:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/33831433/20130914_jla_sn7_134.0.jpg)
It's summer. You need some light reading on the beach or at the pool or to kill time while you're waiting for your dinner to finish in the microwave. So what to do if you're a college football fan? You go to the preseason magazine reports. It's what we did. And for Rutgers, it ain't all that pretty.
We started with The Sporting News. And where to begin the dissection?
Well, the Big Ten Conference preview headline reads: Terps and Scarlet Knights joining the fun mean two more easy wins and better ratings. Ugh. At least they included the Twerps as being as bad as us. In fact, they highlight two teams, one ascending (Minnesota) and one descending. Thank goodness it's Mary-land on the decline.
TSN lists a preseason first team offense and defense. Yeah, you're getting the idea - no Knights. But for the record, there are no Boilermakers, Hoosiers, Illini, or Gophers. But then, not exactly the most elite company with that crowd.
The mag predicts that only three teams that could go to bowls won't (yes, tTFP isn't eligible...see the tears flowing). Again, Illinois, Purdue and RU stay home after game 12.
TSN's "Bottom Line": "The Rutgers athletic administration is delighted with its arrival in the Big Ten, but the football program is going to pay some serious dues." The team immediately ahead of RU at #6 in the East is Mary-land and its "Bottom Line" is: "If Maryland expects to make a big first impression in the Big Ten, it should think again. The Terps have some talent but not enough to make a run at the big boys. Coach Randy Edsall should concentrate on handling the nonleague foes and hoping Maryland can make progress against Indiana and Rutgers before it imagines itself a contender."
Oh, and for good measure (could someone please stop twisting the knife?), there on the Michigan recruiting notes it lists, and this is a quote, "...the pride of New Jersey", Jabrill Peppers.
The Sporting News
Predicted Finish: B1G East 7th
All Conference Players from RU: None on magazine's 1st team
Player to Watch: Paul James listed as a "difference maker"
Big Ten Bowl-bound teams: 10
Recruiting: "tough year...as New Jersey's top 15 players headed elsewhere"
So, is The Sporting News on target? Are they off? Do they even know where Rutgers is located? Your turn.
Next up: USA Today