It's hard to believe following Monday's shellacking that we're here: a mere two days away from a date with the FCS Bison of Howard University. Here are a few things we can look for: Howard: Fresh off of a 1-10 season and the loss of "nearly 20 players following and in-house compliance issue" (Phil Steele's words), the Bison are clearly in a rebuilding mode and are picked (by Phil Steele) to finish last in the MEAC in '09. Saturday's match up also represents their season opener.

Savage: The next two games offer a tremendous opportunity for # 7 to build on his solid performance against the Bearcats. He doesn't need to jump in there and play at an all Big East level. He just needs to get a little bit better each game, build confidence in himself, build some confidence in his line, manage the offense, minimize mistakes and let the immense talent that he is surrounded by just make some plays. Once he's got his confidence, then we can all start talking about how to use his immense talents to help this team.

Defense: I read that the Cincinnati beat writers were saying in the press box on Monday that Tony Pike should now be a dark horse candidate for the Heisman. Why shouldn't he be? Would it be too much to ask for this defense to put up the same kind of performance they did last year against Morgan State in their 38-0 win? I don't care about numbers. I just want to see a convincing, fundamentally sound performance that somehow persuades all of us that some other defense showed up on Monday and that the 2009 Rutgers defense started playing its season on Saturday.

Coaching: This week we need to take a step back, take a deep breathe and reset this team. These kids need to look like they are prepared to play every game no matter who the opponent is. The first step was announcing a starter, the next step is getting everyone in the right frame of mind to play. We can't be a step behind, we can't miss tackles and we need to execute. All of the things we didn't do against Cincinnati need to be corrected starting Saturday.

It was about half way through the second quarter when it started. At first, it was low and inaudible but as the first half drew to a close with Dom Natale throwing three interceptions and Jabu Lovelace rushing for negative yardage out of run-gun sets the chorus of fans grew louder...."We Want Tom....We Want Tom." When # 7 jogged out onto the gridiron to start the second half our collective prayers were answered and a new era in Rutgers Football had begun. Savage, playing the entire second half and bringing the only semblance of offense to an otherwise completely ineffective unit, finished 15 for 23 for 135 yards and a TD. In doing so, Savage did what the other two QB's cold not by showing an ability to effectively manage the offense, move the ball through the air in the passing game and minimizing mental mistakes. He gave the team what Coach Schiano calls "The best chance to win" during an otherwise abysmal performance. As the the primary benefactor of Savage's positive play, WR and fellow true freshman Mohamed Sanu finished the first game of his young college career with 10 catches for 101 yards. Savage threw to Sanu multiple times on his first drive and seemed to increasingly rely on the uber talented Sanu during the final two stanzas. While Sanu is a virtual lock to start once again on Saturday against Howard, Savage's future seems far from certain despite his performance. "I definitely need to keep working to get better," said Savage. "I know I need to improve getting the ball out quicker. I look forward to going back to work and getting a little better every day." Similar to the approach he took against Cincinnati in the opener, Schiano has yet to announce a starter at QB for Saturday's 3:30PM start.

A Rutgers team hasn't played a game this poorly since the Terry Shea era. At least in those days only 30 or 35 thousand people witnessed the ineptitude known as Rutgers football on fall Saturdays. Yesterday 53,737 fans in attendance and many more on ESPN were treated to a flashback of sorts to a bygone era of Rutgers football including many of the same bumbling plays, missed assignments, blown coverages and poor decisions that have not been seen since the Clinton administration. What I saw was a team that was clearly outmatched and unprepared playing against a very well prepared opponent:

Natale: I thought the first few QB checks to the sideline were somehow ploys to confuse the Cincinnati defense. However, after 10 or 12 times of seeing Natale back off the snap and shrug his shoulders to the sideline with less then 10 seconds on the play clock, I realized that he really didn't know what play he was supposed to be running. The scary thing is that the 5th year senior didn't have the presence of mind to call a time out to reset the offense or at least to get his head back into the right place.

Tony Pike: I don't know what I was more shocked about. How easily Tony Pike picked apart the defense or the complete lack of any defensive adjustments made at halftime. What we did see is what any good QB does against a blitzing defense with short, underneath passing into space. What we didn't see was what any good coaching staff should to do at half time when facing an intelligent QB like Pike.

Brian Kelly: Can we all agree at least for now, that he is the best coach in the Big East. He does the most with his given talent and that of his players then anyone else in the league and maybe in the country.

The Bottom Line: I can't possibly believe that what we saw last night is the reality of the Rutgers 2009 defense with all its talent and depth. What I can believe is that the QB that gives Rutgers the "best chance to win" against Howard played the entire second half last night. End the drama tomorrow Coach and get this team prepared for Saturday.

It all came to me while watching the Syracuse vs. Minnesota game on Saturday. No, it wasn't the Greg Paulus interception during OT to open the door for an eventual Golden Gophers win. It was the first half, where the prodigal son did all of the little things right in his return home to the Carrier Dome.
He showed the kind of leadership you'd expect to see from your 5th year senior QB. He let his skill players make plays, he played smart, he played within himself and most importantly he didn't turn the ball over (less the botched shotgun snap on the first play from scrimmage).
These are the kinds of things that we should expect from Natale headed into today's home opener. It is also exactly what Schiano means when he talks about "game management" which he so often has during camp. In many ways, Natale represents the last piece of the Scarlet Knights offensive puzzle. With one of top 10 offensive lines in the country (according to Phil Steele), a talented trio of running backs and a mix of experienced, big play and emerging wide receivers, all we need is for Natale to establish enough of a balance in the passing and running games to allow all of the talent around him to make plays and not make any mistakes along the way. If he can play this role, consistently, beginning today with the first series from scrimmage then Natale, and Natale alone at QB gives the Scarlet Knights its best chance to win against the Bearcats.

The moment is finally upon us. The Big East game of the week is undeniably Cincinnati at Rutgers. Kickoff is set for 4PM tomorrow (ESPN) in Piscataway at the newly expanded Rutgers Stadium (capacity 52,454). The Bearcats won last year's contest 13-10, holding Rutgers to only 62 rushing yards.

This year's games features two completely different teams, however, as Cincinnati is only returning one starter on defense (safety Aaron Webster) and Rutgers has lost some offensive firepower to the NFL. Mike Teel and Kenny Britt, perhaps the best QB-WR combination in the 140 year history of Rutgers Football, will be suiting up for Seahawks and Titans, respectively. Vegas has Rutgers as 5 point favorites which makes this game incredibly hard to pick. There are a few key questions that each team must answer to come away victorious:

1. Can the highly touted Rutgers defense contain Tony Pike (2,407 passing yards and 19 TDs in 2008) and Mardy Gilyard (1,276 receiving yards and 11 TDs in 2008)?

Part of the reason that last year's game was so close was that Pike did not play. The Knights will certainly have their hands full trying to stop the pass but should be able to contain the Bearcats running game which was 95th in the nation last year. Rutgers has depth at defensive line than it ever has under Schiano and also is solid at linebacker and in the defensive backfield.

2. Can the new Rutgers quarterback lead the team to victory in his first college start?

Although the Rutgers starting QB has not yet been revealed, it's the worst kept secret in history. Dom Natale will get the start while both Tom Savage and Jabu Lovelace will see some playing time. The inexperience of the Rutgers QB carousel may not be as much of a problem as it seems. Natale will have two reliable targets in Tim Brown and true freshman Mohammed Sanu (who is already drawing Kenny Britt comparisons). Cincinnati's inexperienced defense is also trying out a new alignment. First year defensive coordinator Bob Diaco is installing a 3-4 this year, which may not be the best of ideas against the run oriented Scarlet Knights. They return sophomores Joe Martinek and Jourdan Brooks who both showed signs of greatness last year, not to mention true freshman De'Antwan Williams who has been brilliant in camp so far. Rutgers also returns all 5 starters on the offensive line, anchored by Preseason All-American tackle Anthony Davis.

3. Will the enclosed endzone at the newly renovated Rutgers Stadium have an effect on Cincinnati?

Coach Schiano has already stated the the crowd noise has nowhere to escape now that south endzone has been enclosed. Will this rattle the Bearcats?

4. Can Rutgers come from behind if Cincinnati jumps out to an early lead?

How will Natale react if the Knights get down 14-0 in the first quarter? Will he be able to keep his poise in his first college start? Even worse, how will the 18 year old Tom Savage handle the situation if he is asked to?

All of these questions and more will be answered tomorrow in what could be the game of the year for both teams. Rutgers should win the game but won't cover. Final score: Rutgers 24 - Cincinnati 20.