Campus Confidential

The atmosphere that makes college football so special will consume Piscataway, NJ on Thursday night. The tents will be pitched, the grills will be lit, the coolers will be full (and progressively emptied), fans will toss the football and they’ll rave about the Ray Rice-Brian Leonard attack. They’ll talk about the importance keeping the ball out of Mike Teel’s hands (finally correct), they’ll boast about the No. 2 defense in the country and they’ll hope Rutgers can hold on to coach Greg Schiano after the year.

The folks in Cardinal land know – their town is going through this sports metamorphosis and last Thursday’s game and win over West Virginia officially turned Louisville into a football town.

Win or loss, this game is important because it’s safe to say Rutgers football is on the map. This is arguably one of the 10 biggest games of the year (hmmm…good idea for a blog, let me do some research). The publicity from being undefeated at this point in the season helps with recruiting, alumni donations, respect, TV publicity, etc.

To show how far it has come in a short amount of time, I covered a football game at Rutgers Stadium in 2002 and the opposing fan base matched and probably exceeded the Rutgers faithful.

This year’s special run only makes the future brighter. The class Schiano is putting together for 2007 is by far the best since 2002. From 2003-2006, the Scarlet Knights signed one four-star player (junior OT Jeremy Zuttah – starter) and one five-star player (DT Nate Robinson – dismissed). So far, Rutgers has verbal commits from Manny Abreu (No. 3 weak side linebacker, according to Scout.com), Keith Newell (No. 18 OT), Joseph Lefeged (No. 22 safety) and a handful of talented three-star prospects.

Unfortunately, Rutgers hasn’t recruited that well in its home state (Notre Dame is cleaning house). But there are a few guys on the map they need to lock down: Anthony Davis (No. 2 OT), Mason Robinson (No. 31 CB), and Alex Silvestro (No. 17 strong side linebacker).

Okay, now that you’ve had your recruiting fix, let’s look at the tale of the tape. National ranks are in parenthesis:

*Virginia Tech has the No. 1 pass defense in the country. Ha.
**Rutgers: Turnovers gained-21, Turnovers lost-15
Louisville: Turnovers gained-14, Turnovers lost-15 (gained three fumbles against WVU)

What does all of that mean? Not much.

Rutgers is expanding the stadium’s capacity, so you know the emotion is going to be through the roof. Yeah, it’s not the 107-something thousand of Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, but I guarantee you the emotion will rival Rocky Top’s.

Rutgers has nothing to lose compared to Louisville. There’s relatively no pressure. The Cardinals have a freakin’ national championship berth on the line. Yeah, a loss essentially eliminates RU from a BCS bowl, but considering it started the season unranked, where, besides the locker room, did anyone REALLY think Rutgers could reach a BCS bowl? Nowhere. (For the record, including the also rans, Rutgers was ranked 39 in the AP and 46 in the Coaches’ Poll in Week 1)

On the other hand, Louisville started at No. 13 in both polls with a world of expectations. Not winning the Big East would have been a huge let down, and a trip the national championship wasn’t unrealistic to expect. There’s a lot to lose in this game, and when there’s a lot to lose, you’re wound up tighter than A-Rod at the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. I don’t care what any athlete says, you’re nervous when everything’s on the line.

FURTHERMORE, Louisville is coming off the biggest win in program history just a week before. Letdowns? You betcha. Florida beats No. 9 LSU at home, follows it with a loss to No. 11 Auburn on the road. Southern Cal has a close call against Arizona State, needing a late touchdown to win, and follows it with a loss to Oregon State on the road. Tennessee has to post 17 points in the fourth quarter to beat South Carolina two weeks ago and the Vols can’t carry the momentum to beat LSU last weekend at home. If you want me to go on, I will.

More, more, more. I want to convince you. The key stat in the table above is the turnovers. That can dictate any game, there’s a reason Rutgers is No. 2 on defense in the country. That, coupled with the fact they make things happen, means they can get the momentum behind them, keep the crowd behind them and do something special.

Here’s how I see it. Don’t give up on the run. Just run all night. Get Leonard 20 touches, Give Rice 30 touches. Don’t worry about the three-and-outs. It’s a 60-minute football game. Don’t test UL quarterback Brian Brohm, he will beat you. So, stop the pass and limit the big play on the run.

As for my prediciton? Well, about 10 of you read this when I first posted it. And all 10 of you know that I had Louisville (I also talked the Cards up earlier this week). But I had a change of heart, rewrote it and I’m taking the Scarlet Knights. Why not? If the Steelers won the Super Bowl running the ball and playing great defense, RU can knock off the mighty Cardinals and have the students in Piscataway sliding down the muddy banks of the Raritan.

Rutgers 20, Louisville 18 on the foot of Jeremy Ito.

See the Rutgers buzz for yourself