UConn Football

Cincinnati @ U Connecticut u45.0: Saturday October 25th ‘08 12:00p

This Saturdays Big East combatants the Cincinnati Bearcats (5-1) and the Connecticut Huskies (5-2) enter into this tilt with identical five win seasons. The Huskies, however, have lost two straight games, to North Carolina and Rutgers respectively. Meanwhile, the Bearcats are currently on a four game winning streak, and are clicking on all cylinders. Both these teams have top flight defenses.

Connecticut allows opposing offenses to average just 17.3 PPG overall, and 13.7 PPG at home in Rentscheler Field, which ranks them second in the conference. The Huskies secondary has been especially staunch, allowing 182.6 ypg, while snagging nine interceptions, and allowing foes to convert only five touchdowns through the air.

The Connecticut front has been a hand full for opposing offensive lines as is evident by their 18 sacks. I expect no changes today. The Bearcats, are known for their balanced offense, but their D, is extremely steady, having allowed only 19 PPG.

The defense has been very tough against opposing ground attacks limiting their opposition to an average of 94.5 YPG, and just three TDS on the season. Thats not good omen for a UConn team that uses the ground attack, almost exclusively behind RB Donald Brown to move the chains.

In conclusion, I expect this contest is going to be a hard fought, low scoring, smash mouth affair. DEFENSE, DEFENSE and more DEFENSE.

Final notes & Key Trends: UConn is 17-6 L/23 UNDER when the total is between 42.5 and 49. Cincinnati is 8-0 L/8 UNDER in October games, with the average combined score ringing in at 37 PPG. Play on the UNDER, courtesy of Alex Smart

Illinois -2.5 (-110): Saturday October 25th ‘08 12:00p

The Wisconsin Badgers have been in a tailspin since blowing a double-digit lead at Michigan, and we do not see them recovering this week either vs. a good Illinois Fighting Illini squad.

The Badgers started the season 3-0,but the first two wins were vs. Cupcakes and they did not play particularly well in their 13-10 win at Fresno State either. They have since gone 0-4 however, and they lost their last two games 48-7 here at home to Penn State and 38-16 on the road at Iowa.

We do not expect that struggling defense to suddenly rise up here, as the Illini are averaging 36.1 points and an impressive 484.4 total yards of offense per game.

Illinois has also been extremely balanced, averaging 279.7 passing yards on an outstanding 9.4 yards per pass attempt, and 194,1 rushing yards on a very good 4.8 yards per carry.

Illinois quarterback Juice Williams is completing 60 percent of his passes and has 16 touchdown passes vs. just seven interceptions, and when you add in their powerful running game, we look for a rather handy Illinois road win here.

CFB Free Pick: Illinois -2.5 (-110), courtesy of LT Profits

Texas A&M +3.0 (-110) - Saturday October 25 ‘08 7:00p

The Texas A&M Aggies and Iowa State Cyclones just may be the two worst teams in the BIG 12, but at least the Aggies have a decent passing attack, and they did give Texas Tech fits for three quarters last week.

Texas A&M is averaging 238.4 passing yards per game on a very respectable 7.4 yards per pass attempt. Their quarterback Jerrod Johnson is completing 62 percent of his passes, and he has 11 touchdown passed vs. just four interceptions. Best of all, he will be passing against an Iowa State defense that is generously allowing 411.0 total yards per game, including 234.1 yards in the air on 8.6 yards per attempt.

Granted, the Aggies are just as bad defensively, but the Cyclones simply lack the offensive weapons to take advantage of this.

Iowa State has done virtually nothing offensively since the start of Big 12 play, averaging just 16.7 points and 280.0 totals yards per game in conference play. They have been equally inept on the ground (94.3 yards per game on 3.8 yards per rush) and in the air (185.7 yards per game on 4.8 yards per pass) in three conference games.

These teams are just about equal in every area except passing offense, and therein lies the key to this game as we look for Johnson to pass A&M to the mild upset on the road.

CFB Free Pick: Texas A&M +3 (-110), courtesy of LT Profits

Boston College +2.5: Sat Oct 25 ‘08 12:00p

Confidence building win for Boston College last week, as they outplayed and out-gained Virginia Tech 28-23 despite five turnovers and two interception returns for touchdowns.

Just the opposite for North Carolina, as the Tar Heels blew a late lead and then lost in overtime to Virginia, 16-13. That loss marked the third time in North Carolina’s last four contests that the game was decided in the closing minute, and the second ACC defeat that saw the Tar Heels blow a fourth quarter lead. North Carolina had also been out-gained in their three previous contests before holding the total yardage advantage over the weak Virginia offense.

Now the Tar Heels will face Boston College’s superior running attack and the ACC’s no. 3-ranked offense, and struggle on the ground themselves against the ACC’s no. 2 defense.

North Carolina’s offense and specifically the passing game is significantly less efficient since quarterback TJ Yates went out with injury. And now with top wide receiver and kick return specialist Brandon Tate out for the year, the offense struggled even more against a sub-par Virginia defense. Boston College is more confident, healthier and the better team right now in an underdog role.

Fly with the Eagles, courtesy of Fairway Jay

The fans at Rentschler Field have never experienced a season like this before. Student tickets are sold out for every game this season, unprecedented at the University of Connecticut. Coming off an undefeated home season last year and a share of the Big East title, the Huskies are giving their fans hope for a BCS bid this year.

Led by Junior running back Donald Brown, the UConn Huskies' have started 4-0 with wins over Hofstra, Temple, Virginia, and Baylor. UConn is ranked just outside the top 25 by reeling in 29th on the USA Today Poll and 31st on the AP Top 25. 

With Big East play set to begin for the Huskies' this Friday at Louisville, it is time to ask "Can UConn win the Big East?". The answer is yes. UConn, two years removed from a 4-8 season and ranked 6th this pre-season in the Coaches' Poll, is one of two teams that will win the Big East this season. 

West Virginia, the perennial Big East winner, has faltered in their last two games scoring only 17 total points. Pittsburgh is on their way up again but this year will not be their year. Cincinnati and Louisville could also prove challengers to the throne this year; however Connecticut's excellent defense should halt them in their tracks. 

So it all comes down to South Florida and UConn. Both teams have come a long way in a short amount of time with their programs, building them up from nothing. By the time they face off a lot could be different but expect a more balanced Huskies team then we have seen so far this season. By then, Lorenzen should be back on track and give UConn a huge boost if he relives his 2007 campaign of not turning the ball over. 

Even if Lorenzen plays well, it will be up to UConn's two biggest assets to bring a BCS bid to Storrs. Donald Brown and the running game has been extraordinary so far. With fellow junior running back Andre Dixon on his way back to 100% and freshman Jordan Todman relieving the two, they should continue to put points on the board; which was their biggest weakness last season. 

The Huskies' defense has allowed only 12.5 points per game thus far, mostly from the outstanding play of senior cornerback Darius Butler and sophomore linebackers Lawrence Wilson and Scott Lutrus. As long as the offense puts up points, this team will be in great shape to head into a BCS Bowl for the program's first time.

Obviously it will be a long, hard road for the Huskies' but they are on pace to make that November 23rd match-up with USF a Big East Championship game. 

Baylor @ U Connecticut o50.5 - Fri September 19th ‘08 8:00p
The Baylor Bears will travel to Storrs, Conn., this week for a Friday night, stand alone tilt with the UConn Huskies. We are going to go with over 50.5 for this ESPN 2 national game.

The Baylor Bears were anything but a prolific offensive team in 2007, averaging 18.2 points per game. Head Coach Art Briles no doubt made the offense a big priority in the off season as he headed into his first season at Baylor.

So far the results would indicate that to be true. The Bears have averaged 36.33 points per game thus far in 2008; the only game that they did not break 20 was their opener against Wake Forest. Baylor also had five turnovers in that game which limited their ability to put points on the board.

True freshman quarterback Robert Griffin has added a different dimension to the offense this season and he will certainly put the Huskies defense on notice. Last week against Washington State, Griffin threw for 129 yards and rushed 11 times for 217 yards and two touchdowns.

Connecticut is averaging 30.67 points per game this season and they have rushed for an average of 297.7 per game. Last week, against Virginia, the Huskies posted 45 points, ran for 382 yards, and collected 25 first downs. They have a deep and talented group of running backs and a veteran quarterback in senior Tyler Lorenzen.

UConn has the better defense in this contest, but Baylor will be able to move the ball against them. The Huskies defensive line is very good but Griffin’s mobility will give them some trouble and his ability to run or pass will help Baylor keep the chains moving.

While Baylor won the game on the ground versus Washington State, they still averaged 8.1 yards per pass and they have great speed at receiver as well as big play capability in David Gettis.

The Huskies, on the other hand, will be able to run against Baylor’s front. Last week the Bears throttled Washington State’s rushing attack, but they will have a much more difficult time trying to stop Uconn. Look for the scoring to start early and happen often.

Free Pick: Take the OVER 50.5 - College Football Odds

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One year ago, Virginia fans were frustrated over the disappointing start to the Cavaliers season.

UVA was embarrassed on the road against the Wyoming Cowboys in a game where they could only muster a meager 3 points.  Then they survived an unexpectedly close game at home against Duke.  Little did most people expect the Cavaliers would go on to an impressive 9-win season and its first New Years Day bowl of the Al Groh era.

Well sorry Cinderella, but there is no miracle in store for the Cavaliers in 2008.

Virginia quarterback Pete Lalich, who was recently put on probation a few months ago for underage possession and illegal purchasing of alcohol will not be making the trip to UConn this weekend.  In his place, Marc Verica, a sophomore with virtually zero experience will go on the road to face a Huskie team that has yet to give up a touchdown this season.

The timing of this decision certainly is odd.  The Daily Progress leaked last week that Lalich had violated the terms of his probation, alluding to smoking marijuana or some other drug.  However, Lalich denied those allegations on Tuesday and Groh went after the media after the Richmond game and again in his press conference.

It seemed the team was rallying around their quarterback, a young guy who has talent and was slowly becoming acclimated to the pressure of being a starter in a major conference.

So imagine his surprise, as well as most fans, when it was announced Lalich would not be making the trip.

"We have a strong set of standards and values on our team that reflect those of the university, and we do not compromise those values to win football games," Groh said to the Richmond Times Dispatch.

I guess that can't really be argued.  Virginia has had some serious attrition in 2008.  Some of the losses were expected like future NFL stars Chris Long and Branden Albert, but the departure of Jameel Sewell, Jeffrey Fitzgerald and Mike Brown were big and unexpected blows to the progress of this team.

However, if Groh is right and Virginia football does not compromise its values, why did he wait until after the Richmond game to make this move?  The news came out prior to the date with the Spiders and yet Lalich played with full blessing from the coach and his teammates.

Well perhaps Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage can shine some light on this situation.

"The past 24 hours I've had conversations with both Peter and Coach Groh. The focus of our discussions shifted from due process and fairness and moved toward what would be best for Peter and the team, at least until such time that matters were cleared up about his probation status," Littlepage commented to the Virginia press.

A "shift away from due process and fairness"?  Call me crazy but I think Craig Littlepage and the Virginia athletic program needs to brush up on its Constitution.

First, there was the controversy over the no-sign policy which even got national writers like ESPN's Rick Reilly involved.  Sure some people will argue it is not a violation of free speech because it bans "all" signs and not just the ambiguous terms like "offensive" or "vulgar", but let's be honest, it is still spitting in the face of freedom and creating an unnecessarily sterile football environment.

Now if Lalich has violated probation then he surely should be punished.  However, it would be a different story if he admitted his wrong doing.  If a man, in any capacity, denies an allegation he should be allowed due process.  Now I do agree if he is found guilty, kick him off the team.  Lalich has lost his right to be here, but denying him a basic human freedom is just more signs that the Virginia program is embarrassing its alumni.

2008 may be the year people remember head coach Al Groh lost complete control of his program and perhaps his job.  After all, it was a lopsided 2005 home loss to eventual national champions North Carolina that eventually cost former Cavalier basketball coach Pete Gillen his job, could USC and former colleague Pete Caroll let history repeat itself?

However, the problems in Hooville are not just limited to its head coach.

Don't get me wrong, despite his 2007 ACC Coach of the Year trophy Groh has not lived up to his billing of bringing Virginia to that "next level."  Groh can claim victories over Miami, FSU, VT, West Virginia, Clemson and Penn State.  He can also claim losses to Western Michigan, Wyoming and deflating blowouts to the Hokies for more years than Cavalier fans want to remember.

Virginia still continues to struggle against teams it should be comfortably like Richmond or Middle Tennessee State and, in their season opener, we all saw just how big the talent gap is between the Cavaliers and the top team in the country.

In all honesty, Groh's problems can be traced back to losing offensive coordinator Ron Prince to Kansas State.  I'm not saying Prince was some offensive genius, but his loss required Groh to make one very questionable decision: making his son, Mike, offensive coordinator.

Since Mike Groh took over, Virginia's offense has been one of the worst in the country.  It has been a ridiculous amount of pressure on the Cavalier defense and, as the Baltimore Ravens proved, defense can win a championship but it cannot earn consistency.

Still, despite all these problems, I do not just blame Groh.

Littlepage and most likely, UVA's President himself, John Casteen (former President of UConn), have mired the program with an inconsistent vision of the program.

Both of these men want a top-tier program but are not willing to put in the time and effort to help make this happen. 

Most fans still mutter that Virginia would be much better at recruiting if it could offer greyshirts.  They do not see it as hurting the academic integrity of the institution.  The "Powers That Be" disagree.

I must admit I can see both sides of this issue but it is just one of many decisions fans see as an abandonment by the administration towards winning and creating a great program towards creating a profit. 

The L.A. Clippers model if you will.

The "no sign" policy.

Casteen's statement saying that the UVA-VT rivalry is merely "jocular".

Honoring Hokie Bruce Smith at the halftime of a UVA home game.

The new seating policy that has displaced several long-time donors.

The academic attrition also makes it appear from the outside that UVA is not doing enough to protect the student-athletes in Charlottesville.

I don't know what the future holds for the Cavaliers this season, but I know that one day Al Groh will be eventually fired.

I just believe if Virginia ever wants to retain the success they had under former head coach and Hall of Famer George Welsh, they should really take a look at the people that forced him into retirement.

Has the Big East learned its lesson since it was raided by the ACC and Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College defected?  The lesson was, "Don't sit on your hands while your neighbor picks your pocket."

If the Big East had the foresight and expanded first, they probably would have held on to the three schools.  Instead, the ACC acted, and the Big East scrambled to survive.

Though it has done a formidable job of creating a top football conference, it has not done enough to remain strong in what has become the "survival of the fittest" world of NCAA football.

It will take the Big East decades to even possibly attain the tradition and stability of longstanding conferences like the SEC, Pac-10, and the Big Ten, so Big East decision makers must never again assume that all they have to do is just show up to succeed.

As the ACC, SEC, and Big 12 have hailed the benefits that a 12-team conference brings—one being the dollars created by a championship game—the Big Ten could soon follow suit.  If this happens, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, or West Virginia could be the school most likely offered the 12th spot in their league.

One would think the Big Ten had gotten the message from Notre Dame by now: "No thanks, we don't have to join a conference.  NBC loves us and the BCS loves us.  The BCS loves us so much they've made exceptions just for us when it comes time to hand out BCS bids."

Rutgers brings the Big Ten something any conference would covet: the New York marketing area.  It's a huge reason why Rutgers makes the most sense.

Pittsburgh is a natural rival for Penn State and has a top-notch basketball program.  West Virginia would give the Big Ten a solid basketball program and an elite football program which has proved it can play with the big boys.

All three would enhance the Big Ten conference.  If any of these three schools bolts, the Big East would panic and pray for a way to keep its automatic BCS bid.

Although such a scenario has not played out, the Big East is still getting raided.  Within the last two years, Michigan, Michigan State, and the Atlanta Falcons have dipped into the Big East coaching barrel and picked out the one they wanted.

While Greg Schiano's name comes up every time Penn State mentions the possibility of Joe Paterno retiring, Jim Leavitt of USF, Randy Edsall of UConn, and Cincinnati's Brian Kelly have done such remarkable jobs that they've become candidates for 90 percent of the coaching vacancies in the country.

The Big East just hasn't done enough to hold on to its great coaches and to sustain itself for the long run.  It's ripe for the picking!

It seems the answer for the Big East just might be to go to 12 teams....NOW!  Increase its prowess and have its own championship game.  Don't wait like last time.  Make clear that its goal is to become a truly great football conference—NOW.

Two teams that come to mind for expansion are UCF and FAU.  They've shown they are serious about football and are located in big markets.  Their football programs remind me of USF because they've made great progress in a very short time.  UCF moved into a new on-campus stadium last year, and it looks like FAU will be getting their own stadium soon.

These two universities would increase the Big East's presence in the Sunshine State, provide great rivalries for USF, and make it easier for everyone to recruit more of the blue chip Florida players. 

Two more teams...I don't know and would be foolish to speculate.  Memphis, Marshall, East Carolina, and possibly a good MAC school will always be candidates.  There's also a possibility—a slim one—that Boston College decides that the ACC wasn't what they really wanted.

Whichever schools the Big East adds would have immediate interest in upgrading their sports programs and becoming competitive.  Army and Navy are NOT on my list.

Some people in the Big East are going to say, "How do we function with 20 teams in a basketball conference?"  Two 10-team divisions with the top eight in each going to the conference tournament would be one answer.

However, if you think a 20-team basketball conference is problematic, think about the Big East football conference struggling to replace an eighth team, constantly losing quality coaches, and barely holding on to an automatic BCS bid.

It could happen sooner than most Big East fans would like to think.

Randy Edsall's Huskies return 19 starters from the Cinderella team that took home a piece of the 2007 Big East title and while the Huskies might lack the relative star power of some of the other BIG EAST contenders, there is enough depth and talent on the roster to suggest that another run at the title could be in the future.  It won't be easy though, no one will be surprised by this season's Huskies.

Here are my predictions for the 2008 Connecticut Huskies.

8/28     HOFSTRA

Who knew Hofstra even had a football team?

Prediction:  Win (48-6)

9/06     at TEMPLE

The Owls are no match for UConn.  Tyler Lorenzen will get to rest up before next week's game.

Prediction:  Win (42-10)

9/13     VIRGINIA

Al Groh's Cavaliers will miss defensive ends Chris Long and Jeffrey Fitzgerald who combined for 21 sacks last season. 

Prediction:  Win (31-24)

9/19     BAYLOR

Yes, they are a Big XII team.  Yes, Art Briles is a good coach.  But Baylor is still a few seasons away from being competitive.

Prediction:  Win (34-17)

9/26     at LOUISVILLE

Louisville was a .500 team last season with Brian Brohm, Anthony Allen, and Mario Urrutia.  This will be another difficult season for Steve Kragthorpe.

Prediction:  Win (28-17)

10/04   at NORTH CAROLINA

The Tar Heels will be improved, but it won't be enough.

Prediction:  Win (34-21)

10/18   at RUTGERS

The Huskies face their first real test in the Big East.  The Scarlet Knights will be tough this year, especially at home.

Prediction:  Loss (34-28)

10/25   CINCINNATI

Brian Kelly has the Bearcats playing really great football.

Prediction:  Loss (28-24)

11/01   WEST VIRGINIA

A new coach in Morgantown won't change much.  West Virginia is still stacked.

Prediction:  Loss (38-24)

11/15   at SYRACUSE

The Orange defense can't stop Tyler Lorenzen and a Husky team ready to win after three straight losses.

Prediction:  Win (37-13)

11/23   at SOUTH FLORIDA

Matt Grothe will win the game in the final seconds for the Bulls.

Prediction:  Loss (35-31)

12/06   PITT

Rentschler Field will provide the advantage in this thriller.

Prediction:  Win (28-24)

Final Record: 8-4.  The Huskies will continue to improve and Randy Edsall will have this team moving in the right direction for years to come.

There is no conference top to bottom in America that has more parity than the Big East. 

That being said, there is one team that is clearly the bottom feeder of the league.  That team is the Syracuse Orange.

Syracuse was a horrible team last year (2-10) and lost their best player, wide receiver Mike Williams, for this season.  That will not help the cause.   Taj Smith was lost to the NFL and the offensive line was horrendous last year and will most likely continue that trend this year.  Syracuse is a lost cause.

Syracuse aside, a case can be made for any of the other teams in the Big East as legitimate contenders without people rolling their eyes.

The man under center for each squad is tested; there will not be any problems with the quarterback position in this conference this year. 

We can obviously start out with West Virginia: Pat White is a legitimate Heisman contender and has been wowing audiences ever since he stepped foot in Morgantown.

Maybe another Heisman finalist could come from South Florida in quarterback Mike Grothe.  Only two quarterbacks in the country threw for over 3,500 yards and ran for over 850 yards last season - one of them was Grothe.  The other one?  Heisman winner Tim Tebow.

Rutgers gun-slinger Mike Teel may not be a Heisman candidate, but with his 3,147 yard 20 TD season last year, he cannot be considered a liability in the Rutgers backfield.

Similar to Teel, UConn's Tyler Lorenzen might fly under the radar but he led the Huskies to a surprising 9-3 regular season last year and limited mistakes (only 6 INTs).

Cincinnati's Dustin Grutza started 2 years ago, and will build off his experience there.

Louisville's Hunter Cantwell played terrific in the second half of Louisville's season and their bowl game.  The Louisville faithful seem to be very happy with him and think he will do wonders for their program.

With some great quarterbacks coming back to play next season in the Big East, no team will be out of any games from the start.  Teams will piece together gameplans around their quarterbacks.  If they are outmatched, their strong quarterback can possess the football.  If they need to throw, their quarterback can throw.  If they need to control the clock, they have some of the best decision makers in the country.  There is no better asset in football that a prime and poised quarterback.

I do not believe there is any other conference in America where there is not a clear-cut favorite.  The final standings could be a slew of different possibilities. 

Similar to last year in the Backyard Brawl, when Pitt upset West Virginia, unexpected teams can come out of nowhere to take out top teams.  In that case, it cost the Big East a chance to have a team playing in the national championship.

Each week should be a roller-coaster ride because the conference records will mean nothing about how good a team actually is.  This will ultimately only allow one Big East team to play in a BCS bowl come season's end.

SU despite what looks to be a new and improved offense and well still a pretty sub par defense isn't going to one of at least 28 bowl games in the 2008-2009 season. Well that's according to Sports Projections.com

Sports Projections already has who they think will be playing in those wonderful bowls like the Papa John's Bowl and Pointsettia Bowl. Six Big East teams will make a playoff game with the only two being left out: Louisville and Syracuse.

Now it seems surprising that they are projecting six teams in bowl games this year from the Big East because this year is setting up to be an awful year for Big East football.

Pitt and West Virginia look like the only two teams that will consistently play Top 25 caliber football. After that Cincinnati and South Florida look like the next two best teams that could squeak into the Top 25 for a week or two.

A lot of projections have Rutgers and UCONN down towards the bottom of the Big East again in 2008. So at this point, it doesn't seem like more than five teams will be bowl eligible. The team that finishes sixth might squeak in with a 6-6 record.

Now SU probably isn't going to win six games, but it's a realistic chance in 2008. Look at the schedule: Northwestern, Northeastern, and Akron could easily be wins although Northwestern does look to be much improved in 2008 after having an okay 2007.

Penn State has a lot of issues on the field and off the field and everyone knows about Notre Dame's 2007, but of course the Fightin' Irish will also be much better in 2008.

SU could come away with three maybe even four wins out of conference if they can pull things together.

Then there is Big East play. Louisville is going to be very beatable, plus that game is in the Dome. UCONN and Rutgers also look beatable. If SU can take two of those three games and spring an upset against one of the top four teams in the league, they are suddenly bowl eligible.

Sean from Troy Nunes reported three more bowls are in the works with one of them having a spot for another Big East team. That means six spots would be guaranteed to bowl eligible Big East teams. Sean also pointed out that a team can use a win against a Divison I-AA team towards becoming bowl eligible once every three years.

The Orange becoming bowl eligible in 2008 is a distinct possibility. Will it happen? Better than 50% chance no. Is it a realistic possibility? 100% yes.

But for now, here's Sports Projections' Big East Bowl Projections:

Pointsettia Bowl: Utah vs. Cincinnati

Papa John's.com Bowl: Rutgers vs. Marshall

Armed Forces Bowl: TCU vs. UCONN

Meineke Car Care Bowl : Miami, Florida vs. South Florida

International Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Pittsburgh

Orange Bowl: Clemson vs. West Virginia

After looking closer at the projections. There's obviously a major flaw. There is no bowl given to the Big East number two team. Obviously they are forgetting Syracuse as the number two team in the Big East and left them out of a bowl game.

Haha who am I kidding?

Photo Credit: Billsportsmaps.com

Those hoping to see Notre Dame Football in New Jersey should continue sitting on the couches or frequenting their favorite watering hole as Rutgers has turned down a six-game home-and-home series against the Fighting Irish.

The two schools were at an impasse over where the Rutgers’ home games should be played in the series that was scheduled to start in 2010.  Notre Dame wanted Rutgers to commit to using the new football stadium at the Meadowlands – the future home of the NFL’s Jets and Giants – while Rutgers wanted to stay home and play on campus at Rutgers Stadium.   Rutgers had just invested $102 million to upgrade its home field to hold 55,000.

This story coincides with the same difficulties Notre Dame and other schools have had with scheduling football games with the University of Connecticut.  UConn has a brand new facility, Rentschler Field, which was paid for by taxpayer money, but they seemed willing to play at the new Meadowlands Stadium or Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts – home of the NFL’s New England Patriots.  However, the state has stepped in and forced UConn to cut back on its prospective out of state home games and make use of their new home turf.

It seems as though Notre Dame is trying to make up for their lack of production on the gridiron in recent years and less favorable television slots by trying to force fledgling NCAA football programs to fill up large stadiums of Irish faithful around the country.  Notre Dame refuses to lower their academic standards for its football players and has had difficulty in recruiting top talent of the past decade.

While it appears as though Notre Dame has their pride by not pushing academics side (novel idea for a university), Rutgers has shown its pride too by not giving up the home field advantage they would have had against the Irish if Notre Dame came to play the Scarlet Knights at Rutgers Stadium.  With the New York City metropolitan area lacking in a home college football program to root for up until the last couple of years when Rutgers burst onto the scene, many Notre Dame alumni, as well as those who have adopted Notre Dame as their team over the years, would have made the trip up to the Meadowlands to see their favorite squad.

While Rutgers has a loyal following from its students and a growing fan base across New Jersey and the New York City area, they do not have the national appeal that Notre Dame has and the Fighting Irish fans would most likely have outnumbered the Scarlet Knight fans even though Rutgers seems to be more intent on putting a quality football product on the field rather than just filling seats in gargantuan stadiums.