Rutgers football: How did RU get over 53,000 into HSS?

A loud, raucous, and enthusiastic crowd welcomed the Big Ten to Piscataway.  And while the result wasn't what RU fans wanted, it showed the nation that Rutgers could equal the big boys. And maybe surpass them.  The size of the crowd and the vibrancy that existed both inside and outside the stadium definitely caught people outside of Rutgers by surprise.  From comments left here at On the Banks:

Great to see a strong game atmosphere at Rutgers!

I hope you all have many more, as it only makes our conference stronger. Thanks for the game and I look forward to seeing you all again next season.

@spacerobot5

by smashtheguitar on Sep 14, 2014 | 12:19 AM

Great crowd

PSU alum in NJ. I was telling fellow PSU alums at work going to the game that crowd would probably be 35-40% PSU (I went to PSU-SU game in the Meadowlands last year and crowd was 75% PSU). Watching on tv, that was not the case. Very loud and crazy RU crowd. Props

by runngunn29 on Sep 14, 2014 | 12:43 AM

and finally.....

You guys put on a good show.

Rutgers finally looks like they have a real field and an actual home field advantage. Expand the stadium some more, though, please.

I’d be thrilled if Michigan and Ohio State had to deal with this game choosing the B1G East champ 9 out of 10 years, so if calling this a rivalry makes that happen, sign me up.

by M1EK on Sep 14, 2014 | 2:36 PM

A really good crowd, great student attendance and response, just a terrific atmosphere.  And that, my friends, is what big time football is all about.  Now the question is, can it be sustained?  Michigan will be a sellout, or at least very close to it.  But what happens with Tulane in a few weeks?  It's a non-conference tilt against a questionable opponent with the dreaded noon kickoff slot.  Will the numbers be there for Wisconsin and Indiana?  They're both B1G games but without the passion that ttfp brought out.  But they are conference games.  Who will be there?

I want to go back, for a moment, to the "Great Crowd" comment above.  I thought the crowd might consist of upwards of 10,000 PSU fans.  Don't think that was the case.  There were the sections designated for PSU, and there were individuals and small groups of Nitty Kitty fans scattered about.  But no where near that 10,000 I thought would show up.  And I do not mind in the least being wrong on that.  Proud of my Rutgers family for not selling to the Black Shoe Cult.  Well done, Scarlet fans, well done!

Big Ten Attendance - Week 3

There were only five home games in the B1G; in fact several teams were on byes.  There was only one Big Ten conference game and it, well, it drew pretty well.  In fact, in terms of percentage of capacity, the B1G schools had their best week of the season, helped by the Rutgers game as well as the intrastate contest in Iowa.  Interestingly, of the five home games in the conference, Maryland had the lowest percent of capacity, and that while playing an old regional rival in West Virginia.

On the season, the Big Ten has done well in total attendance thanks to the large venues and equally large turnouts out the largest stadiums, with four games topping 100,000 and another three over 90,000.

And apologies for the decimal places below. Computers are great when you known what you're doing.

Big Ten Attendance September 13

With all schools close to or over 90% capacity, they are listed in alphabetical order.