Keeping Up With the Jonses

NJ.com- Cardinal O'Hara standout Tom Savage is expected to announce his commitment to Rutgers this afternoon. Savage is the highest rated player the Knights have recruited since Jersey boy Nate Robinson (who eventually transferred to Akron).

I'm surprised that Savage committed to RU.  He had offers from (amongst others) Penn State, Georgia, Tennessee, and UVA.  Not only does RU lack the 'tradition' [sic: money] and fan base of those schools, they lack the facilities.  I've lived in Jersey for eight years now and have been to RU on numerous occasions, I've even seen a few games there, and the campus is pathetic.  Think of Piscataway as the anti-Charlottesville.  Charlottesville is a veritable garden of Eden; Piscataway has a few trees.  

This extends even to the athletic facilities.  Schiano has been lobbying for improvements for years now, and for good reason.  You wonder why Florida snaps up Will Hill, USC grabs Antwine Perez, and FSU signs Myron Rolle?  Because RU doesn't make a very good first impression.  In order to recruit successfully you have to first look successful.  Florida does, USC does, Rutgers doesn't. 

Still, the Savage commitment is certainly a deviation from RU's historical norm.  Its even a step up from their more recent norm.  Unlikely, though, that Savage will start a new trend.  It will take more than a single blue-chipper to enable Rutgers to recruit nationally or even regionally.  While Savage ultimately lends a little bit of legitimacy to the Scarlet Knights and may even coerce another 4 or 5 star recruit towards Piscataway, it takes WINS.  Big time, nationally televised wins.  

Unfortunately, the Big East is an after thought for much of the CFB world and seldom gets to prove the nay-sayers wrong.  Bowl season offers the conference (by which I mean WVU) a chance to prove itself, but the regular season is where respect is earned.  Auburn comes to Morgantown this year, Cincinnati plays OU,  USF plays Kansas, Pitt plays ND, and Cuse plays PSU and Notre Dame.  Rutgers on the other hand plays Morgan State, UNC, Howard, and Fresno State.  Talk about not doing yourself any favors.

8-5 seasons and International Bowl berths will not move Rutgers into the national spotlight.  They need ten win seasons and prime time bowl berths in order to score points with recruits and garner "elite" status.  Beating WVU would be a huge step towards the elite, but playing legitimate OOC opponents is absolutely critical.  Not only do those games score brownie points with the all important MSM, but they expose foreign locales to the program.  

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette- The Wannstache wants more cowbell...errr...spring practice.  With so many roster holes left to fill, Wannstadt feels that he needs more time.  That happens when you lose three starters from your o-line, including two first day (if not first round) draft picks.  

On the plus side, the article states that Bill Stull has begun to establish himself as the starting quarterback.  Stull must entrench himself firmly in this role in order for Pitt to go bowling.  While the Panthers have one of the Big East's most talented array of skill players (wide recievers Oderrik Turner, Derek Kinder, and incoming uber-recruit John Baldwin and running backs LeSean McCoy, Larod Stephens-Howling, and Shariff Harris) it all amounts to nothing if they can't find someone to give them the ball...or, for that matter, keep that person standing up.

AP- Three US Representatives want the US Justice Department to investigate the BCS for violating antitrust laws.  Oh yeah, those Reps are from Georgia, Idaho, and Hawaii.  Hmm...who has the BCS slighted from those states?  Oh yeah, The University of Georgia (2007), Boise State University (2006), and The University of Hawaii (2007).  I wonder what happened to the Reps from Alabama and Utah.  

I don't expect this investigation to so much as get off the ground.  Looks to be classic pork-barrel politics.  We're approaching a national election and here we have three US Representatives looking to both gain a little bit of national exposure and regional favor.  Oh yeah, that and its a waste of fucking time for the Justice Department.