My hotel is booked, the preparations are complete, and I think Im ready to go for this weekend. To whom it may concern, we should be bringing around 13 Tubas. (at least thats the number i counted last Saturday) And for all of you who have been bad, I'm bringing a paddle.
Rutgers, now 2-1, is bringing a football team capable of beating any other in the country. In fact USC might be Rutgers-Light in terms of overall talent, especially after watching their loss to ASU.
However, Rutgers must do a better job of making the most of its talent and must continue to reduce the number of mental mistakes, the types of which could be disasterous in the dome. And we have to do a better job of exploiting scoring opportunities when they are presented. Mental mistakes cost us the North Carolina game, but thankfully, we were able to minimize them when playing Ohio.
The offense is led by #6 SUPERMAN Sanu, who is one of the best wide receivers in the country.
Mohammed is hoping to play in the NFL next year and if he continues his present trajectory, he'll get his chance. He's had 36 catches for 363 yards, and averages a little over 120 yards/game. Throwing like Sanu is like using the Nintendo Tecmo Bowl play which always works, which is why the Rutgers qbs love throwing to him.
#81 Mark "Missile" Harrison and #17 Brandon "BigBoy" Coleman are also players to watch, but they haven't gotten the ball much because there's been so much emphasis on getting the ball to Sanu. They're huge, going 6-3, and 6-6 respectively and should provide for matchup problems for opposing defenses. They're our long range bombers.
#13 Chas Dodd is the quarterback who has done a great job managing the offense. He's throwing for close to 200 yards and is sporting a 6:2 TD to interception ratio. Chas has come a long way from when he first started, and should be one of the top passers in the Big East.
RB #23 Juwan Jamison had a breakout game against Ohio, rushing for 97 yards and he is joined by #28 Savon Huggins who has struggled somewhat, but has still notched 3 TDs.
The Offensive Line has been fortified with #55 Betim "BEAST" Bujari and #72 KILLER Kaleb Johnson. Not only are they strong, but they are exceptionally athletic and quick for big guys, which is why I expect them to play in the NFL someday.
The Rutgers Defense has been especially opportunistic this year, recovering 8 fumbles. We're generally good at stopping the run. Pass Coverage has been ok.
The Defense is led by #94 Scott Vallone, one of the best defensive tackles in the country. Scott is exceptionally strong and is typically double-teamed on most plays. Nevertheless, he leads the team with 5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
The leading tackler for Rutgers is #20 Khaseem Greene who has 23 tackles. Greene was moved from safety to WLB, and has helped make the Rutgers Defense play like the Miami Hurricane defenses of Old. We might be a tad undersized on defense, but we swarm to the ball carrier rapidly. Not only is Khaseem an effective tackler, he also has cover skills as well.
Safety #32 Duron Harmon reminds me of Shawn Taylor and Ed Reed. He has exceptional instincts and does a great job of reading his keys, which is why he has 3 interceptions in 3 games.
I'm excited for the Rutgers - Syracuse matchup as it should be one of the most entertaining of the year. Rutgers is good, but not good enough to overlook any team, so I know we'll be ready. As will Syracuse, as Doug Marrone, who I consider to be a great coach, who will throw things at Rutgers that we haven't seen before.
If Syracuse is able to take away #6, then others have to respond.
I'm optimistic that new OC Frank Cignetti, who has been successful against SU in the recent past, has a little somethin up his sleeve.
For Rutgers, our keys are to
- run the ball
- stop the run
- hit some shots downfield
- minimize turnovers
Good Luck and may the best team win.
Your pal,
RutgersAl
