OK, so you've probably figured out by now -- almost a month after the game -- that Rutgers did, indeed, beat Ball State in the International Bowl.
You're probably also aware that Ray Rice made a mockery of the Cardinals' defense in that game and then subsequently announced it had been his last in a Rutgers unfiform.
You've figured all this out despite the fact that this blog has not once been updated during that time period. So I apologize for the big time delay and hope if you're reading this, you'll tell any friends who read it during football season that the blog has been revitalized, at least in so much as there is soemthing to blog about.
Which brings me to my point: I took a little break from basketball (have you seen my college basketball blog? I update that one every day. Seriously!) and wrote a story about J.B. Fitzgerald, the highly-touted outside linebacker from West Windsor, New Jersey.
Fitzgerald initially committed to Michigan and has not yet reneged on that commitment, despite the coaching change that took place when Lloyd Carr retired and was replaced by Rich Rodriguez.
Now though, there's a chance Fitzgerald will reconsider and go to Rutgers, which has pursued him aggressively for several months and which dispatched a helicopter to a Pirates game in September so Greg Schiano could watch him play.
I talked yesterday to WW-P South coach Todd Smith, who told me Fitzgerald is having a tough time deciding between the two schools.
Fitzgerald went on an official visit to Rutgers last weekend and is on his way to Ann Arbor this weekend for an unofficial visit.
NCAA rules permit players to only go on one official visit to each school. Essentially, that means the school can only pay to host a recruit once. If the recruit wants to come back a second or third time, its on his dime (no rhyme intended). Fitzgerald had already made an official visit to Michigan to meet with Carr and his staff, so the U of M can't pay for this visit.
According to Smith, Fitzgerald has had plenty of contact with Rodriguez and his assistants, including more than one house call made by Rich Rod to Fitzgerald's house in West Windsor. He said Fitzgerald really likes Rodriguez, but he also said he really likes and respects Greg Schiano and everything he's seen at Rutgers.
National signing day is Wednesday, so we'll know fairly soon what Fitzgerald's decision is.