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In early November, West Virginia had its undefeated run snapped by Louisville. A week later, Louisville had its undefeated season ended by Rutgers. Then, a week following that, Rutgers had its dreams for an undefeated season snapped by Cincinnati. Cincinnati came out of nowhere to beat the Cinderella-like Rutgers and ended any hopes that Rutgers had for a BCS title spot. Still, despite the disappointment of the loss, people need to look back at the season that was. To truly understand the significance of this Rutgers season, people need to look back at the Rutgers team that was a 1-11 debacle four seasons ago.

For years, Rutgers football was the laughingstock of New Jersey. Heralded recruits from New Jersey would flee the state once out of high-school. Wali Lundy, Dan Klecko, William Green, Christian Olsen, Tamba Hali, and Brandon Hoyte all got out of New Jersey after high-school. Frankly, who can blame them? Four years ago, in Greg Schiano’s first season, Rutgers went 2-9. They lost games by scores of: 30-5, 42-0, 50-0, 61-0, and 80-7. Top recruits understandably chose to not go to Rutgers. Despite their loss to Cincinnati, Rutgers scored a huge upset over Louisville, which alone will help them recruit top prospects.

The spirit of Rutgers football is probably embodied best in senior fullback Brian Leonard. Most have heard about sophomore running-back Ray Rice and how he is the best player on the team. This is true; Rice is the focal point of Rutgers offense and is probably the team’s most talented player. However, Rutger’s most important player is certainly Brian Leonard. 

Four years ago, Leonard was a freshman and sat through a 1-11 season. The big story after the 2001 season was the breaking up of the Big East. When Temple, the worst team in Division-I college football during recent years, got kicked out of the Big East because of sub-par play, the general consensus was "why shouldn’t Rutgers get kicked out also?" The next year, Leonard rushed for a team-high 880 yards, caught 53 passes for another 488 yards, and scored 14 touchdowns. Rutger’s 5-7 record, although a losing one, was a vast improvement over the season before. The next season, Leonard churned out more yards and caught 61 passes, the highest total in the Big East. Rutger’s record was a subpar 4-7 with a particularly embarrassing loss to Division I-AA New Hampshire. Coming into the 2005 season, nobody expected Rutgers to do anything extraordinary like playing in a bowl. It was likely a make-or-break season for Coach Greg Schiano.

Well, Rutgers did not do anything particularly extraordinary, but they had a solid season that was a huge improvement over the preceding ones. Rutgers finished the season 7-5 and got a bowl berth at the Insight Bowl. They went on to lose to Arizona State by five points, but it was a huge victory for Rutgers amidst its defeat. Then came a pivotal decision for Leonard; he had to decide whether to enter the NFL draft, where he was assured that he would be drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round. Leonard instead chose to return to Rutgers. This caused a great amount of fanfare amongst the small number of Rutgers fans. When Rutgers put billboards along the New Jersey Turnpike, Leonard was put on the billboards. He even got the first ever website directed towards a Rutgers football player (brianleonard23.com).

We all know the rest of the story. Ray Rice has emerged as Rutgers' top player and is in the Heisman race. Is Leonard disappointed about taking a back seat to Rice? In his own words, Leonard says, “If I wasn't here right now, I'd be regretting it so much. It's the best decision I ever made.” Leonard is a team player who loves making blocks for Rice and has taught Rice to be humble and to be a team player. 

Yet, the emergence of Rice has not put Leonard out of the offense. On a critical 3rd and 6 late in the Louisville game during Rutger’s game-winning drive, Schiano knew that he wanted the ball in the hands of Leonard. Leonard would gain 26 yards to set up Jeremy Ito’s game winning field goal. Leonard will likely be one of the top picks in next year’s NFL draft. However, his Rutgers experience is one he is not likely to forget.

Despite a loss to Cincinnati, Rutger's season has been a huge achievement. Fans need only to look to the last few seasons to realize what a huge success this season has been. Not only did they beat top-five ranked Louisville, but they also secured a second straight bowl berth. Rutgers' achievements have helped their conference, the Big East, acquire a reputation as one of the finest conferences in Division-I college football.

 

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