"I am a man of constant sorrow..."
Yes, you know the infectious song from O Brother, Where Art Thou, and quite frankly the theme song for a generation of Rutgers fans. Can you imagine if you were born in 1976? There's no way you remember any of the events of that Rutgers season. And maybe by the time you were 5 or 6 in 1981, Deron Cherry had graduated and you were lucky enough to see tht scintillating 3-0 victory over Virginia at Giants stadium, or the heartbreaker to the Wayne Hardin led Temple Owls (who were only two years removed from their win over Cal in the Garden State Bowl...)
You were watching the end of an era as Frank Burns (who was drafted by the Eagles in 1949) was heading out the door, and Dick Anderson was on his way in the door, followed by the Graber era, and the Shea error...and then along came Gregory Edward Schiano....hmm, remember the old general electric jingle? G.E. we bring good things to life? Certainly true again...

Just for another historical note...I found this little nugget in the NY Times archives...dated Jan. 7, 1984:

SPORTS PEOPLE ; Then There Were 10

Published: January 7, 1984

The Rutgers football schedule for 1984 includes Miami, the final No. 1-ranked team, and four other teams that competed in bowl games this past season. But if the opponents look tough, preparing for them has been even tougher, especially because the Scarlet Knights do not have a head coach.

An advisory committee headed by David A. (Sonny) Werblin has pared a list of candidates to 10, but while it continues the selection process, the recruiting is being handled by the nine assistant coaches, none of whom are sure they will be retained by the new coach. Jerry Petercuskie , one of the assistants to Frank Burns , who was dismissed after the Knights' 3-8 season, said that not a single high school player had committed himself to Rutgers. ''Some have said they'll wait and some have not,'' Petercuskie said. ''We lost some because of the fact we don't have anybody here.''

From not a single player in the state committing to NJ State U., to now, where these kids weren't even gleams in their parents eyes...

By the way, for more about the newest trends, and how many recruits came to find respect for RU, Steve Politi from the Ledger is writing some very interesting articles leading up to the Luoisville game about historical decisions by coaches, recruits, and the program overall that led up to this era of Knights football.