Morning Edition
Football
Rutgers: Knights (1-4),
who lost to Tennessee, 35-14, could have gone into complete meltdown in Knoxville.
But Rutgers played aggressively, pulling off an on-sides kick after its first
score - 100-yard opening kickoff return by Nathan Jones - and jumping out
to a 14-7 lead.
Cornhuskers
ground to a halt
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano
does not believe in moral victories, but for a team that measures success
in terms of improvement and effort, Saturday's 35-14 loss to Tennessee was
a significant step forward.
'NO
MORAL VICTORIES': Victories are what counts to Rutgers' coach
And there it was. For
the first 29:59 of Saturday's contest between Rutgers and Tennessee, everything
that Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano has preached about since arriving on
the Banks in December of 2000 seemed to come together. As a result, for almost
an entire half the Scarlet Knights (1-4, 0-1) did more than just compete with
the No.11 Volunteers (3-1, 0-1) in their 35-14 loss; they scared them.
Rutgers
packs early punch vs. Vols
There are no moral victories
at Rutgers, Greg Schiano said Saturday night.
His young team, derided for weeks and doubted by just about everybody, had
one of the nation's most successful programs on the ropes for a good half
of football. His Scarlet Knights were competitive for three quarters, and
it wasn't until the very end that No.11 Tennessee finally overmatched them.
On Sunday, Schiano didn't change his story. But after watching the game film,
the coach who leaves nothing to chance had to admit a real victory - not just
a moral one - may have been well out of his control.
Rutgers'
best not good enough
Greg Schiano said he will
have a more thorough film review of Rutgers' deceptive-looking 35-14 loss
at Tennessee done this week, but his first glance at the game tapes yielded
"seven or eight plays" he considered difference-makers that went
against his team, saying "five were associated with officiating."
There was no rancor in Schiano's voice yesterday as he violated coaching protocol
with his public criticism of the officiating, but he made it clear that several
key calls that went against the Knights were "improperly made" by
the all-SEC crew.
Schiano
laments 'improper' officiating
Rutgers football coach
Greg Schiano said "seven or eight plays" that went against his team
made a difference in Saturday's 35-14 loss at Tennessee. "Five of them
were associated with officiating," Schiano said Sunday night in reviewing
the game.
While Schiano stopped short of accusing the referees of home cooking, it was
undeniable that the Southeastern Conference crew made several questionable
calls that went against the Scarlet Knights.
Schiano
says officials had major impact on loss at Tennessee
Site Information
We have been bringing
a lot of articles on-line over the last month. For those who are having problems
accessing the archives, please click this link: Story
Archive.
Please visit our Message
Board. We will provide updates and information. We also like to start some
interesting discussion.
Message Board
For those high school
players who would like to get their tapes on-line, you can mail your tape
to:
Mike and the Big Dog LLC
P.O. Box 431
Plainsboro, New Jersey 08536
PLEASE
NOTE THAT THE TAPE WILL NOT BE RETURNED. Please send HIGHLIGHTS or your best
game. WE WILL SELECT THE CLIPS TO BRING ON-LINE.
NOT ALL TAPES WILL BE BROUGHT ON-LINE.
Interesting Article
True or false: More freshmen
are playing this season compared to last year among the six conferences in
the Bowl Championship Series. True or false: Two freshmen, Ohio State's Maurice
Clarett and North Carolina State's T.A. McLendon, rank among the nation's
top five in scoring. True or false: No. 1 Miami has played 10 of its 16 freshmen
scholarship recipients in its four games.
Fearless
freshmen play crucial roles
If Irving Fryar had hair
he might have pulled some of it out by now.
Fryar, in his first year as an offensive assistant coach at Holy Cross High
School, is slowly learning a what all great athletes eventually learn when
their careers are over and they turn to coaching.
Lesson No. 1: You have to be patient.
Lesson No. 2: You can't expect every player to do the things you used to do.
In
Review: Coach Fryar learning patience
Donald "Big
Dog" Forbes: BigDog@Rutgersfootball.com
Mike and the Big Dog LLC