As a young child, I remember watching Penn State dismantle Rutgers quite often and quite thoroughly in Beaver Stadium, and in between series I’d study the Scarlet Knights’ players and coaches in the game program and wonder just what the hell a Rutger was.
Eventually, I learned that Rutgers University, formerly Queen’s College, was re-named in 1825 for Henry Rutgers, a Revolutionary War colonel and philanthropist whose timely donation saved the school from closing for a third time in its young history. I also learned that Rutgers’ remains were lost for several years, which I suppose is either a mundane bit of trivia or an apt metaphor for most of the team’s offensive organization in the years since. Or maybe both.
Which brings us to Saturday’s Rutgers-Penn State contest, which pitted the Scarlet Knights’ run-heavy but aerially deficient attack, led by old friend Kirk Ciarrocca, against the Nittany Lions’, um, shall we say inconsistent attack, led by interim co-OCs Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle following Sunday’s unceremonious canning of (Ciarrocca replacement!) Mike Yurcich.
