Let's say the ACC raid of the Big East happened today. Would Boston College still be chosen or would the nod go to Rutgers? It has the New York media market, legit top-25 football and stadium expansion to 55,000 on its way. BC continues to be successful in both football and basketball, but it is still odd seeing a Clemson-BC matchup. And the Boston area traditionally yawns at their success.
--Daniel Krantz, Charlotte, N.C.
Wow -- that's a phenomenal question. Of course, it's also a tricky hypothetical, because if Miami, Virginia Tech and BC had remained in the Big East all this time, it's quite possible Rutgers would have won a few less games the past two seasons. But let's stick with Rutgers in its current state. From a purely business standpoint, it would be stupid for the ACC not to take the Scarlet Knights over the Eagles because of the factors you just mentioned. However, you have to remember how the ACC's expansion went down originally. The only school the ACC truly cared about adding was Miami, and it basically let the Miami brass pick the other two schools. Remember, those choices were originally Syracuse and BC -- whom the 'Canes had longer-standing "rivalries" with -- not BC and Virginia Tech. The Hokies only entered the picture due to political pressure in Virginia. So the real question is, would Miami have preferred Rutgers to BC? My guess is no.
Now put aside BC's far superior basketball program, our expansive non-revenue sports programs (BC 29: varsity sports, Rutgers: 27 varsity sports), our superior academic reputation, and our better financial condition. Put aside the media market nonsense (since Rutgers will be old news in the New York market shortly) or our relationship with the Red Sox. Put aside that the original plan called for Syracuse (which would have had a foothold in NYC). Let’s just focus on football. BC puts Rutgers to shame in every way! Rutgers lone unique quality is that they participated in the first college football game.
The concept that Rutgers is some sort of burgeoning power is way premature. They’ve had two good seasons and owe most of that success to a depleted Big East. Until they maintain this success for a decade or so and prove they can beat the top teams, the media and Rutgers fans need to shut up. Rutgers cannot hold a candle to BC football. Here are just a list of basic facts:
Winning Percentage
BC: .583
Rutgers: .502
Wins
BC: 589
Rutgers: 583
And it should be noted that Rutgers has played 163 more games and had a 29 year headstart on BC football
Heisman Trophy Winners
BC: 1
Rutgers: 0
Bowl History
BC: 12-6
Rutgers: 1-2
Best Bowl
BC: Tie Orange, Cotton, Sugar
Rutgers: Insight Bowl
Current NFL Players
BC: 24
Rutgers: 11
Ranked in Final Season Ending Polls
BC: 13 times
Rutgers: 4 times
Highest Ranking in Season Ending Polls
BC: 5th twice
Rutgers: 12th
This is just a short little rundown. I could go on for days. Rutgers is at their apex now and they still haven’t reached the heights of BC’s most successful days. Schiano has built a paper tiger off of a soft Big East. I think things will correct themselves and/or he’ll take a bigger job. Until they win anything (a Big East title, a real bowl) Rutgers fans should simmer down and keep things in perspective. Enjoy your own success and stop claiming superiority until you’ve actually accomplished something.
BC was and remains the better fit for the ACC.
Posts
23 comments:
I couldn't have said it any better!
Rutgers would have gone, at best, 6-6 each of the last two years if it had to play BC's schedule.
the guy said BC-Clemson matchup didn't seem right...well all i can say is as a Clemson fan a Rutgers-Clemson matchup makes me feel dirty... like I need to take a shower just thinking about it. I don't care if Miami had said they weren't coming to the ACC without Rutgers, there is no possible way the ACC was ever letting that filth into our conference. It just never would of happened. NEVER!
100 people surveyed, name something that Rugers can offer a conference:
Show me competitive sports.....BUZZ
Show me academics......BUZZ
Show me a respected university.....BUZZ
Show me hot chicks.......BUZZ
That's saying nothing of the very shoddy work by Mr. Mandel. The ACC did not expand solely to add Miami. The ACC expanded after its consultants told them that adding three teams would produce a better financial future for the conference (largely driven by the ability to play a football conference championship with a 12- team league). This was proven after the league added Miami and Va Tech and petitioned the NCAA to allow a conference title game for an 11-team conference. The NCAA denied that request and the ACC, wanting a football title game (and not just the ability to add Miami) tabbed BC.
Mandel obviously did zero research in writing his response, and chose to just talk out of his ass. Who cares about his uninformed opinion.
You are talking out your A..h... The Big East is a solid conference without BC, Miami and VT. BC will continue to slide while the RU and the Big East will contiunue to improve.
Continue to slide? What the heck are you blabbering about? Apparently critical thinking skills aren't a priority at Rutgers.
Make sure to get your shots before the WVU game. And have fun slinging cow pies again next year before your blacked out bowl game.
There are a total of 8 pro sports teams (two NFL, two MLB, two NHL, and two NBA) in the "coveted" NY/NJ market that didn't even broadcast the Rutgers bowl game on standard cable last year. To say Rutgers would be a better fit in the ACC than BC is downright foolish.
All I am saying is that BC is not that good. You at as if they are all world. Stop living off of your past performance. Rutgers would have dominated BC in 2006. I wish they played now. Everything has its season, and I expect that Rutgers will begin to dominate. Stop living off your pas history Mr. Lane.
Ruplayer 85-
I'm not going to post what BC's all-time record is against Rutgers. But, maybe you should have a look at that. And while your at it, have a look at when the last time Rutgers beat BC was. Enjoy what you find. None of us think that BC is all-world; we all think that, relative to Rutgers, all-world might be an appropriate designation.
Rutgers would have beat BC last year? Really? I frankly don't think they would have--but I'll concede it's debatable, especially given Rutgers' dismantling of Navy. Rutgers by my count beat one or two good teams last year, and played about six teams who either are not, or play like they should not be, in D-1A. They benefited from the Big East scheduling of backloading all of the better teams--so that Rutgers played Louisville, Pitt, and WVU all at the end of the season...allowing them to build up an undefeated record on the way.
People enjoyed Rutgers as a feel good story; and, you know what, that's nice. I think Schiano runs a clean ship, and the success was a long-time coming. But last year stands out as a marked exception to Rutgers' dismal history, and their current success is more coach-tied than program-tied.
RUPlayer85 - Clearly you are suffering from unfamiliar-with-success syndrome. You have one good year in football and a nice brew-ha-ha with the women's b-ball team and now you think you own the higher moral ground when it comes to discussing college sports.
You are embarrassing yourself by claiming superiority over BC (or any college D1A team for that matter). Please do us all a favor and learn some humility, or better yet, STFU.
Alex L.
mezmrin"Rutgers, there is no possible way the ACC was ever letting that filth into our conference"
yea unlike brawling with SC and missing the post-season or ThugU...Rutgers would def just be adding to the filth, redneck logic is amazing sometimes
yea,yea,yea I will acknowledge the record thing. However, I do not believe that you are giving consideration to the fact that I am just trying to think positive for 2007 and on. Why is BC hating soo much. RU has not had a drug bust in yeas of any of it's players. It has a higher graduation rate of its players also. Check your facts. Bottom line in todays game its the win record. I do acknowledge your tougher schedule, but so what.
BC is a much better fit in the ACC than Rutgers would be. ATL has pretty much given all the reasons but please Rutgers folks, just use some common sense.
And Rutgers-BC would have been a good game last year but by no means would it be a definite Rutgers win.
I don't think there is any way that the ACC would prefer BC over Rutgers as things currently stand. Everyone has always wondered why Rutgers couldn't get its act together considering the natural advantages they have in terms of talent pool and media market and now it is pretty clear they have gotten their act together. I know for a fact that our coaching staff is far more concerned about Rutgers as a regional recruiting threat than they are with BC... a school that seems to be adept at maximizing talent but has a relatively low ceiling in all sports except hockey.
RUplayer85,
RU prefers child rapists to drug dealers, right?
Neither BC nor Rutgers are natural fits in the ACC. I can understand why BC joined the ACC, but I don't see it working out over the long term. Just my opinion.
I would love to see this football conference. Call it the ECAC
BC
U Conn
Syracuse
Rutgers
Penn State
Pitt
Maryland (or Navy)
West Virginia
Louisville
Notre Dame
Yes, I know it will never happen, but it would be a dream conference.
It is amusing to see that some BC fans try to devalue Rutgers academically and athletically.
For many years, BC has played second fiddle to Harvard, MIT,BU,Tufts, Brandeis and other good schools in the Boston area.
Similarly, in football, BC was absolutely horrible for most of the 50s,60s and 70s.
Now, thanks to the Flutie years, BC has become respectable academically and athletically.
But to suggest that BC towers over Rutgers in any way is absurd and defies reality.
But then a sense of reality has never been a strong suit for those
who inhabit parochial insitutions.
red army, i'll give you harvard and mit academically, but lets take a look at the rest of your statement. USNews has Tufts 27, Brandeis 31, BC 34. BU comes in at a strong 57 right before Rutgers at an unsurprisingly mediocre number 60. With the pathetic sports programs (do tufts and brandies even have sports??) at tufts and brandies they can't even be compared to BC. I am actually surprised ATL even acknowledged this comparison with Rutgers because it is even worth the time. I guess Rutgers is in New Jersey though so I guess you have that going for you. The turnpike is clean.
My father sent me to old Rutgers,
And resolv'd that I should be a man;
And so I settled down,
In that noisy college town,
On the banks of the old Raritan.
On the banks of the old Raritan (my friends)
Where old Rutgers evermore shall stand,
For has she not stood
Since the time of the flood,
On the banks of the old Raritan.
Her ardent spirit stirred and cheered me
From the day me college years began;
Gracious Alma Mater mine;
Learning's fair and honored shrine;
On the banks of the old Raritan.
I love her flaming far-flung banner
I love her triumphs proud to scan,
And I glory in her fame
That's immortalized her name.
On the banks of the old Raritan.
My heart clings closer than the ivy
As life runs out its fleeting span,
To the stately, ancient walls
Of her hallowed, classic halls
On the banks of the old Raritan.
Then sing aloud to Alma Mater;
And keep the Scarlet in the van;
For with her motto high
Rutgers' name shall never die,
On the banks of the old Raritan.
My father sent me to old Rutgers,
And resolv'd that I should be a man;
And so I settled down,
In that noisy college town,
On the banks of the old Raritan.
(Chorus)
Chorus...
On the banks of the old Raritan (my friends)
Where old Rutgers evermore shall stand,
For has she not stood
Since the time of the flood,
On the banks of the old Raritan.
Her ardent spirit stirred and cheered me
From the day me college years began;
Gracious Alma Mater mine;
Learning's fair and honored shrine;
On the banks of the old Raritan.
(Chorus)
I love her flaming far-flung banner
I love her triumphs proud to scan,
And I glory in her fame
That's immortalized her name.
On the banks of the old Raritan.
(Chorus)
My heart clings closer than the ivy
As life runs out its fleeting span,
To the stately, ancient walls
Of her hallowed, classic halls
On the banks of the old Raritan.
(Chorus)
Then sing aloud to Alma Mater;
And keep the Scarlet in the van;
For with her motto high
Rutgers' name shall never die,
On the banks of the old Raritan.
BC fans are living in the past. There is no doubt that BC has dominated up till now but you get the sense that BC's days in the sun are over. Their coach leaves for another ACC school, they have a former beer drinking fan as their FG kicker and they hired some guy I never heard of to take over for TOB. Rutgers on the other hand, as someone pointed out above, has a much higher ceiling. You get the feeling the best is yet to come with them. It would appear, Schiano is there for the long haul, they are going to expand their stadium and -- most importantly -- they are grabbing the recruits that the BCs, Penn States, etc used to grab.
"Schiano is here for the long haul." Really? Let's see how that plays out. If he's at Rutgers for more than two more seasons I will be beyond shocked, and so will the non-Rutgers college football world.
I don't think there's any need to question the quality of Rutgers as a school, or the cleanliness of their athletic programs. The fact remains that last year was a dramatic departure from Rutgers' historical level, plus it was purposefully facilitated by the Big East scheduling.
The Rutgers people who are saying that BC is somehow slipping...that's patently and factually absurd. What's better: a 10-3 record in the ACC or an 8-4 record in a depleted Big East? I mean, c'mon.
And "red army"--I'd be more than happy to compare my parochial education with your secular education; I'm guessing that our senses of reality are quite similar [on topics other than college football at least]. No need for bigotry, boss.
BC is becoming a joke and it looks like both the ACC and the Big East are delivering the punch lines. TOB left BC to coach another team in the same conference while Schiano turns down more money to coach one of the "traditional" southern powers and ACC star teams Miami. See the contrast in loyalty and image?
BC fans also claim Rutgers could not have fared well playing BC's ACC schedule. Frankly the BE has been tougher than the ACC this year and in fact the BE champ beat the ACC champ in the BCS. With three teams finishing in the top 12 compared to none, Rutgers plays in a much tougher conference than BC.
It good to see BC winning in the ACC. In 14 years, they have won nothing in the BE. But the ACC is much easier being that they are declining in both BB and FB. Ex: Duke knocked out of tournament in what, the first round. No top 12 FB team inthe ACC. And oh, yea, Georgetown BB eliminates both BC and NC from the NCAAs. Sweeeet.
Lastly, BC gets the nod from the ACC anyways. Only BCers are dumb enough to be tricked into thinking that Boston is in the Southern part of the U.S. New Jersians may not be the sharpest pencils in the box, but at least they know NJ is in the north.
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