maryland, and Texas Southern) before the Knights face another Big East opponent. They should iron out the defensive problems by then and Savage will have four additional games under his belt.

The Bearcats were Big East Champions last year. They look like they could be ready to reprise that role.

Rutgers started last year 1-5. They should not repeat that dismal start, but they could be in trouble against their Big East foes if they do not improve their play.