NCAA Football rutgers Scarlet Knights

Even though by Lord Voldemort Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has already shot down the idea, Penn State coach Joe Paterno still thinks the league should add a twelfth teams and a championship game. JoePa added a twist on Wednesday, saying who he doesn't want to see added to the conference: Notre Dame.

Stating the Irish have "had their chance," Paterno wants the league to look east, as in Big East. He recommends adding Syracuse, Pitt, or Rutgers to the conference. Paterno wants to see the Big Ten pick up the New York market, which would argue against Pitt. Rutgers has to like its chances in the Big East more than in in the Big Ten. As for Syracuse, well, at this point, you couldn't blame them if they decided to join Temple in the MAC. So there's no school out there that makes sense as a twelfth Big Ten Team, right?

College Football Spring Storylines 2009 looks at the key developments and big news from spring ball.

Spring. The time for rebirth and renewal. At least that is the theory. While there was only one change at head coach, there will be plenty of new in the Big East, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Half the teams have a different offensive coordinator. To say nothing of the departures of top offensive talent including quarterbacks Pat White and Mike Teel, running backs LeSean McCoy and Donald Brown, along with wide receivers Kenny Britt, Dominick Goodman and Tiquan Underwood. Defense will definitely lead the way in the conference this year.

Each week, FanHouse's Rollercoaster Report will take a look at several NFL Draft prospects to find out which players' stocks are on the rise, and who's stuck in freefall.

More than 300 prospects begin workouts at the NFL scouting combine on Saturday in hopes of improving their draft stock. But what about the guys that didn't get the invitation to Indianapolis? The event features the best of the best, of course, but that does not mean there's no value to be found in the players staying home this weekend.

After the jump, a breakdown of five college stars that could hear their names called in April, despite being left off the Indianapolis invite list, and another handful who missed out on the combine for a reason.

Some decisions are easier than others. What to eat for breakfast. Which roads you'll take to work that day. Which college you're going to sign with for the next four years of your life.

Wait, what? Ka'lial Glaud, a linebacker from Atco (N.J.) Winslow Township, was struggling with his decision to pick a school in the waning minutes of signing day, so he did what any logical three-star recruit would do -- let a coin decide.

His principal jokingly gave him a quarter to help him along. But it was no joke to Glaud, who decided it would be West Virginia if it was heads and Rutgers if it was tails.

"Tails came up, so that's when I decided Rutgers," Glaud told the Courier-Post of Camden, N.J. "I didn't know where I was going to go."

Not much of a shock, but the fourth-leading receiver in the country, Rutgers junior Kenny Britt, has decided to skip his senior year and enter the NFL Draft.

"It's always been a dream to me to go to the NFL," Britt said at a press conference at Rutgers' Hale Center. "This year was my gateway, my opening."

Britt finished the 2008 season with 87 catches for 1371 yards. In his three years at Rutgers, he had 14 100-yard games, and with 3,043 career receiving yards, holds the Big East record. Despite Britt's fantastic numbers this year, and being the best receiver in the Big East, Britt was not even a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award.

The decision for Britt to go pro was not surprising, despite not being a first round draft pick. His numbers are almost sure to suffer as Rutgers will be breaking in a new quarterback next year because of Mike Teel's graduation. There is no clear favorite to win the job. It most likely will go immediately to an incoming freshman, the heralded Tom Savage, but that doesn't provide a great incentive to stay.

FanHouse gathers around the TV to bring you insights from Bowl Season '08.

Russell Wilson got hurt. With all due respect to Rutgers players, coaches, fans and awesome Pulitzer Prize winning alumni, that's about all you need to re: the PapaJohns.com Bowl. Of course, it's also all you need to know about North Carolina State's season -- when Wilson was healthy and in the game, the Wolfpack were one of the most exciting teams in the NCAA, and when he wasn't, well, they were the type of team that could give up a first half lead to a suddenly struggling Rutgers team.

Again though: Rutgers = not bad. They came in having won six straight games, but, caveats aside, you couldn't tell by the time the clock struck zeroes on the first half. The Wolfpacka dominated, Mike Teel struggled mightily, and it looked like a runaway win for State. Then Wilson got hurt.

Turkey Legs to Go is FanHouse's complete travel guide for all of the 2008-2009 college bowl games. Here, we cover the PapaJohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, Alabama), which pits North Carolina State against Rutgers.

Overview / Matchup: Birmingham got lucky in their bowl draw this year, as both Rutgers and N.C. State come into the postseason on quite the tear. The Wolfpack features All-Universe freshman quarterback Russell Wilson, the first frosh to ever land first team All-Conference in the ACC. Meanwhile, a Cincinnati BCS berth and a six game winning streak to close out the season (highlighted by Mike Teel tossing a redonk seven touchdowns in the season finale against Louisville) lets the Scarlet Knights squeeze into a decent bowl.

Hotels: For luxury accommodation and entertainment, well-heeled travelers should stay at The Wynfrey Hotel. It's a 15-minute drive from town, but the trek is worth it if you want to do any shopping. The hotel is attached to the massive Riverchase Galleria. For good-quality accommodation closer to the stadium, try the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel. The hotel offers the best overall value for bowl travelers, combining reasonable rates with comfortable beds and a great location. For budget-minded travelers, try the Days Inn just across the highway from the stadium. They offer rooms for less than US$100 per night and the proximity can't be beat.

Restaurants/Nightlife: For fine dining in Birmingham, try Bottega Italian Restaurant. Bottega consistently receives great reviews and if the prices prove too steep, the sister restaurant, Bottega Café, next door is a more affordable alternative. Dreamland Bar-B-Que is a cheap, family-friendly alternative to high-end Italian. Dreamland is a local favorite featuring an on-site smoker and arguably the best ribs in Birmingham.

One team started the season 1-5 and was widely considered to be regressing back to the way things had long been. The other started 5-0, was ranked in the top-10, and everyone was once more singing the praises of a coach that didn't just build but created the football program at the school.

Yeah, it's safe to say that a lot has changed for both teams since then. Rutgers, with the 49-16 road whipping on USF. has gone 4-0 since. It includes a 20-point road win over top-20 Pitt. Rutgers has rediscovered its offense and QB Mike Teel has something resembling touch on his passes once more. The defense has remained consistent through most of the season which has helped.

For USF, it is a second straight year of a second-half collapse. This time, a 1-4 stretch where the offense has shot itself in the foot continually with turnovers, penalties and not getting into the endzone. The defense has likewise been sloppy and inconsistent.

This game was a microcosm for both teams in the second half stretch. Rutgers' defense was putting constant pressure upfront that completely harassed Matt Grothe and kept him contained. They forced 6 turnovers. The offense was all about the pass as Teel had just under 300 yards. For USF, six turnovers and 10 penalties for 100 yards. The Bulls threw for over 300 yards, but could only get two touchdowns from the offense. The defense was continually burned for big plays.

As strange as it may seem, both teams could end the season 7-5, but Rutgers could finish Big East play 5-2. That record would likely have them finish second in the conference, but it isn't out of the possibility that they could end up finishing with a share of first place in the Big East.

Coming into today's game between Pittsburgh and Rutgers, the two teams had only surpassed the 30-point mark three times combined.

The strength of the Rutgers team has been the defense by default, because the offense has almost been nonexistent. Likewise for Pitt, although their offense has been able to run the ball effectively and pass only when needed.

But only once has either defense allowed a 30-point game, when North Carolina put up 44 points on the Scarlet Knights. If anything, this was supposed to be a grind-it-out, defensive game.

However, on a day when offense has been the story around college football, these two teams have been anything but themselves.

UConn is an offensively challenged team. They don't have particularly good receivers. Their starting quarterback is injured. They have Donald Brown, one of the leading rushers in the country, but little else. Naturally, they aren't going to score a lot of points and will play in a lot of close games.

Over this season and last, the Huskies have gone 6-1 in games decided by seven points or less. They have had questionable calls go their way. Inexplicable screw-ups by the refs. Huge mistakes by the other team. Always, it seemed the ball just bounced their way.

Well, not today. Facing a desperate Rutgers team, UConn struggled to finish drives. They missed opportunities and in the second half, had to deal with a Rutgers defense that was completely stacking to stop Donald Brown. Brown had over 90 yards in the first half, but only finished with 111. Brown was even stopped in the endzone for a safety. They even missed two field goals in the first half

Even as poorly as the Huskies played on offense, they still had a chance with just over a minute left. They just needed to make a field goal from inside 30 yards. And again, the kicker, Tony Ciaravino kicked it off the upright and Rutgers held on for a 12-10 win.

UConn outgained the Scarlet Knights on the ground and passing. The Huskies, though, could not make the most of their opportunities. Now the Huskies fall back in the very muddled Big East pack.