The Birthplace...
Here's the most Rutger thing ever:
Yesterday, was the 149th anniversary of the first ever game of college "football", and Rutger announced a year of commemoration, celebration, events, a new celebration-logo, etc. The year-long celebration will culminate in... wait for it... no football. Rutger has a bye week a year from now.
"[T]he football team is on a bye week on November 9th, the weekend the anniversary is being celebrated across college football. While Princeton is playing Dartmouth at Yankee Stadium to celebrate, it remains to be seen how Rutgers actively commemorates the event of the first football game. The programs are certainly in different stages at this point in their respective history. Princeton is 8-0 this season and ranked 11th in FCS, while Rutgers is 1-8 and on the brink of one of their worst seasons ever."
November 7th, 2018 at 2:23 PM ^
Whether they have a game or the bye week scheduled, it’s the same result, Rutger will still not be playing football.
BTW- I’ll take the bye and lay the points for that week.
November 7th, 2018 at 3:06 PM ^
Can't lose on a bye week though
November 7th, 2018 at 5:12 PM ^
Rutger can find a way
November 7th, 2018 at 8:15 PM ^
They may be honoring Ray Rice.
November 7th, 2018 at 3:42 PM ^
"Points", you say?
Have some more!
November 7th, 2018 at 2:23 PM ^
A bye week is as close as they can get to a win
November 7th, 2018 at 2:25 PM ^
Nah. The most Rutger thing ever would be to schedule Alabama that day, start some weird beef a couple weeks before the game, invite 1000+ top recruits plus the national media, and bribe ESPN to show it on primetime.
Also, have some teddy bears and magnets left on the field that have to be cleaned up before kickoff.
THAT would be peak Rutger
November 7th, 2018 at 3:18 PM ^
Or, Rutger scheduling Princeton and losing. Which would be the likely outcome, I'm sure
November 7th, 2018 at 3:23 PM ^
I actually think this would be the smartest way to commemorate the 150th anniversary and I'm disappointed it didn't happen. I'm sure there are some good reasons and probably more stupid reasons it didn't. But it should've.
Also if I remember right, Rutger won that first game in 1869, and then didn't beat Princeton again until the Great Depression.
November 7th, 2018 at 3:46 PM ^
I think B1G teams can't schedule FCS teams anymore, right? There could be an exception this once, because who cares about Rutger's strength of schedule anyway?
November 7th, 2018 at 3:54 PM ^
Princeton didn't want to hurt their SOS.
November 7th, 2018 at 6:22 PM ^
The should just schedule Princeton in soccer, since the first football game was essentially a soccer game.
November 7th, 2018 at 8:10 PM ^
Go Princeton. They are back to wearing the winged helmet Fritz Crisler invented when he coached there.
November 7th, 2018 at 2:25 PM ^
This thread title is bizarre and unhelpful. Other than that, it's fine.
November 8th, 2018 at 10:59 AM ^
You know, I always felt like Rutgers' claim to be the birthplace of college football was misplaced. When Rutgers played Princeton on 11/06/1869 they were playing "mob football" under FA rules with 25 men per side and no throwing or carrying was allowed, only kicking. That game was nothing close to what we consider football today, it was more like FIFA.
So I did some digging and what I found out is that what we consider football today really started in 1880. That's the year Walter Camp's rule changes of a line of scrimmage, 11 players per side and a center to quarterback exchange were adopted at the Massasoit Convention. Those simple changes transformed the game from a soccer/rugby hybrid into what we recognize as American football today. Of course many more rule changes came after that year from Camp and others that helped to refine the game into what we recognize today but the process really all started there.
From there I searched to see who played the first game in the year the new rule changes were implemented. My thought being, that first game using the new rules would truly be when American Football started. To my surprise it wasn't a game between Harvard, Yale or Princeton but Rutgers and Stevens Institute of Technology (The Ducks) on 10/09/1880 in New Brunswick, NJ. Rutgers won 5-1 on their way to a 2-2 season.
So there you have it. Either way you want to look at it the first game did indeed happen at Rutgers University.
November 7th, 2018 at 2:25 PM ^
How did they miss the opportunity to schedule Princeton? I would have watched that game just out of morbid curiosity. Rutger may have even won it.
November 7th, 2018 at 2:33 PM ^
Good idea, but rutger thinks they need to worry about being bowl-eligible, and so they need to make the best use of their 3 non-conference games. Wins against non-scholarship FCS schools (like the Ivies) do not count toward bowl eligibility.
November 7th, 2018 at 2:45 PM ^
They don't really think they're going to a bowl game anytime soon, do they?
That's adorable.
November 7th, 2018 at 3:09 PM ^
Long Live #CannonInTheD!!!!
November 7th, 2018 at 2:30 PM ^
Seems like a smart idea. You don't want to end your year long celebration for creating the game of football by losing a football game 98-0.
November 7th, 2018 at 2:33 PM ^
to Princeton.
November 7th, 2018 at 4:44 PM ^
But that's how they are about to start it.
November 7th, 2018 at 2:32 PM ^
It stripes the birthplace with the lotion.
November 7th, 2018 at 2:50 PM ^
"Stripe the birthplace" was one of the CREEPIEST slogans ever.
November 7th, 2018 at 2:56 PM ^
Also known as the landing strip.
November 8th, 2018 at 1:19 AM ^
Came for these jokes. Not disappointed.
November 7th, 2018 at 2:32 PM ^
Not playing gives Rutger the best opportunity to celebrate football.
November 7th, 2018 at 9:11 PM ^
Their fans can celebrate by watching a good football team for once.
November 7th, 2018 at 2:44 PM ^
Christ. Rutger can't even celebrate a birthday correctly...
Thanks, Delaney, you jackass.
November 7th, 2018 at 5:07 PM ^
The use of jackass made me laugh harder than I would have expected. Kudos.
November 7th, 2018 at 2:46 PM ^
Isn’t the whole “Rutgers played the first football game” kind of a lie anyways? Wasn’t that game basically just hand soccer with like 25 players per side?
November 7th, 2018 at 2:51 PM ^
I think it wasn't even hand soccer--it was a full-on soccer game, played under "Association Rules," as they said back then.
The first game under "Rugby Rules" was 1874 Harvard v McGill. Our game evolved from the Rugby Rules, not the Association Rules.
November 7th, 2018 at 2:59 PM ^
Harvard couldn’t even beat a Canadian team, those fucking assholes.
November 7th, 2018 at 3:08 PM ^
Well, the Canadian team had 12 players.
November 7th, 2018 at 2:50 PM ^
The joke is they’re still playing whatever sport that was back in 1869 while the rest of us moved on to actual football.
November 7th, 2018 at 3:12 PM ^
This is obvious - any celebration for Rutger should be without football
November 7th, 2018 at 3:31 PM ^
NJ has many athletes that have left Jersey to go elsewhere. Michigan has benefitted from this. Hail to the Victors!
November 7th, 2018 at 3:37 PM ^
They figured a defeat on the day of celebration was not best for the little morale that is there
November 7th, 2018 at 4:21 PM ^
Doesn't Rutger celebrate it every year by playing no football even when they are ostensibly playing football?
November 7th, 2018 at 4:25 PM ^
I heard Rutger wanted to schedule Princeton, but they refused because it would ruin their strength of schedule.
November 7th, 2018 at 4:42 PM ^
It makes sense. This way Rutger can't lose.
November 7th, 2018 at 4:57 PM ^
Recently learned what may be the cause of that special Jersey air referenced by our players. Additional note: Ohio is literally trash.
November 7th, 2018 at 4:58 PM ^
Rutger should be cancelled.
November 7th, 2018 at 5:05 PM ^
Hahahahaha
November 7th, 2018 at 6:09 PM ^
Ashes to ashes
November 7th, 2018 at 6:10 PM ^
Not playing is literally the best thing Rutger could do to honor the game of football.
November 7th, 2018 at 7:16 PM ^
Wait just a damn minute!!!! So you're telling me Rutger plays football.
GTFOH!!!!!