It would be a mistake to think that a victory over Morgan State means all that much, or anything at all. It's not really worth reading much into a player looking good or bad, and somewhat of an indictment of our season that some RU fans are doing that at this point.
For one thing, RU's arguably two best players, Kenny Britt and Anthony Davis, did not play for unspecified reasons. Internet chatter suggests that they were caught smoking pot. You know what's even more stupid than the war on drugs? Putting yourself in a position where you could directly hurt the team. Britt and Davis can smoke all the marijuana they want after they graduate, or preferably, after they make a ton of money in the NFL. By accepting a free ride to play division I-A football, you willingly give up many of the priviledges of the normal college experience.
Pete Tverdov and George Johnson did return. Kordell Young didn't see any snaps. I wish a QB not named Teel would have gotten more reps at least.
But to go up 21-0 after the first quarter, for that feeling of dread that has wracked us during the first few games of the season, it was nice to be calm for a day. I think the layup of an easy victory helped the team as much or even more, and still regret that Rutgers football did not start off with Morgan State in order to help build momentum.
It was nice to get out to the stadium for the first time this season. All of the fans were treated to another MEAC band at halftime. Wasn't the greatest crowd. All the seats were sold of course, but it seemed like attendance was in the mid-30k range.
Some post-game notes from the various blogs:
Rutgers legend Bill Austin was in attendance.
SNY cut away from the game due to contractual obligation to show a Mets post-game press conference. I understand why they had no choice, and any Rutgers fans in the NYC area who didn't go to a game where Morgan State returned tickets have no excuse, but that still stings an awful lot.
Doug Flutie (eek, BC) was another QB that gave Teel a pep talk. Even though he's an alumni of a team I consider to be devil incarnate, I have to begrudgingly admit that Flutie is one of the good guys.
According to SK.com - as far as true freshmen go, Rowe (who's played in every game), Kivlehan, LeGrand, Booker, Vallone, and Cooper played. Kivlehan, Booker, and Cooper have at least played in other games. It also might have been the first appearance for RS Freshman Des Stapleton.
I also noticed that Fresno, UNC, and Navy all won. Maryland, which looked awful a few weeks ago, stunned Clemson. Michigan actually won a game. East Carolina lost another game. Virginia keeps getting worse by the week. To some extent, the team's fate is still in their hands. Show up against West Virginia, and who knows, maybe they're right back in it. Pat White suffered a hand injury against Marshall, but Rutgers fans know that Jarrett Brown can play.
College football is a volatile game that depends on a very small sample size. It's hard to say how much of winning reflects skill, and how much of it is luck, momentum, or being in the right place at the right time.