On the Banks: FanPosts

I love the show weeds

2013-05-02T18:10:11Z

Smoke pot and wear diapers, I'm crazy. Diapers rock underwear sucks jjhfddd my mommy gives me breast milk. I am currently off of my medication. Vaginas and penises rock and should all be in diapers. Those mouths should be smokin pot. Men should wear panties and a dress while women should wear business suits. Nugget gyyyttg fgvggddd gvvvvv nugget gyyyttg. We should go crazy and do whatever the we feel like wearing and smoking. Ho's over shows and black power! White men have been keeping us down.

I wear womens underwear

2013-05-02T03:16:00Z

I am currently in womens underwear typing up sports information. God it is soo much fun to do. Listening to Mozart, drinking Chardonnay in panties. My girlfriend says it liberates me from the gender disfunctions of modern society. Do any of you guys just want to be self liberated and wear womens undergarments while watching Lifetimes show "Raped by a Clown". Life is soo fun when you think as a woman, I think I may become a vegan and I may work as a yoga instructor. Any ways see you later, alligator.

Rutgers got denied going to the big 10 cause there too poor

2013-04-05T23:16:49Z

Football team sucks and basketball does too. Mike rice won 1 game at Rutgers and statistically you guys rank 126 out of 309 basketball programs. Missouri on the other hand is one of the great basketball programs and has a top 30 football programs and has never had an NCAA violation. For one thing we don't have brain dead retards running our athletic instructions and have respected coaches. We also have a nationally renowned journalism school that is #1 in the world and easily beat any dumb hick from New Jersey. We also have a storied tradition in softball and baseball that includes 2 national titles and 12 College World Series combine.

What's in a name?

2013-03-01T01:48:13Z

Like it or not, the Catholic Seven looks like they are taking the Big East name.

With the new teams and new geographic regions entering into the league beginning next year, I suppose it makes sense to reinvent the league with a new name. I think it will be fun to watch the speculation in the coming weeks as to what the new name will be.

Any guesses on the new name of the old Big East?

Like it or not, the Catholic Seven looks like they are taking the Big East name.

Any guesses on the new name of the old Big East?

It Hurts Because We Care

2012-12-01T17:25:50Z

Two days after the debacle that was the 20-17 loss to Louisville, the defeat still stings and I still feel down about the game. It's not as bad as what it was on that night, where the dread just built up in the second half with every big gain by the Cardinals. It's not as bad as what it was on that night, where I literally stood staring at where Gary Nova threw that game breaking interception in utter shock from my seat in Section 109. It's not as bad as what it was on that night, where I just walked the long walk back to the car in stunned silence. But it still stings all the same.

It was the worst loss I ever saw in person, and that includes my beloved New Jersey Devils choking a one goal lead against Carolina within the final two minutes of Game 7 in a 2009 playoff series. After that game, I left the Rock screaming all kinds of expletives in anger among a crowd that was either doing the same or just seething. After Thursday's loss, I was angry but struggled to find the words. I was sad but couldn't find the tears. I was shocked but still realized what had happened. As with that loss, time made those strong, horrible feelings weaken.

With this game, time and a more sober look at what precisely happened in the 20-17 loss would assist. I have to hand it to the Louisville Cardinals. They played a better game, particularly in the second half. They had to chase the game and caught up to it with their superior passing attack. While the two big play touchdowns may have skewed the time of possession in the first half, Louisville had a significant advantage in controlling the ball. According to the boxscore at ESPN.com, the Cardinals had it for 42:11 to Rutgers' 17:49. They were superior in getting first downs, Louisville's 22 to Rutgers' 9. They were more successful on third down, Louisville went 8-for-19 whilst Rutgers only went 3-for-11. I'm not as knowledgeable about the underlying numbers in football to know what matters most, but I don't think teams win a lot of games on the wrong end of these differences.

I understand that Teddy Bridgewater was playing with a fracture in his non-throwing hand and had an injured left foot. I and the masses at the High Point Solutions stadium quickly saw that it didn't matter. Like the many hockey players who play through injury in the playoffs and just surprise you that they were hurt, Bridgewater was still able to perform to the best of his abilities. While Rutgers was able to get pressure and three sacks, Bridgewater - who wasn't all that mobile of a quarterback to begin with - simply got the ball out and/or stepped up in the pocket to make the throws he needed to make. Despite that he was killing and changing plays left and right, he had the power and accuracy to put the ball where only his receivers could get it. It's easy to get mad at the secondary for not doing a better job or the front seven for not getting more pressure; but Bridgewater's passes were just that good. Just look at his second touchdown pass, which was nigh-unstoppable. Bridgewater was able to turn the several third-and-long spots into first downs and made it look easy. The lone blotch on his record was a tipped ball that dropped into Lorenzo Waters' hands. He was simply brilliant in going 20-for-28 for 263 yards and two touchdowns. His quality shined and his injuries didn't matter. I'd go as far as to say he was the best quarterback Rutgers played all season, with Tyler Wilson being the only possible exception.

Speaking of Arkansas, Rutgers had to keep up with the Razorbacks in a pass-heavy game. On that fateful night, Gary Nova did just that by going 25-for-35, 394 yards, and five touchdowns. It was his best game of the season, and it was necessary as Wilson threw for 419 yards and three touchdowns. Against Louisville, the game similarly took to the air and Nova wasn't as successful. Both Louisville and Rutgers ran for less than 60 yards, so the game largely moved through the passing attack. While he racked up 284 yards, that's driven mostly by the two touchdowns where Brandon Coleman went 85 yards for a score and Mark Harrison did so for 68. Nova went 13-for-28. Early on, it didn't seem that his passes were particularly bad, but as the game went on, it degraded. There were drops by the receivers, such as Tim Wright and Quron Pratt. As time went on, Nova started forcing more balls into bad spots such as into coverage or checking down to a covered underneath man. Some of it was the playcalling; I don't think Dave Brock fully grasps that on third down there should be multiple receivers going to or just beyond the stick. But the decision making is up to Nova and that fell apart, capped off by one of the worst interceptions I've ever seen to kill the game. (His first was similar to Bridgewater's, off the receiver and into a defender.) One has to wonder "what if" he didn't assume there would be man that far down field as Rutgers still had a hope of tying or winning the game.

One could go on for a while with "what ifs" in this game. What if the defense was able to disrupt the Louisville passing attack more in the second half? What if Jeremy Deering didn't blown up by a perfect tackle that knocked the ball loose on the kick off after the Cardinals' first touchdown? What if they got a few more third down stops in the third and fourth quarter? What if Rutgers didn't punt the ball after the fake field goal touchdown was taken away? (I think it was a defensible decision, for what it's worth.) What if the refs didn't take back the fake field touchdown for an illegible player downfield? (I was focused on the pass, I didn't see a lineman too down field, was it true) What if Rutgers ran the ball more to Juwan Jamison than just 15 times and/or given Savon Huggins some touches? What if Rutgers got more points in the first half? What if Rutgers showed up against Pitt and would've made this game irrelevant? What if Rutgers played with a more open, passing attack all season such that? What if, what if, what if?

Sadly, it's not "what if" but "what could have been." If you were to tell me back when Kyle Flood was named the head coach that Rutgers would go 9-3 and have a share of the Big East championship, then I would have said, "That's very good." That's the situation now, but I certainly feel very good and maybe you don't either. Sure, the Scarlet Knights will likely go to their best bowl even. They may even win it. To the outside observer, losing to Louisville was a disappointment but the season was largely positive. To the fan, the bowl may make some of this pain go away but you'll still be left with the sting of thinking "what could have been." That will last a little longer, your mileage may vary.

And that stinging hurts a bit. To me, it hurts more considering the larger picture of this game. It hurts because the championship could have been solely in Rutgers' possession instead of shared with Louisville and at least one team Rutgers beat. It hurts because a BCS bowl was up for grabs and who knows if Rutgers will ever get to play on that level. It hurts because this was a national game where Rutgers could have made a big statement to all of the critics, the doubters, and the unaware that they deserve your attention. It hurts because a win like this could have turned quite a few people onto the college game in New Jersey and New York. It hurts because the possibility of a win sending 52,000+ fans into a state of football euphoria would have been the perfect response to the claims that there is no Rutgers fanbase or that college football doesn't matter here. It hurts because a championship would have certainly boosted Rutgers' standing in football from recruits to coaches to broadcasters. It hurts because this could have been a signature win, the sort where you begin stories with "I was there" with. It hurts because the crowd at High Point Solutions Stadium was absolutely electric from the get-go (sans casuals who don't feel they need to show up on time to watch a game of football for the first few minutes or so) to Nova's abysmal interception. It hurts because we all got to see a team have their chance at glory, they were in a great situation score-wise at halftime, and everything fell apart as the team faded away to a 20-17 loss. It hurts because we really don't know if Rutgers will be in this kind of situation ever again. I know that sounds melodramatic; however, history and the uncertainty of the future suggests otherwise.

But, really, it hurts because we care. That's the root of it. And most of us know this regardless of whether you just got emotionally invested this year or you've been there for your entire life. We may all deal with it differently and we may all have different perspectives. The common thread is that we care about the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team, we want to see them win, we yearn to see them succeed, we hope to be yelling for the players and coaches and not against them, and we desire to end yelling "On the Banks." I feel confident in using "we," even though I cannot claim to be the biggest Rutgers fan. I've only traveled once to see them play. I'm only a season ticket holder for the last few years. I've only started paying attention to Rutgers from the end of the 2005 season and onward (aside: I've only started paying attention to football a few years prior); I can't claim remembering the Terry Shea era or the older years. The Devils rank first in my heart and I will never deny that they are my passion. But my alma mater is important to me through their football team and so I have that fan's pain from such a massive loss via choking a lead in the biggest game of the year.

That's part of the deal of being a fan, and so is moving on and looking ahead. For the former, I can confirm the sun rose the next day and we'll all do what we need and want to do regularly, putting the loss further and further back in our minds. As concerned as I am about the future, rightly or wrongly, we truly don't know what will happen next. They'll play one more game, we have a new class of recruits entering the program, we'll have previously-redshirted players going into the depth chart, and we have more football to witness. The 20-17 loss to Louisville will be an unforgettable defeat, but the future gives a chance to ease that pain either through time or result. That's also because we care.

I feel your pain

2012-11-30T05:08:46Z

I was born on the year of the Play. You know, "the most amazing, sensational, dramatic, heart-rending, exciting, thrilling finish in the history of college football." Being born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and with two generations of Cal alumni in my family, the first thing I learned about football was the lateral pass.

Twenty nine years later, I find myself in New Jersey, leaving the West Coast behind and coming to Jersey to start a new chapter in my life. I came east to start a new career by going to law school at Rutgers-Newark. I remember at orientation one of my classmates, asking my if I would be homesick for California. My reply was simple; I can video chat my parents, my fiancee is here, I'm two stops away from New York City (I used to live two stops away from San Francisco) and there's D-I football. In other words, I think I can feel at home here. He told me, "it's Rutgers, they'll find a way to break your heart." How prescient.

It is truly fitting that I am here at Rutgers. While the academics may not be as elite as Berkeley, football wise, the Scarlet Knights and the Golden Bears are much alike. A flagship state university where athletics have been de-emphasized throughout much of its history. A coach who in recent years turned a football laughingstock into a respectable program. A program that has been on the verge of "the next level" but failing to reach it.

This season, I was more than pleasantly surprised RU football. Cal had been struggling as of late and staying up late to watch West Coast games just doesn't really work out well in practice. It was nice to hang my hat on this program and feel the energy of this magical season, even in Newark. From the hot start to the Big Ten invite, this was truly a magical season. But alas, nothing can be perfect, and the regular season had to end on such a bittersweet note.

Tonight, was painful. An outright Big East Championship and a BCS bid was there for the taking, but Louisville, with a gimp QB with one hand won the Big East Exit Bowl.

I may be new to this community, but trust me, I feel your pain. If this was a Cal blog and we were discussing a Cal result, we'd shrug our shoulders and say these are the times that turn young men into Old Blues. This feeling has dogged me my entire life as a college football fan. It totally and completely sucks. While tonight's game was entertaining and good, moral victories are not enough.

Despite everything, I am proud to be a part of the Rutgers community.

Well, there's still a bowl game to be played and there will always be next year.

Tonight, was painful. An outright Big East Championship and a BCS bid was there for the taking, but Louisville, with a gimp QB with one hand won the Big East Exit Bowl.

Despite everything, I am proud to be a part of the Rutgers community.

Well, there's still a bowl game to be played and there will always be next year.

How about a little love for RU Soccer!

2012-10-09T13:26:07Z

The Scarlet Knights soccer teams may not be undefeated, but they've been consistent performers over the years. And the women just earned a tie at Notre Dame (not too shabby) and the men play top-ranked Maryland tonight (Oct. 9). Both teams have pretty critical run-ins over the next two weeks, as the Big East is very strong in soccer and they'll have to finish strong to climb into post-season.

On the women's side, RU pretty much needs to win out to make it to the conference tournament and they have a good shot with home games this weekend against Louisville and Cincinnatti followed by a short trip to Seton Hall to wind up the regular season.

RU Beating down the Dogs... Let the dogs out!!! We got this!!!

2012-10-06T18:15:49Z

RU leading by touchdown plus.... Beating the dog's offense and outperforming the supposedly stellar Ucon defense...

The receivers are coming on and the running game is on....

You can't beat Rutgers with both the run and the air force on!!! You just can't ...

Uconn's D can't stop either... We're too good...

Simply, RU is leaving the Uconn level of play and the bottom of the Nation's football program lists....

We are in the top 25 now headed for 5-0 and the middle of the top dog pack.

Sorry dogs...

Never forget we are the nights...

Go Rutgers!

RU leading by touchdown plus.... Beating the dog's offense and outperforming the supposedly stellar Ucon defense...

The receivers are coming on and the running game is on....

You can't beat Rutgers with both the run and the air force on!!! You just can't ...

Uconn's D can't stop either... We're too good...

Simply, RU is leaving the Uconn level of play and the bottom of the Nation's football program lists....

We are in the top 25 now headed for 5-0 and the middle of the top dog pack.

Sorry dogs...

Never forget we are the nights...

Go Rutgers!

Retired Football Numbers

2012-09-25T01:17:36Z

How has Brian Leonard and Ray Rice not had their numbers retired yet? When the camera shows the stands all you see is 23 and 27 jerseys. I hate watching games and seeing other players in their jersey. They should have been the last to ever wear those numbers for what they did for the Rutgers Football program. Hopefully the school doesnt waste much more time. (side note- havent been so happy with this team since these two guys were running the show, were back!)

Athletic Performance helps University Academics

2012-09-21T18:27:55Z

It's not an argument. In fact, it's academic. Time and time again we hear about Professors complaining that athletics' budgets continue to grow and there is fear that the mission of such Universities to educate is being overlooked. Well fear not Prof! Here with science and numbers to warm your heart is an article from the "Business of College Sports" that explains how improved D-1 Football and Basketball results directly translated to increased applications and applicant SAT scores. It's like magic! Imagine generations of children who grew up watching their heroes play on TV for different Universities who then wanted to affiliate themselves with that same institution!? Incredible!

I digress, this point has been made innumerable times but here we have actual numbers from an actual study rather than just everyone but the Professors fundamentally understanding this truth. To that I say, YOU GO TIM PERNETTI! Spend with impunity and buy the best damn sports teams you can. With enough top ten finishes we'll see Rutgers in the top 10 of that pernicious US News & World Report report and make those angry Professors happy to cheer on the school's sports teams.

Here is the link.

New York's College Team???

2012-04-29T20:28:33Z

I was just watching a Yankees game and saw the left field sign on the mezzanine deck face referring to Syracuse as New York's college team! I think the implication is NYC versus NY state - and I think it's wrong! Rutgers has out-drawn SU football for TV ratings in games head to head on different ESPN networks. Now SU has a "Syracuse Day" at a Yankees game in June??? Why doesn't Rutgers do that? Or maybe they are planning to? We need to make a statement about the NY metro area preferred college football team!

Rutgers Basketball Recruiting Chart

2012-04-03T11:45:44Z

Hey Scarlet Knights,

I used to keep up a NC State Basketball Recruiting Chart over at PackPride (the NC State Scout boards) which combined all the links and ratings from Scout, ESPN, and Rivals. It got difficult to maintain by hand, so I automated the process, and threw a basic UI together and put it up on the web. I did the same for all the other schools while I was automating it. I threw in YouTube highlights and Twitter feeds for every ranked recruit that I could find, and added the depth chart at the recruits position for each of their offers.

I started cleaning up the rosters on the ACC teams first, and then moved on to the rest of the BCS conferences.

BTW, I haven't gotten to validating the active rosters for schools outside the BCS conferences yet, so that data will be inaccurate due to red-shirts, prep schools, junior colleges and transfers.

Obviously this info does not contain any of the great inside info that you get here at On the Banks, as they'll have all the latest and greatest on Rutgers Hoops, but it might make a nice compliment to the info you're getting here. It's more of a 10,000 foot view if that makes sense.

Anyway, here is the Rutgers page and a couple of your recruits' profile pages, (you can navigate to other schools at the top, its a bit wonky, but it should work if you select the team then hit the "Go!" button).

Let me know if you see any corrections, or have any questions. Hope you enjoy!

Rutgers | Verbal Commits

Torian Graham | Verbal Commits

Darrick Wood | Verbal Commits

Rutgers | Verbal Commits

Torian Graham | Verbal Commits

Darrick Wood | Verbal Commits

A couple question regarding Mohamed Sanu

2012-03-24T16:31:46Z

Since you guys know more about Sanu then the average scout, having seen him play every game for 3 seasons, how would you guys evaluate his deep speed. Do you think he could stretch the field against NFL corners? The knock on him is that he can't separate and gets lazy when running the deeper routes; is that fair to say? How about is route running in general? How well does he run the shorts routes. How smart of a player is he. Was his QB holding him back? How were defenses playing him Give me the 411 on Sanu like only Rutgers fans who have watched his entire career could.

Will the 2012 game with Temple be home or away?

2012-02-24T03:30:33Z

As it seems imminent that Temple will be joining the Big East in 2012 I wanted to make a quick point. It is assumed that Temple will just "slide in" to West Virginia's slot in the Big East's 2012 schedule. I want to make it clear that if Rutgers does not get an extra home game out of this it is absolutely unacceptable. And here is why....

Assuming Temple joins for 2012 the Big East will have 8 teams, a 7 game round robin schedule, each school either has 4 or 3 home Big East games next year. If Temple just "slides in" to WVU's slot they would get 4 home games and Rutgers would get 3 home games. We would then only have 6 home games for 2012. We originally had 7 home games scheduled with TCU to come to Piscataway and as most of you know the bonds that paid for the stadium expansion are scheduled to paid based on the projected revenue from 7 home games every year. It would be very easy to switch the originally scheduled game Rutgers @ WVU to Temple @ Rutgers and leave the rest of the planned Big East schedule alone and "slide in" Temple for WVU. Temple does not deserve to have 4 Big East home games their first year in the Big East. The candidates for the extra home game are the 4 teams in the Big East that currently have 4 away games scheduled for 2012; Syracuse, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, & Uconn. The Big East should obviously not give Pittsburgh or Syracuse the extra home game since they could be leaving as soon as 2013. That leaves Rutgers and Uconn. West Virginia was already scheduled to go to Uconn in 2012. So that leaves us. Now let's see if Marinatto can get this right....

Mike Rice and officiating

2012-02-08T04:01:42Z

Halftime of Rutgers-Notre Dame a few weeks ago, Speaking with a few Rutgers cheerleaders about their white uniforms (which was mentioned in On the Banks). Official Ed Corbett is heading out to the floor. Corbett sees me talking with the two young ladies, gives a thumbs up and wink. “You know him,” one of the cheerleaders asked. Yes, I replied, explaining my officiating background and the fact Corbett has been an instructor of mine at a few officiating camps.

Then proceeded to tell the ladies I officiated with Mike Rice once. “You got to be kidding.” they seemed to exclaim in unison. “I can’t imagine that, coach an official.” Given his in game intensity and a few rough situations (Big East last March) guess it is hard to imagine. A little background is in order.

One Summer morning about eight years ago I received a frantic call from the Eastern Invitational Camp at College of New Jersey. No officials were hired. Said I could get there and give them three games but the trip from my Lyndhurst home down the turnpike to Ewing, NJ is just over an hour. No problem.

Get to Eastern and was informed I will work with a coach/instructor, Mike Rice. “Know him?” the coordinator asked. “Yes, I covered his games as a player at Fordham.” Met with Mike who knew me. We discussed pre-game(s) coverage. Told Mike don’t worry about signals, coaches just want the call so verbalize. Pointed out he played a high level of college ball so he knew what would be a foul or not. We went over positioning but I added not to worry, if he was on the wrong side of the baseline I could adjust.

We worked three games with some competitive teams as CBA a well known Garden State program, a strong catholic school from Virginia and Neptune High School. Mike did great and really seemed to enjoy it. His most impressive calls were no calls where there was contact but the player played through it and the play was not affected. He handed any tough situation with poise and ease and even said to me during one time out how coaches “want everything.” Ironic assessment.

Overall, we had a great time working together and the games went well. I even write a column about it in Eastern Basketball Magazine.

That Fall Rice joined Phil Martelli’s program as an assistant at St. Joseph’s. He told me the article from Eastern Basketball was sent to recruits. Flattered I asked why. “To show,” Rice said, “the St. Joseph’s staff would do any task to help the student/athlete.”

Today, we refer to that Summer day when we talk casually. I still call Mike, ’one of my favorite officiating partners’.

While he can be intense on the Rutgers sidelines, he is approachable and will hear an official’s side. In the aftermath of last March and at Georgetown this season, Rice took the high road and chose his words carefully in heated situations.

Another reason I can say with pride, we worked on the court together.

Ironic was written at the Gaslight right near the Seton Hall campus on the eve of Rutgers’ meeting with their in state rivals. Well, at least it was chronicled following an officiating assignment….