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Posted: Tuesday November 21, 2000 3:23 PM
Darkened Knights
There are many reasons why Rutgers should win, but the Scarlet Knights continue to
lose
By Kelley King
It was in the mid-'70s that Rutgers decided to go big-time. After gradually
replacing the Bucknells, Columbias and Lehighs on its schedule with the likes of
Alabama, Penn State and Tennessee, the school was rewarded with a
state-sponsored, $3 million makeover of its facilities in January 1984. Yet
since then the Scarlet Knights have been one of the most insignificant teams in
the nation. Over the last 16 seasons they have had only four winning records,
have never appeared in a bowl game and have gone
67-113-5.
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Quarterback Mike McMahon and Rutgers were outgunned, as usual, in a 45-17 loss
to Notre
Dame. John Iacono |
Rutgers, the state university of densely populated New Jersey, should be able to
field a competitive team. It has fancy facilities, including an indoor practice
bubble and a new 41,500-seat stadium. Its boosters are enthusiastic -- the
Scarlet R Club raised a hefty $7 million over the last two years despite
the football team's 6-16 record in '98 and '99 -- and the Knights play in a
major conference, the Big East. Moreover, New Jersey churns out plenty of high
school talent. In the past five years it has produced standouts like Texas
quarterback Chris Simms, Penn State quarterback Rashard Casey and New York
Giants and former Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne, the 1999 Heisman Trophy
winner. But few of the top prospects sign with the Scarlet Knights. "I've
always had problems with the way coaches at Rutgers have recruited," says
Passaic (N.J.) Tech high coach John Iurato. "They don't recruit the program
kids, kids who will be great in a couple of years. They go for the blue
chips -- and they're not getting many of
them."
"Rutgers has an identity crisis," says Fred Stengel, who coaches
Bergen Catholic High in Oradell, N.J. "They want to have an Ivy League
mentality when it comes to academics, but a Big Ten approach to football.
Historically, they have problems not only recruiting good athletes, but keeping
them in
school."
Rutgers hasn't found the right coach in three tries since 1984. The latest
failure is Terry Shea, whose record in five seasons is 11-43 and who will resign
after Saturday's game at Syracuse. Like his predecessors, Shea hasn't been able
to attract Jersey-grown stars like Simms and Notre Dame freshman quarterback
Matt LoVecchio, a Franklin Lakes native who threw for 161 yards and two
touchdowns in a 45-17 Irish win last Saturday that dropped the Scarlet Knights
to 3-7.
Athletic director Bob Mulcahy vows to name a new coach by December: Western
Michigan coach Gary Darnell and Notre Dame offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers
reportedly top the list. Meanwhile, a group of students, alumni and faculty
members is circulating a petition calling for Rutgers football to withdraw from
Division I-A and play in a nonscholarship Division I-AA conference like
the Patriot
League.
However, neither Mulcahy nor Rutgers president Francis Lawrence sees any reason
that the Knights can't win where they are. "Other [Rutgers] coaches come to
me and say, 'Get football better.' It affects recruiting across all
sports," says Mulcahy. "We can get this turned around. I'm certain
that football can be a point of pride for the
state."
Issue date: November 27, 2000
For more Inside College Football see this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday, November 22. Click here to subscribe to SI.
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