Weekend Wrap

By MIKE DAROZA

CFRT Editor

Could other hot coaching prospects learn a lesson from Rutgers' coach Greg Schiano?

OMG Moment of the Week

Rutgers' 69-38 loss to Cincinnati on Saturday wasn't exactly a game that was of national significance, but you have to wonder if a certain couple of coaches in Boise, Idaho and Fort Worth, Texas were paying attention.

If not, they probably should be.

Just four short years ago, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and their head coach Greg Schiano were among the hottest stories of college football in 2006, climbing as high as No.7 in the national rankings after their victory over the No.3-ranked and undefeated Louisville Cardinals.

Rutgers' kicker Jeremy Ito is mobbed by a delirious home crowd after kicking a 28-yard field goal to beat No.2 Louisville with 13 seconds left in 2006.

That season, Schiano - who took over a Rutgers football team that had, up to that point, been a perennial loser - led the Scarlet Knights to an 11-2 final record and a No.12 ranking in the final AP poll.

Schiano was named the 2006 national Coach of the Year honors after orchestrating what was widely considered to be one of the great turn-around stories in college football history.

Shortly thereafter, Schiano's name was swirling amid rumors and speculation connecting him to possible head coaching openings at big-time (much bigger and infinitely higher profiled) schools such as the University of Miami and Michigan.

But, Schiano announced he was removing his name from the list of candidates and was going to settle in at Rutgers.

Many have even suggested Schiano turned down all those jobs and seven-figured contracts to one day become the successor to Joe Paterno at Penn State, where Schiano served as an assistant to Joe Pa from 1990-1995.

In the couple of years that followed, Schiano maintained the Scarlet Knights at a decent level - with back-to-back 8-5 seasons in '07 and '08, and a 9-4 showing in '09 - but nothing like his magical season in 2006.

Big-time head coaching opportunities, at least publicly, haven't been the same for Schiano since, and you now have to wonder if his status as a hot coaching prospect worthy of a huge contract at a high-profile school is what it once was.

Especially now that 2010 has turned so dismal at Rutgers.

Things just haven't gone very well for Rutgers in many ways this season.

The Scarlet Knights not only boast an awful 4-6 record so far, the four wins they do have been against Norfolk State, Florida International, UConn and Army.

Take out the Norfolk State win and Rutgers' three wins against Division I-A competition (if you choose to call it that) are only by a combined 11 points.

If you ask me, Boise State's Chris Petersen and TCU's Gary Patterson better be paying close attention here.

Both Petersen's and Patterson's bios looks a lot like Schiano's once did - hot coaching prospects who took once downtrodden programs to the top of the college football world.

Boise State head coach Chris Petersen has guided his Broncos team to 24 consecutive victories at a program that didn't even start playing Division I-A football until 1996. Boise State is currently 10-0 and is sitting at No.4 in the BCS standings with two regular season games to go.

There's no way in the world anyone can tell me that multiple high-profile schools, toting big seven-figure contract proposals, won't be trying to lure both Petersen and Patterson to their campuses very soon, if they haven't already done so only to be turned down.

TCU head coach Gary Patterson has an 83-27 mark at a school that didn't play in a bowl game from 1965 to 1984, and also has the 11-0 Horned Frogs sitting at No.3 in the BCS standings with one regular season game to go.

Well, after watching Schiano, and using him as an example of how things can turn (back) around so quickly, if Petersen and Patterson are paying attention, their only response to Rutgers' 31-point beating at the hands of a 4-6 team like Cincinnati can only be one thing.

OMG! 

Gameballs

Just in case, don't forget about Denard Robinson.

Don't you forget about me!

He may have fallen slightly out of the Heisman front-runner spotlight for now, but Michigan's Denard "Shoelace" Robinson is still breaking records - with or without his laces tied.

On Saturday, in a losing effort, Robinson broke former Air Force Falcon Beau Morgan's major-college record for yards rushing by quarterbacks and he also became the first player in NCAA history with 1,500 yards rushing and 1,500 yards passing in one year.

As a side note, we still have nearly three weeks to find out more about the saga of Auburn's Cam Newton (current landslide leader to win the Heisman at this point), Oregon's LaMichael James (consensus runner-up at this point) is dinged up and Boise State's Kellen Moore (most everyone's third place guy) doesn't exactly wow people.

Don't forget about Robinson just yet.

Just sayin... 

After the first five days of the season ,celebrating was the furthest thing from VT's Frank Beamer's mind.

Hokey no longer pokey

After watching their 2010 campaign seemingly come crashing down in just the first five days of this season, the Virginia Tech Hokies not only rebounded in a big way, they became champions when they defeated the Miami Hurricanes, 31-17, on Saturday.

The Hokies lost their first two games of the season - one of them to Division I-AA James Madison - and for all intents and purposes, were left for dead.

Then, in what can only be a strong case for Coach of the Year honors, Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer has righted the ship and guided the Hokies to nine-straight wins, including a berth in the ACC title game by winning the Coastal Division outright with their win over The U.

Is Terrelle Pryor finally starting to be the player everyone thought he'd be coming out of high school?

Cardiac Kid

Despite all the accolades he's received since he stepped on campus in Columbus, Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor has always seemed to maintain an aura of not being clutch in the most crucial times of Buckeyes seasons past.

On Saturday, Pryor had a golden opportunity to remain an underachiever with Ohio State's season hanging precariously in the balance.

With his team trailing Iowa on the road, facing a fourth-and-10 at the 50 yard line with well under six minutes left to play, Pryor saved the Buckeyes' season.

On the play before, Pryor lofted a perfect pass to DeVier Posey streaking down the sideline for an apparent touchdown, but the picturesque pass from Pryor was went right through Posey's hands, setting up the dramatic fourth-down play.

Pryor, facing a fierce Iowa pass rush, started to his right, back tracked and ran 14 yards to his left to pick up the drive-saving first down.

Five plays later Dan Herron bulled his way into the end zone for the win.