Rutgers University has been in existence since 1766 and has a had a football team since 1869. It became "The State University of New Jersey" in 1945, but when it comes to athletics, Rutgers was never thought of as "New Jersey's team." Rutgers Athletics, for the majority of the 20th century, was like the uncle who comes over for Christmas dinner, has one too many eggnogs, and ends up passed out under the tree without his clothes. You didn't totally disown him, but you weren't proud to call him uncle either.

The previous century saw spirited debate amongst New Jersey college football fans with regards to who was truly New Jersey's team - Notre Dame or Penn State? When it came to college basketball, there was no debate. Syracuse was New Jersey's team, save for 1989, when a feisty little Italian man from South Orange took his three seed to the national championship game with back to back upsets of UNLV in the West Regional Final and Duke in the the Final Four, before losing a one point heartbreaker to Michigan in the championship.

A lot has changed since then, however. Kids born in the Garden State today don't have to root for Notre Dame, or Penn State. This is the first generation of New Jerseyans that will never have to walk in to Rutgers Stadium with a paper bag on its collective head. Kids across the state are wearing Rutgers gear. Rutgers posters are hung up in the high school football locker rooms across the state. The Edison High School football has has even adopted Eric Foster's locker room chant from 2006. For the first time in the history of Rutgers football, people are actually predicting the Knights to take home the Big East crown and earn its first BCS berth. Expectations are higher than they were in 2007 (thanks in part to a favorable schedule), or ever for that matter. The New Jersey faithful are proud to call Rutgers "our team." How did this happen?

Let's look at the milestones this program has realized in recent years that have brought us to this point:

April 15, 1998 - Bob Mulcahy hired as Director of Athletics. While this act alone did not turn the tide in favor of the Knights, make no mistake - Rutgers would still be in the cellar of the Big East if it were not for Mulcahy. He replaced long time Athletics Director Fred Grunninger, who was in over his head. While its true that Grunniger is a great man whom deserves nothing but respect, the fact of the matter is, a chia pet would have been a better AD. The former golf coach had great intentions, but did not have what it takes. The personnel that Mulcahy brought in, as well as much needed upgrades to some of the poorest facilities in the nation were the springboard to the success we are seeing now.

December 1, 2000 - Hiring of Greg Schiano. This would be the personnel referred to in the previous paragraph. The recruiting success that Schiano has achieved is unprecedented in Rutgers history. He is to Rutgers football what bread is to butter. St. Gregory of Piscataway certainly has his own cult following, but it wasn't always that way.

2001 Football Season - The Knights won their first game under Schiano at Buffalo. They finished 2-9 (the only other win over Navy) and were trashed by Big East defectors Virginia Tech and Miami by a combined score of 111-0. That was capped off by an 80-7 loss vs. West Virginia. "Same old Rutgers" was the cry heard 'round state. The grass hadn't even begun to grow under Schiano's feet and the the rumblings had begun.

2002 Football Season - Schiano's second campaign was worse than his first. The team finished 1-11 with its lone win vs. Army. This year didn't win over any fans.

2003 Football Season - The 5-7 campaign (with wins over Buffalo, Army, Navy, Temple and Syracuse) included the first two Big East wins under Schiano. It also marked the first time Schiano beat a team that was not called "Buffalo", "Army", "Navy", or "Temple." The tide was turning. People started to believe but it wasn't enough to erase more than 130 years of losing.

2004 Football Season - A win against Michigan State in the season opener could have been the thing that really got this program back on track, but the Knights followed it up with a loss the next week against FCS opponent (nee I-AA) New Hampshire. The faithful were ready to run Schiano out of town on a rail. The Knights started off 4-2 (with wins against Kent State, Vandernilt and Temple) but ended up dropping the last five to finish 4-7. One note here is that after the Homecoming game against Temple, an intoxicated driver, going the wrong way on route 18, hit a car that was occupied by defensive backs Manny Collins, Eddie Grime & Dondre Asberry. Who knows what could have been if those three had been around for second half of the season. Collins was the only one that retunred to football, and Asberry still cannot walk.

2005 Football Season - Rutgers finished 7-5 and made the second bowl appearance in school history (the first since 1978). This was the year that truly turned things around, but there was one specific moment that can be defined the turning point in Rutgers football history -

November 26, 2005 - Rutgers 44 - Cincinnati 9. The Bearcats beat the Knights 26-24 in 1992 crushing their bowl hopes that year. Coming into this game, Rutgers amassed victories over Buffalo, Vilanova, Pitt, Syracuse, Connecticut and Navy. They needed a win over Cincinatito virtually guarantee a bowl berth. The Knights rushed for 337 yards (led by freshman Ray Rice) and senior quarterback Ryan Hart threw for another 237. A loss in this game meant a 6-6 season and possibly no bowl appearance. This game solidified the 2005 season and in turn provided a foundation for the program. Since then, these two teams have had some pretty meaningful games. The Bearcats stunned the Knights in 2006 and dashed their hopes of a national title. The next two meetings were also won by Cincinnati by a combined 8 points.

The Bearcats and Scarlet Knights go head to head on Labor Day in what could decide the Big East Championship. Both teams are trying to take their program to the next level, and anything can happen in this game. The only thing we know for sure is that this day wouldn't be possible if it weren't November 26, 2005.

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

It seems that just about everyone around here is talking about the move of DC Jefferson to TE. It’s a clear sign from Schiano that the tight end depth situation behind Shamar Graves is much more of a concern now then providing depth and competition at QB where Natale and Savage are the clear No. 1 and No. 2 options. While those of us that have speculated for months about a move of Jefferson to TE can now pat themselves on the back, what truly amazes me is the unselfishness shown by DC making the move in an effort to help the team where it was needed most. DC is a kid who turned down SEC glory to come to Rutgers to be the then quarterback of the future in 2008. Following a less then stellar spring game performance and the arrival of Tom Savage, he very easily could have up and left the program but he stuck it out. He entered camp as a likely third or fourth option on the depth chart but he showed his promise by registering the only scoring drive (70 yards) in the first scrimmage and did enough at Saturday’s second scrimmage to remain in the QB conversation. While he seems to have done enough right to make his case as the starting quarterback, it was ultimately his choice to make the switch to TE following a discussion with Coach Schiano prior to Monday’s practice. "I'm good with it," he said. "I decided I can do it, that I was capable of doing it and it's best for the team. I have no problem with it." Baring injury or the emergence of Savage as the offensive leader, Jefferson will once again get a shot at the starting QB slot in the spring. And if it turns out that the future QB situation does not clear up during this season, don’t be surprised at all if Jefferson emerges as the team leader in part due to his unselfish act and his desire to do whatever he can to make this team the best it can be…Keep Chopin' DC!

No Big East teams in the Preseason Top 25…Not a single one. Pittsburgh came the closest at 28, followed by Rutgers at 30, West Virginia at 32 and Cincinnati at 33. South Florida rounded out the “also receiving votes” contingent at 45. While this will surely ignite a fire around the nation regarding the inclusion of the Big East in the BCS bowl schedule and Orrin Hatch will once again climb atop his soap box, claiming the injustices of the BSC and the non inclusion of Utah and the rest of the Mountain West (which has three teams in the top 25), all of this seams like a complete over reaction. Yes, the Big East begins the 2009 season lacking star status losing players like Pat White, Lesean McCoy, Donald Brown and Kenny Britt to the NFL. Cincinnati’s lackluster performance against Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl also didn’t help the Big East’s position in the BCS conference pecking order. But what everyone seems to overlook though is the tremendous parity that has emerged in the conference as a result of these changes. At the annual Big East football media day, four teams received first place votes to finish atop the Big East. Curiously, Rutgers picked to finish fifth and who several media outlets pick to win the conference, did not receive a single first place vote as determined by Big East media. No coach, whether you’re Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll or Doug Marrone likes dealing with high expectations. High expectations are a very, very dangerous for the kind of teams the Big East has entering the season: young, talented, hungry. There is too much talent in this year’s edition of Big East football. A new cast of stars awaits in the wings to become the next poster boys for the Big East on the national stage. We may not see it right away, but we will see it at some point this season. Time will tell. Having no teams ranked in the preseason Top 25 may end up being the best thing that happened to this conference after all.

Following NCAA regulations requiring teams to alternate its two-a-day practices, the Scarlet Knights concluded Friday’s practice following the morning workout leaving the team the afternoon to prepare for Saturday’s scrimmage….Here’s what went down.

• Gunners…Schiano commented following practice that Joe Lefeged, Devin McCourty, Brandon Bing and Brandon Jones are competing for gunner spots on punt coverage. The smart money is on Lefeged filling one of those spots. I hope to see many, many Lefeged gunner highlights on youtube this fall. However, I’m sure that G Rob (now defensive coordinator for Rich Rod) hopes he never sees Lefeged again.

• More on D’Imperio…Captain D’Imperio returned to full contact today following a limited workout on Thursday. Apparently Brian Bennett of ESPN was so concerned over the injury that he was preparing to change his prediction of Rutgers finishing atop the Big East depending on the magnitude of his injury…Don’t worry Brian your safe now.

• An interesting position change. Fabian Ruiz, the only other TE besides Shamar Graves with team experience is now working out at defensive end. Howard Barbieri (all 6’5” 300 lbs of him) and Marlon Romulus are now auditioning as blocking TE’s.

• Elsewhere…Tom Luicci reported that Dom Natale had his first “Mike Teel Moment” when he willed his way to a touchdown on a fourth down and goal during Thursday’s practice. While we may all differ on the historical interpretation of a “Teel” moment, Natale has clearly separated himself from the pack and is now establishing himself as the leader of this offense and the team. Look for more on Natale’s leadership during Saturday’s scrimmage.