With four conference games in October, three of them at home against the other three ranked teams in the conference (and the fourth game, the first road game of the year, against an Orange team that rose to the occasion against Louisville two weeks ago), this is the month that will determine the Knights' placement in the Big East and in the national polls. Four wins in October will almost guarantee at least a share of the Big East title and a return to the top ten. It will prove to the football world (for at least four weeks) that last Saturday's loss to Maryland was a fluke and not a confirmation that Rutgers belongs in the middle to lower tiers of D1 football and that 2006 was an aberration that needs correction.- A win against #20/24 Cincinnati next week would move the Knights back up into the teens.
- A win against Syracuse on the 13th probably wouldn't do anything positive to their standing (but a loss to Syracuse would knock them out of the top 25).
- A win against #6/9 South Florida at home on the 18th on Thursday-night TV would move the Knights back up into the top ten.
- A win against #13/12 West Virginia would put them into all the BCS bowl discussions and solidify their place in the middle of the top ten.
- Losing any of these games would probably drop them out of the top 25. Losing any two of them would drop them out of the top 25 for the season.
I don't want to put too much pressure on the Scarlet Knights, but, considering the stakes, can you think of a month in this team's long history that has been more pivotal?
1 comment:
TBL,
I am the host/co-producer of a new weekly radio show featuring some of the best college football blogs in the country, "CFB Weekly." I'd love to have you on but don't have an e-mail address to reach you. Please drop me a line at aaron_rennie-at-hotmail.com and I'll get back to you promptly. Thanks.
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