Not much for the Scarlet Knights to gain from Saturday other then getting Savage back on track and getting tuned up for Friday’s match up against Pitt. The defense once again played the starring role (pitching a 42-0 shut out), allowing just 126 yards of offense and specifically minus 25 yards on the ground.

Beyond training camp very little has been said about the emergence of Tim Brown as the “go to” receiver in this group. If you didn’t think he was our guy before, you will now. In a second quarter reception over the middle, deuce put his hands out to snare a Savage pass and was immediately flipped in the air by multiple defenders. He still somehow managed to hold onto the ball as he crashed to the ground. Quietly, Timmy Brown is putting together an all Big East caliber year with 452 yards receiving including two 100 yard games.

Just how much of the underperforming running game can be attributed to uneven performances of Martinek and Brooks or poor line play is still uncertain. What I did notice on Saturday though was an o-line that just didn’t seem to have the forward surge to allows runners a few steps beyond the line of scrimmage before contact. Another point is that rather then holes it seems Martinek, Brooks and Williams have slots or cracks to run through which is much more difficult for straight line runners like Martinek and Brooks.

Tom Savage performed efficiently (14-21, 150 yds., 1TD) and once again did not commit any mistakes (turnovers). They got him throwing both from the pocket and short passes rolling right and he also threatened several times with the long ball once connecting with deuce on a 34 yard TD. I am completely satisfied with this performance, less for Tom’s 28 yard scramble in which he put his head down and barrelled directly into an oncoming linebacker for two additional yards at the end of the run. Tom you throw an absolutely great ball but you need to stop by Fred Hill Sr’s office sometime to get some tips on sliding. Please also stop watching Florida games.

Can we all agree that with Rocket’s performance against the two FCS opponents that he’s played against (31 carried for 221 yds., 1 TD) that he’s earned a call up to BCS play. His cutting, explosive running style is completely different then (and complementary to) Martinek and Brooks. Whereas Schiano likes to allocate blocks of time to these two, I think he can stick Rocket in the middle of a series as a change of pace back who can also break one off any time he touches the ball. He adds a completely different dimension to the running game. Why not make opposing teams prepare for three backs who have all eclipsed 100 yards in games this year?

A few other take aways from Saturday: Has anyone else seen the development of Devin McCourty this year into an outstanding gunner on punt coverage? He’s consistently been the first player downfield either tying up or delivering a punishing open field blow to the opposing return man. Speaking of open field tackling, on Saturday Khaseem Greene made up for some sloppy tacking by the defense on a play coming from across the field and about 10-15 yards behind the Texas Southern runner and just buried him along the sideline during a third quarter run.

The teacher versus the pupil. ....It doesn't quite have the ring of an Eric Mangini vs Bill Belichick matchup, but Saturday's bout against the Golden Panthers is Schiano's first against his current coaching tree of one. Here's a few thoughts headed into Saturday's game.

Sanu: What are the odds that he's going to make it three out of three on the year? I wonder what unsuspecting d-back will experience the latest round of Hines Ward style devastation from the newly minted 20 year old.

FIU Wideout T.Y. Hilton: This guy is explosive....Archie P of the Rutgers Fan Blog on nj.com might even venture to say that this guy is a human WMD and that we need to call in the IAEA. 12 TD's in 2008 scored in almost every way possible: seven receiving, two rushing, one on a punt return, one on a kick off and one passing. Only problem is he's a sophomore so it's pretty safe to assume that there's some true freshman on FIU's bench who hasn't played a single down of college football but should be starting over him and who also is a guaranteed first round NFL pick.

Davis & Co.: Using 11 linemen in Saturday's game against Howard shows a loss of confidence of sorts in the front fives ability to protect Savage and open holes for the running game. They have been a virtual no show in the first two game and we are all here waiting for the unit that started the second half of 2008 to finally start showing up. We can't put all of the blame on the slow development of the running game on Martinek, Brooks and Co.

T minus three days to gameday. Here's the latest headed into the long weekend....

- Injuries: As expected, both Blair Bines and George Johnson will be at full strength on Monday. However, Bines appears to be locked in a fierce battle for the starting DT job with redshirt freshman Scot Vallone. According to Schiano Kordell Young will only be available for emergency situation. In other words, only if Martinek, Brooks and Rocket all simultaneous go out.
- QB Situation: Still nothing official from Schinao, but it seems like a foregone conclusion that Natale will get the starting nod followed by a bit of the Jabu run-gun sprinkled in. I'm guessing that Schiano wont' wait long to pull Natale for Savage if the offense sputters out of the gate.
- Attendance: A quick check at the RU ticket office on Thursday on the ticket situation for Monday: Much like Pernetti reported earlier in the week, limited numbers of tickets are still available, mostly in the corners of the upper deck and in the expanded end zone.
- Stadium Update: Did a quick drive by on Thursday and was nearly blinded by gigantic Brothers paper shredder advertisements beaming from the scoreboard. Talked to one of the workers who told me that the jumbotron was fully tested successfully on Wednesday. The River Road side of the expansion seems to be the primary area of focus right now to make sure it's ready for Monday.

Like a reluctant mother sending her child off to college for the first time, Coach Schiano finally released his two deep on Monday afternoon for the Cincinnati opener:

- In a sign of just how far the RS junior come during camp, Howard Barbieri is listed as co-starter at LG along with Caleb Ruch who had a less then stellar training camp as the incumbent starter.
- DC listed as #2 at TE....Since he couldn't have shown much other in the few days he worked out at TE, it is a confirmation of just how weak we are behind Graves.
- Anyone surprised by Sanu being named starter at WR? How about true freshman Steve Beauharnais being listed # 2 at strong side LB behind Damaso Munoz?
- Natale = Lovelace = Savage, but is Schiano now leaning Natale in his latest comments
- Martinek and Brooks or Brooks and Martinek? Potato, Potaato. It doesn't matter much who starts in this tandem. When used together, they give Schiano the ability to deal with the entire spectrum of possibilities on running downs.
- Lowery and Abreu listed as co-starters at weak-side LB. One of the great positional battles that was well chronicled during camp. One more week or so to pound it out Gladiator style. Schiano says he wants to chose one.

These guys are really beat up...plenty of bumps and bruises. Steve Shimko is “foggy” following Wednesday’s scrimmage. Not sure if this is a medical term or a state of mind, literally. Stephante Kent is on the road to recovery but Marcus Witherspoon can’t seem to catch a break since enrolling late last summer. He once again injured himself this week, this time a leg muscle, and was referred to as being “snakebit”. George Johnson and Blair Bines appear to be slowly nursing themselves back to health following respective shoulder and leg injuries in the past week. I guarantee that we will see both of them will themselves back onto the field for the Cincinnati opener to the awe of Coach Schiano.

- No one seems to know the exact status of Ryan D’Imperio following his leg injury last week and limited work during Saturday’s scrimmage. Is he back to full health yet?

- TBA…Schiano seems set on holding off any key positional announcements until he absolutely has to. Not sure if this is a strategic move or he’s just not sure. I can understand that he want’s to let Antonio Lowery and Manny Abreu pound it out for a few more days since both have had great camps, but at wide receiver? It seemed like Sanu has this one wrapped up with a bow already behind Tim Brown.

- The running men…Joe Martinek and Jourdan Brooks with a little bit of Rocket sprinkled in put up some ungodly numbers in Wednesdays scrimmage (combined 22 rushes for 243 yards), albeit against a freshman and sophomore laden scout team. Whether you wan to call them a 1-2 punch or running back by committee, these guys are going to give opposing defenses fits this year with the different looks that each offers.

- On the offense…The chatter has been so focused lately on the quarterback battle (which is now down to two plus Jabu) that we’ve all somehow forgotten about how well the rest of the offense has played in camp. True, defense dominated for the better part of the first two scrimmages, but this is exactly what we expected them to do. I would personally have been surprised (and concerned) if the offense put up any kind of big numbers against the 1’s on defense during scrimmages. I’m not saying that the 38-0 hurtin’ that was put to the scout team is what our offense is capable of week in and week out in the Big East. But maybe the reality of this offense is somewhere in between this and the beatings they received in the first two scrimmages as long as they can protect the ball. Stephante Kent

The latest news from around Rutgers Nation from day two of training camp:

• It seems that Schiano can't say enough about the senior leadership on this team. For the second day in a row, the head coach gushed about the attitude and experience of his 14 seniors as it seems that he feels this will clearly shape the outcome of the 2009 campaign.

• Jourdan Brooks is ready. The 6-1 230 lb running back has reported to camp in superior physical condition. Coach Schiano stated that this will allow him to "practice harder, which in turn allows him to be a better player." Brooks finished second on the team in 2008 with 531 rushing yards on 100 carries including 100 yard performances against Morgan State and Louisville.

• Two days into camp and no mention of Joe Martinek yet.

• No changes at the QB position: Natale and Lovelace are still sharing first team reps while DC Jefferson continues to work with the second team. Steve Shimko and Tom Savage are splitting time on the third team offense.

• Anthony Davis' exile to the second team offense continues since reporting to camp over weight. In AD's freshman camp in 2007, he also reported overweight but quickly working himself into playing shape. Don't expect his stint on the second team to last long.