MAKING HISTORY: Lenn Robbins writes Gary Nova and Rutgers will beat Louisville and win its first Big East championship. (
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The most important game in Rutgers football history will be played Thursday night.
The 2012 Scarlet Knights can go where no Rutgers team — and remember this is The Birthplace of College Football, which is pretty cool — has gone before.
Rutgers can win its first Big East Conference title.
If that happens, if the Scarlet Knights can fend off a battered but talented Louisville team, for the first time Rutgers fans will buy tickets for the Orange or Sugar Bowl without the intention of scalping them.
If that happens, Rutgers will forever be looked at in a different light — a glowing red light like those that will bathe the Empire State Building Thursday night.
If that happens, Rutgers can go to the Big Ten with at least a couple of impressive lines in its resume,’ other than that Birthplace of College Football thing.
It didn’t have to come down to this. Had Rutgers won last week at Pittsburgh (Louisville lost at home to Connecticut), it would be the league champion today.
But nothing ever has come easy to this program that was labeled the Sleeping Giant of the East more times than summer campers were told stories of the Boogey Man.
Nevertheless, Rutgers has the rarest of opportunities:
It has a second chance to win its first league title. It will have a sold- out stadium. It will play on national TV. It will face a team whose star quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, is expected to play with a broken left wrist (non throwing) and sprained right ankle.
For one day, Rutgers could make the Big Apple a college football town. It can get more attention in the greatest tabloid newspaper in America. It can play on Jan. 1 or 2, when the nation turns its hangover eyes to college football.
The Scarlet Knights are giving 3. These are two very similar teams in terms of talent, depth and coaching. But how do you pick against the team that is playing the biggest game in history?
Kent State (+6) over N. Illinois in Detroit: Since losing their opener by one point to Iowa, the Huskies have won 11 straight. They are accustomed to playing in these games.
The Golden Flashes, who have won 10 straight since a loss at Kentucky, are new to this conference championship game stuff, but coach Darrell Hazell is a rising star.
If you’re only going to watch one league championship game, watch this one. The winner has a chance at playing in a BCS game. And Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch is flat out fun to watch.
STANFORD (-8 1/2) over Ucla: Beating the same opponent, twice in one season no less than two weeks in a row, is a tough task. But this is a tough team.
TULSA (-2) over Ucf: Tulsa squeezed out a 23-21 home win two weeks ago in a game the Golden Hurricane totally dominated but almost gave away on turnovers. Tulsa hasn’t lost a home game this season. I know, we just said beating the same team twice in a season is tough.
TCU (+6 1/2 ) over Oklahoma: Let me make sure I have this straight, the team that actually plays defense is getting 6 1/2 points at home. Okie dokie.
OKLAHOMA St. (-4) over Baylor: The over/under is 81 1/2. Parlay the Cowboys and the over and you can buy yourself a nice new pair of Justin boots.
W. VIRGINIA (-20) over Kansas: Jayhawks are winless in league play. And so it goes.
Boise St. (-9 1/2) over NEVADA: Boise State lost two games by a total of six points. A win could get the Broncos back into a BCS bowl.
UCONN (+5) over Cincinnati: The home team with a chance to become bowl eligible is getting points.
Georgia (+7) over Alabama in Atlanta: Aaron Murray imposed a media ban on himself. But if he was going to speak he might say, ‘I spoke to Johnny Manziel, and he said the Tide’s pass defense is vulnerable.’
Pittsburgh (-6 1/2) over S. FLORIDA: Pittsburgh can become bowl eligible with a win. South Florida is on our list of Top 10 biggest disappointments of the season
KANSAS ST (-11 1/2) over Texas: Collin Klein gives Wildcats fans one last memory and shows the Longhorns what can happen when everyone buys in.
Florida State (-14) over Georgia Tech in Charlotte, N.C.: How did Georgia Tech (6-6) get into the league title game? Because the two teams that finished higher in the ACC Coastal Division are on probation. Please.
Wisconsin (+3) over Nebraska in Indianapolis: The Badgers had their foot on the Cornhuskers’ throat in Lincoln and let up. Now they have got the (Montee) Ball rolling.
HAWAII (-6) over S. Alabama: Long trip is a killer.
BEST BETS: West Virginia, Kansas State, Florida State
LAST WEEK: 11-3-1 overall, 2-1 best bets