Rutgers wins first bowl game!

From the NY Times: “Red letter day for the Scarlet Knights”

The trophy is made of granite, not crystal. It has a star on the top, not a rose or an orange. It is emblazoned with a logo most fans have never seen before.

At many universities, the Texas Bowl trophy would be hidden in the back of an awards room. At Rutgers, it will have the room all to itself.

School officials better start redesigning the lobby of the Hale Center, because the Scarlet Knights are coming home with their first bowl victory, and they need a place to put the proof.

Rutgers beat Kansas State on Thursday night at Reliant Stadium, 37-10, in a game that was not as competitive as the fight to get it televised in New Jersey. In the end, 10,000 Rutgers fans watched in person and others watched on the NFL Network.

The Scarlet Knights, who hoped to be at the Rose Bowl or the Orange Bowl, wound up in a fitting spot — they won their first postseason game at a bowl being played for the first time. Rutgers and the Texas Bowl, forever linked, should both grow from here.

Regardless of where the Scarlet Knights finished this season, they reveled in the way that they finished it. They won 11 games for the second time in school history and will pr0bably be ranked among the top 15 in the final polls.

Their new trophy is a replica of the San Jacinto Monument, widely regarded as the birthplace of Texas. From now on, the birthplace of Texas will live in the birthplace of college football. Rutgers, after 137 years on the gridiron, has an award that is not a consolation prize.

A friend of mine from work was one of the 10,000 fans on hand in Texas. Congratulations, Scarlet Knights!