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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Outcome - Week 10
Monmouth
11/6: At Kessler Field, West Long Branch, NJ: Monmouth 28, Sacred Heart 10.
Results Through 11/6 and Remainder of Schedule
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Monmouth University (9-1)
09/04 @ Jersey City, NJ Monmouth 44 Saint Peter's 3
09/11 @ W. Long Br., NJ Monmouth 34 La Salle 15
09/18 @ Pittsburgh, PA Monmouth 29 Robt. Morris 27
09/25 @ W. Long Br. NJ Monmouth 0 Stony Brook 27
10/02 @ New Rochelle, NY Monmouth 40 Iona 14
10/09 @ Staten Is., NY Monmouth 14 Wagner 7
10/16 @ Albany, NY Monmouth 25 Albany 24
10/23 @ W. Long Br., NJ Monmouth 27 Georgetown 10
10/30 @ W. Long Br., NJ Monmouth 9 Central Ct. 6
11/06 @ W. Long Br., NJ Monmouth 28 Sacred Heart 10
11/13 @ W. Long Br., NJ Vs. St. Francis (PA)
Rutgers
11/6: At Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College 21, Rutgers 10.
Results Through 11/6 and Remainder of Schedule
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Rutgers University (4-5)
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 Rutgers 17 Pittsburgh 41
10/30 @ Piscataway, NJ Rutgers 30 West Va. 35
11/06 @ Chest. Hill MA Rutgers 10 Boston Col. 21
11/20 @ Annapolis, MD Vs. Navy
11/25*@ Piscataway, NJ Vs. Connecticut
*Thanksgiving (10:00 AM [ET], ESPN National Telecast)
Monmouth
Going into tomorrow's contest against St. Francis, which is Monmouth's final game of this season, the Hawks retain their number one ranking in The Sports Network's 1-AA Mid-Major Top-10 poll.
The current rankings:
Rank School Record Points Rank
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1 Monmouth (NJ) 9-1 213 1
2 Drake (IA) 8-2 199 2
3 Duquesne (PA) 6-2 161 4
4 Cent. Conn. (CT) 7-2 152 5
5 San Diego (CA) 6-4 138 6
6 Dayton (OH) 7-3 109 3
7 Robt. Morris (PA) 6-4 90 7
8 Moorehead St. (KY) 6-4 68 9
9 Wagner (NY) 6-4 46 NR
10 Albany (NY) 4-6 18 8
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Within Monmouth's reach tomorrow is not only a Northeast Conference title, but also the possibility of winning TSN's 1-AA Mid-Major national championship. This underscores how crucial this game is.
The St. Francis Red Flash enter the contest with a 3-7 record overall, with a 1-5 mark in NEC play. Nevertheless, St. Francis is a dangerous team, certainly capable of playing the role of spoiler by pulling an upset tomorrow.
While a Monmouth win guarantees at least a shared NEC title, it by no means secures TSN's national championship. The two teams behind Monmouth in the rankings -- Drake and Duquesne -- are not all that far behind, and each have two remaining games, which include the ones they will play tomorrow.
Kickoff time for tomorrow's Monmouth/St. Francis contest is 1:00 PM (ET), and the game will be broadcast live on the Internet on WMCX FM.
Rutgers
Last week against Boston College, Rutgers lost another game it was more than capable of winning, extending the Scarlet Knights' losing streak to three. These were all games that could easily have gone the other way.
Rutgers Head coach Greg Schiano, once again, talked about the improvement he is witnessing in the Rutgers losses that continue to mount. If nothing else, Shiano has perhaps become the most sanguine 1-A coach in the country about losing.
Rutgers is off this week, then finishes the season with games against Navy and Connecticut. The Scarlet Knights need victories in both contests to wind up with a marginally winning season. But Rutgers could easily lose both of these games, meaning it would conlude the season at 4 and 7. If so, it surely would not be the outcome the Rutgers faithful or New Jersey taxpayers anticpated at the beginning of September.
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