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De'Antwan Williams to transfer from Rutgers

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In response to being dropped to third on the depth chart, tailback De'Antwan "Rocket" Williams is leaving the Rutgers football team. This is somewhat surprising given the family pressure Williams faced to stay at RU after last season, but an even bigger surprise was that Williams did not transfer after two seasons on a bench, given that Rutgers has signed an all-everything freshman in Savon Huggins. Huggins and Williams were roughly equal in the early going, with the main difference that Williams was two classes ahead. Backups Jeremy Deering and Jawan Jamison weren't far behind. In that sense, being demoted to third-string is not much of an insult, although it's easy to see why it may come off as frustrating. That's probably why Schiano hasn't entirely closed the door on Rocket returning. Williams has an awful lot of talent, with his main drawback thus far behind a tendency to run horizontally instead of straight-ahead. He's capable of being a quality starter and excelling elsewhere, having had the misfortune to play the same position as Savon Huggins. Losing Williams certainly hurts the team's depth in the backfield, but you won't find many Rutgers fans who aren't looking forward to Savon toting the rock full-time. Basically, all hail our new tailback overlord, and it sure would have been nice if Ray Graham's grades weren't awful three years ago.

Rutgers University announces record fundraising

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Crippling budget cuts inaugurated a new era of fiscal peril for Rutgers University, and in one of his final acts as President, Richard McCormick announced one positive bit of news yesterday. Rutgers raised nearly $140 million in 2010-2011, including a record $27 million anonymous gift. McCormick will give an update on the proposed merger with UMDNJ-New Brunswick tomorrow.

Bye week reshuffling

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Rutgers football won't play another game until 9/24, but that doesn't mean that the team is resting on their laurels this week. Coach Schiano is using the opportunity to experiment a little more in giving players looks at new spots. Kaleb Johnson could be in the mix on the OL. Since he's been working at right tackle, does that mean Des Stapleton shifts inside if the move sticks? It's hard to imagine Stapes sitting on the bench. His natural position is left tackle, where Andre Civil just silenced Quinton Coples for an entire game. That's not the only reshuffling under way, as freshman linebacker Kevin Snyder is drawing lots of praise, and the defensive line remains a question mark with Jamil Merrell injured. It's admittedly odd to be tinkering this much with a roster once the season started, but other teams are doing it too. It's not like Rutgers was blown out of the water last week. These aren't panic moves, if they even end up being moves; Coach Schiano is simply refusing to let the team rest on their laurels, and is determined to put the best lineup on the field.

New U.S. News college rankings released

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Rutgers dropped from 64th to 68th. Part of the reason is because U.S. News's rankings are unscientific trash, and part of it is because of the ongoing budget cuts. UConn for instance jumped several spots, which is mainly attributable to their generous in-state support.

Rutgers athletics subsidy decreasing by $1 million

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First came news that the Rutgers athletics budget dropped last year (although that figure only tells so much without knowing the subsidy level.) Today the Daily Targum is reporting that in light of a $10.8 million budget decrease, the Rutgers athletic department will have to reduce its subsidy level by $1 million. Which is fine; it just goes to show that the myth that Rutgers athletics is living high on the hog while the rest of the university suffers through austerity is complete fiction. Rutgers spends a minuscule percentage of its budget on subsidizing athletics; however, a good percentage of the $10.8 million cut will be borne by athletics.

The Sharrif Floyd/Damiere Byrd investigation

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This is all the first many of us are hearing of this - but the Palm Beach Post is raising interesting questions about the University of South Carolina's ties to a student athlete club in Philadelphia. No idea on the implications raised, but it's worth a read. The Philadelphia Inquirer has more. Update: Byrd is officially suspended for four games.

What would the Big East possibly want with Baylor?

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That's the question today. The Big East conference leadership's treachery knows no bounds, but even then it's to comprehend this supposed leak as anything more than desperate Baylor spin to keep all their recruits from jumping ship.

West Virginia makes $75k on beer sales for first game

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Well, that about settles it. Rutgers isn't going to match that level of profit, but clearly cannot afford to leave money on the table.

Lenn Robbins on BE expansion

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Following up on yesterday's story, Robbins had another article in the post today outlining possible scenarios for the Big East if the Big XII collapses. It ultimately depends on what the SEC decides to do for team #14.

Mason Robinson out for the year

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M-Rob simply cannot catch a break to save his life. This guy is so talented; it seemed like he was just starting to settle in at corner, and was poised for a good year. What makes this doubly frustrating is that Robinson is as stand-up as they come off the field. Life just is not fair some times. This isn't a crippling loss in the sense that the remaining top three corners were seen as pretty close, but Robinson had a ton of untapped potential. His upside was probably second among the team's CBs after Logan Ryan. Now Rutgers needs to find a fourth corner, along with a returner. Gareef Glashen, John Aiken, and Jordan Thomas are the obvious candidates to step into the former role, with Thomas (if he doesn't redshirt) and Miles Shuler immediate candidates to see more time on returns.