Introduction
During the course of the 2005 college football season, GRA will follow the fortunes of two New Jersey institutions -- Monmouth University (West Long Branch) and Rutgers University (New Brunswick).
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Monmouth and Rutgers have each won two of their last three games, with both teams entering this weekend's contests sporting identical 5 and 2 records. Each team also has one loss it its respective conference.
Rutgers
On Saturday, 10/8, Rutgers was defeated 27-14 in a home contest by a solid West Virginia squad. On a horrible day weather wise, the Scarlet Knights found themselves on the wrong end of a 21-0 score by early in the second quarter.
Weather played a role, but so did coaching, with the Mountaineers holding the high ground in this area. Rutgers "won" the remainder of the game 14-6, but the early 21-0 deficit was too deep a hole from which to crawl.
On 10/15, the Knights traveled to Syracuse, winning a lopsided contest by a 31-9 score. 'Cuse was held to three field goals on the day.
Last week, on the road, Rutgers won its third Big East game of the season by defeating a good University of Connecticut team by a score of 26-24. The game was played in a rain storm, in front of a homecoming crowd of more than 40,000. This was only UConn's third loss at Rentschler Field since it moved to the new stadium at the beginning of the 2003 season.
The Connecticut victory left Rutgers with a record of 5-2 overall (the Knight's best start since 1991), and with a 3-1 record in the Big East.
Tomorrow, RU takes on a 4-2 Naval Academy squad in a 3:30 PM (ET) kickoff at Rutgers Stadium. The Midshipmen demolished the Scarlet Knights 54-21 in Annapolis last year.
Navy's two losses this season came in its first two games, by a total of six points: 23-20 to Maryland. and 41-38 to Stanford. In their last outing, the Midshipmen routed Rice University 41-9 in Houston.
Although a non-conference game for RU (Navy competes as an independent), the Scarlet Knights still have much at stake. A win tomorrow would make six victories on the season to date, thereby assuring Rutgers its first winning season in 13 years. In addition, a sixth win would make Rutgers "bowl eligible." The last time the Knights participated in a bowl game was more than a quarter century ago!
Tomorrow's game can be heard in much of the Northeast on WOR-AM radio, 710 on the dial.
Monmouth
On Saturday, 10/8, on the road and in a driving rain storm, Monmouth handily defeated Sacred Heart University 45-14. Hawk senior wide receiver and NFL prospect, Miles Austin, caught 10 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns. Monmouth quarterback, Brian Boland, finished the day 17 for 30, with five touchdown passes and one interception.
On 10/15, Monmouth suffered a costly 26-20 home loss to Northeast Conference rival, Wagner College. In this game, Brian Boland was intercepted five times, and Monmouth had a total of six turnovers. By contrast, Wagner turned the ball over only once. Considering the turnover ratio, as well as the time of possession -- Wagner's 35:59 to Monmouth's 24:01 -- it's surprising the game was decided by a margin of only six points.
Last week, at home, Monmouth rebounded from the Wagner loss with a 14-0 defeat of Robert Morris, bringing the Hawk's record to 5-2 overall, and 3-1 in the Northeast Conference. However, Miles Austin left the game with an injury midway through the first quarter, posting just one reception for 12 yards.
Tomorrow, on the road, Monmouth is again in Northeast Conference action, with a 1:00 PM (ET) kickoff against Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Connecticut. Last year, Monmouth shared the NEC title with the Blue Devils, and tomorrow's game could well determine this year's conference champion. Both teams enter the contest tied for first place, with NEC records of 3-1.
The Monmouth-Central Connecticut game will be broadcast via the Internet on WMCX-FM.
The respective Monmouth/Rutgers 2005 schedules/results:
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Monmouth W - L Rutgers W - L
(Hawks) Score (Scarlet Knights) Score
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09/03 Lehigh L 26- 54 Illinois L#30- 33
09/10 La Salle W 65- 27 VILLANOVA W 38- 6
09/17 CALIF. (PA) W 16- 15 Buffalo W 17- 3
09/24 Open Open
09/30F --- PITTSBURGH* W 39- 29
10/01 Stony Brook* W 36- 7 ---
10/08 Sacred Heart* W 45- 14 WEST VIRGINIA* L 14- 27
10/15 WAGNER* L 20- 26 Syracuse* W 31- 9
10/22 ROBERT MORRIS* W 14- 0 Connecticut* W 26- 24
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222-143 195-131
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10/29 Central Conn.* NAVY
11/05 St. Francis* SOUTH FLORIDA*
11/11F --- Louisville*
11/12 ALBANY* ---
11/19 --- Open
11/26 --- CINCINNATI*
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Home games in caps. *Conference game. #Overtime.
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