Can Rutgers reclaim the magic in 2008?

By Darrell Laurant  |   Thursday, January 31, 2008  |  Comments( 17 )

Rutgers Scarlet Knights
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Fifth in a series on Big East football teams and the 2007 season.

RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS

RECORD: 8-5 (3-4 Big East).

BOWL GAME: Beat Ball State, 52-30 in the International Bowl.

HIGH POINTS: Beating then-nationally ranked South Florida, 30-27; the bowl victory, in which RB Ray Rice rushed for 280 yards and four touchdowns; becoming the first Division I-A team in history with a 2,000-yard rusher (Rice), a 3,000-yard passer (Mike Teel), and two 1,000-yard receivers (Tiquan Underwood and Kenny Britt).

LOW POINTS: Pretty much the whole Big East season. Rutgers beat the two teams it was supposed to beat (Syracuse and Pitt) but finished 1-4 against the other contenders.

MAJOR LOSSES: : RB Ray Rice; OTs Pedro Sosa and Jeremy Zuttah; OG Mike Fladell; DT Eric Foster; PK Jeremy Ito.

TOP RETURNEES: QB Mike Teel, WRs Tiquan Underwood, Tim Brown and Kenny Britt; DBs Courtney Greene, Devin McCourty and Joe Legefed; OT Anthony Davis; LBs Kevin Malast and Damaso Muñoz; QB Jabu Lovelace, TE Kevin Brock.

2008 OUTLOOK: The Scarlet Knights were a puzzle last season. Despite arguably the most productive offense in Big East history, coupled with an offensive line that allowed only 11 sacks, they finished just 1-4 against the other contending teams in the league. Perhaps that was a letdown to the emotionalism of their 2006 emergence, or maybe youth on defense was a determining factor. Greg Schiano returns two of the league's top receivers in Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood, and Teel has continued to develop as a passer. The O-line will have to be rebuilt, and Ray Rice was a once-in-a-generation back. Still, the decision of NFL prospect DB Courtney Greene to stick around for his senior year was big, and the Knights have to be considered at least marginal Big East title contenders.
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