Better Execution. Better Play-making. Schiano Football.

So, as Rutgers had to deal with some “quality control” issues earlier in the season, Schiano and his Scarlet Knights never let these issues affect their future performance.  Instead, they stayed the course, found the best ingredients, and cooked up a winning recipe from Game Seven forward. 

In fact, I think Zagat’s rated it the best dish in its Big East Football Dining Guide (Strangely, sales of this edition struggled outside of the “State of Rutgers”).

How would one duplicate this dish?  Well, here is a brief list of the “known” ingredients that made it so popular (all averages during the seven game win streak):

1) Have at least 22 hungry athletes ready to stomp opposing team;

2) Place 321 Mike Teel passing yards to 129 Kenny Britt receiving yards into a bowl;

3) Add 3.1 passing touchdowns and one Kenny Britt receiving touchdown and stir;

4) While stirring, carefully sprinkle 140 rushing yards to bowl, and one dash of a rushing touchdown;

5) Once you have done so, periodically add 2.7 sacks and one interception to the mix and stir;

6) Place bowl on HIGH HEAT for 60 minutes; and

7) Serve piping hot and enjoy!

Thanks to Chef Schiano and his staff, Rutgers has now served seven customers nationwide.  Their most recent satisfied customer was the Wolfpack of N.C. State in the Papajohns.com Bowl whom Rutgers defeated 29-23. 

Knowing that one more loss would have all-but-guaranteed the Knights a long December of non-football related activities, Rutgers exhibited a praiseworthy amount of resilience and strength by defeating their last seven opponents.

At the close of the 2008 season, the Scarlet Knights reached a record of 8-5 and joined a group of only six other teams in college football history to begin a season with a 1-5 record and earn a bid to a bowl game.  All things considered, this type of turnaround is a commendable achievement for any type of team. 

As for Rutgers’ recipe for success in 2009, it will undoubtedly feature some new ingredients.  However, if Greg Schiano can mix together something similar to what he cooked up for the second half of 2008, he better prepare it in August and make enough to last the entire fall. 

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