Yesterday Rutgers University won the PapaJohns.com Bowl beating North Carolina State 29 to 23 in Birmingham, Alabama! Way to go, Rutgers! I join the rest of New Jersey and the student body at Rutgers in saying that this year’s team has made us proud.
I was also glad to see that Freshman Joe Martinek did some respectable running at the end of the game to help Rutgers cinch it up. Martinek is from Hopatcong, which is right down the way from where I grew up so it’s always nice to see someone from the hometown area doing well.
So Rutgers finishes this season with an 8 – 5 record and a PapaJohns.com bowl victory. Not so bad for a team that started 1 – 5. Obviously, much credit needs to be given to guys like Mike Teel, but Greg Schiano has succeeded in building a resilient program at Rutgers. Any team that can come back from a 1 – 5 start and win a bowl game (even if it’s just the PapaJohns.com bowl) is doing something right.
And what’s the deal with that stupid name for a bowl game? The PapaJohns.com bowl? Couldn’t it just be the Papa John’s Bowl? Does is it have to be the “.com” bowl game? What crap!
Congratulations, again, Rutgers!
This was a fantastic bowl game! Both teams started so disappointingly and were able to turn their seasons around. Like you said, neither team has anything to be ashamed of because at the midpoint of the season, neither team had any hope to even go to a bowl game.
Back in Week 3 (September 13) I wrote the following in a blog about Rutgers being one of the week’s biggest losers:
Rutgers had everything going for them against North Carolina on Thursday night: more 1st Downs, more Total and Passing Yards, and nearly equal rushing yards. So how could the Big Red lose 44-12?! Here’s how- Rutgers did not convert a single 3rd down play (out of 9 attempts) and turned the ball over FOUR times, giving UNC 13 points. Rutgers has added to the woes of the Big East this year with two straight losses to open the season. Unless there is a miracle potion in Jersey, Greg Schiano’s team will be making plans for a New Year’s party rather than a bowl game.
Greg Schiano definitely found that miracle potion! Comparing their bowl game to the poor performance against the Tar Heels, you can see that they took care of the ball better (4 turnovers vs. 1 turnover), and they were able to continue the domination on the stats sheets, racking up 21 first downs and controlling the ball for nearly 10 more minutes than NCST.
Great job, Rutgers’ Scarlet Knights!