It's the Season
Things have been hectic for me since the start of the season. As a result, I haven't been posting. But I'm hoping to change all that.
I was at the Cincy game, but that's ancient history now, and we all know what happened there, so I'm just going to chip in a few things I noticed.
The enhancements to the stadium: Aside from the new bleachers looking a little brighter than the rest of them, the enclosed south endzone looks as if it has always been there. If anything, by moving the students to the south endzone, it's now easier for me to get in and out of the stadium since I enter by the recruiting tent.
The atmosphere: In his postgame press conference, Coach Schiano talked about a home game needing to be an event that can compete with the myriad choices for a person's entertainment dollar. And the atmosphere at the stadium prior to the game was great. I also thought it was a nice touch to have the cheerleaders, rather than the Touchdown Club, selling the 50/50 tix. It's good pr for the school and makes the cheerleaders seem like an even more important part of gameday. The same is true of having the band circle the stadium playing their instruments prior to entering.
Never had a chance: Damaso Munoz came out of the tunnel with the axe and promptly was unable to get it to stick in the chopping block on the first swing. I turned to my wife and said, "that wasn't good." And I was right. It was downhill from there.
Finally, I was sad to see the cannon relegated to a spot basically outside the stadium. I think it was an intimidating thing to have the cannon go off after a Rutgers score directly behind the visiting fans. Hopefully, they can return the cannon to a place of prominence where its effects can be felt.
I was unable to attend the Howard game, but watched the replay on TV. It's a hard game to judge because of the competition and the physical advantage the Rutgers players had, but I think a lot of good things could be taken from it, especially the play of Savage and Brooks. And the defense played with renewed passion, which may have been the difference in making it a close game had they come out as inspired against Cincinnati.
Florida International would be a good test because they should be right about the midpoint between the type of team Cincy is and the type of team Howard is. FIU lost to Alabama by 26, but in many respects the game was much closer. It's a team on the rise that Rutgers can ill afford to overlook. But a good performance against them will help RU prepare for Maryland especially, assuming the Scarlet can take care of business against Texas Southern.
I was at the Cincy game, but that's ancient history now, and we all know what happened there, so I'm just going to chip in a few things I noticed.
The enhancements to the stadium: Aside from the new bleachers looking a little brighter than the rest of them, the enclosed south endzone looks as if it has always been there. If anything, by moving the students to the south endzone, it's now easier for me to get in and out of the stadium since I enter by the recruiting tent.
The atmosphere: In his postgame press conference, Coach Schiano talked about a home game needing to be an event that can compete with the myriad choices for a person's entertainment dollar. And the atmosphere at the stadium prior to the game was great. I also thought it was a nice touch to have the cheerleaders, rather than the Touchdown Club, selling the 50/50 tix. It's good pr for the school and makes the cheerleaders seem like an even more important part of gameday. The same is true of having the band circle the stadium playing their instruments prior to entering.
Never had a chance: Damaso Munoz came out of the tunnel with the axe and promptly was unable to get it to stick in the chopping block on the first swing. I turned to my wife and said, "that wasn't good." And I was right. It was downhill from there.
Finally, I was sad to see the cannon relegated to a spot basically outside the stadium. I think it was an intimidating thing to have the cannon go off after a Rutgers score directly behind the visiting fans. Hopefully, they can return the cannon to a place of prominence where its effects can be felt.
I was unable to attend the Howard game, but watched the replay on TV. It's a hard game to judge because of the competition and the physical advantage the Rutgers players had, but I think a lot of good things could be taken from it, especially the play of Savage and Brooks. And the defense played with renewed passion, which may have been the difference in making it a close game had they come out as inspired against Cincinnati.
Florida International would be a good test because they should be right about the midpoint between the type of team Cincy is and the type of team Howard is. FIU lost to Alabama by 26, but in many respects the game was much closer. It's a team on the rise that Rutgers can ill afford to overlook. But a good performance against them will help RU prepare for Maryland especially, assuming the Scarlet can take care of business against Texas Southern.
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