Foreword
During the course of the 2004 college football season, GRA is following the fortunes of two New Jersey institutions -- Monmouth University (West Long Branch) and Rutgers University (New Brunswick). My son is a graduate of and played football for Monmouth University; my daughter is a graduate of Rutgers University.
Each school entered its respective campaign with high expectations. For Monmouth, coming off 2002 and 2003 seasons in which it went 7-3 and 10-2, respectively, this year's goal was a second straight Northeast Conference championship. For Rutgers, the 2004 quest was to build further respectability for its football program, after 2002 and 2003 seasons of 1-11 and 5-7. -- Doug Gillespie
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Results Through 10/16 and Remainder of Schedules
Monmouth University (6-1)
09/04 @ Jersey City, NJ Monmouth 44 Saint Peter's 3
09/11 @ W. Long Branch, NJ Monmouth 34 La Salle 15
09/18 @ Pittsburgh, PA Monmouth 29 Robt. Morris 27
09/25 @ W. Long Branch, NJ Monmouth 0 Stony Brook 27
10/02 @ New Rochelle, NY Monmouth 40 Iona 14
10/09 @ Staten Island, NY Monmouth 14 Wagner 7
10/16 @ Albany, NY Monmouth 25 Albany 24
10/23 @ W. Long Branch, NJ Vs. Georgetown
10/30 @ W. Long Bramch, NJ Vs. Cent. Connecticut State
11/06 @ W. Long Branch, NJ Vs. Sacred Heart
11/13 @ W. Long Branch, NJ Vs. St. Francis (PA)
Rutgers University (4-2)
09/04 @ Piscataway, NJ Rutgers 19 Mich. State 14
09/11 @ Piscataway, NJ Rutgers 24 New Hamp. 35
09/18 @ Piscataway, NJ Rutgers 29 Kent State 21
10/02 @ Syracuse, NY Rutgers 31 Syracuse 41
10/09 @ Nashville, TN Rutgers 37 Vanderbilt 34
10/16 @ Piscataway, NJ Rutgers 16 Temple 6
10/23 @ Pittsburgh, PA Vs. Pittsburgh
10/30 @ Piscataway, NJ Vs. West Virginia
11/06 @ Chestnut Hill, MA Vs. Boston College
11/20 @ Annapolis, MD Vs. Navy
11/25*@ Piscataway, NJ Vs. Connecticut
*Thanksgiving (10:00 AM [ET], ESPN National Telecast)
Monmouth
Last Saturday, Monmouth went to 6-1 on the season, with its 25-24 defeat of the University of Albany. The game was played at Albany, and for the second time this season, the Hawks won a game on the last play of regulation. Senior kicker Steve Andriola booted a 23-yard field goal with two seconds on the clock to secure the victory. Andriola is Monmouth's all-time field goal kicker and had converted a 46-yard attempt earlier in the Albany contest.
Monmouth departs Northeast Conference play this weekend, when it hosts Georgetown University of the Patriot League. Kickoff is 1:00 PM (ET) at Kessler Field in West Long Branch, with the game broadcast live via the Internet on WMCX-FM.
As to achieving this year's goal of winning/sharing a second-straight Northeast Conference championship, the Hawks are in the enviable position of being masters of their own destiny. Every NEC team has lost at least one conference game. Thus, all Monmouth need do is run the table on its remaining three NEC contests, all of which are home games.
Going into Saturday's contest against Georgetown, Monmouth is ranked number three in The Sports Network's 1-AA Mid-Major Top-10 poll. The Hawks square off against number two Central Connecticut State, another Northeast Conference member, at home on 10/30.
Prev.
Rank School Record Points Rank
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1 Dayton (OH) 6-1 230 1
2 Cent. Conn. (CT) 5-1 194 2
3 Monmouth (NJ) 6-1 185 3
4 Duquesne (PA) 4-2 161 4
5 Drake (IA) 5-2 147 6
6 Robt. Morris (PA) 4-3 94 5
7 Wagner (NY) 4-3 88 7
8 San Diego (CA) 3-4 78 10
9 Albany (NY) 2-5 30 9
10 Moorehead St. (KY) 3-4 24 8
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Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights have won their last two games (Vanderbilt and Temple), and the 4-2 start is the program's best since a 4-2 beginning to the 1993 season.
In the Vanderbilt game, a night affair in Nashville, Rutgers came back from a 23-point deficit to score 34 second-half points to pull the game out by a 37-34 margin.
In my view, Rutgers possesses the talent and depth to beat everyone on this year's schedule, including the two teams it has lost to. Standing between the actual 4-2 record and the 6-0 record that easily could have been is a lack of maturation not of the players, but of the coaching staff. But there is time yet for the necessary introspection and improvement on this front.
Rutgers is on the road this week, for a noon (ET) kickoff Saturday against the University of Pittsburgh at Heinz Field. The contest is ABC-TV's "Big East Game of the Week" and will be televised on a regional basis.
Although a 5 1/2-point underdog, the Scarlet Knights are more than capable of winning this game. And they must do so, lest the positive momentum of the last two weeks be wasted.
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