Greg Schiano Quotes on Sunday's Rankings
Nov 12 | Football
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers moved up to No. 7 in the Harris Interactive College Football Poll and the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 8 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25 poll released on Sunday. It marks the first top-10 ranking in either poll in school history. The Scarlet Knights (9-0, 4-0 BIG EAST) defeated then third-ranked Louisville 28-25 last Thursday in front of a record-crowd at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway.
In the latest Bowl Championship Series Rankings, Rutgers is ranked No. 6 behind Ohio State, Michigan, Southern California, Florida and Notre Dame.
The following are quotes today from head coach Greg Schiano:
The significance on Rutgers' first top 10-ranking
"Anytime you do something for the first time in history, it is significant. In-season rankings are more for the fans than they are for us. Anytime they judge you, it is at the end of the year."
On moving up in the national rankings and BCS Standings
"Our only concern right now is preparing for the University of Cincinnati. There is a BCS system in place and it will work the way it is programmed to work. The only thing we have control over is our game against Cincinnati."
On yesterday's games around the nation in college football
"In between doing a bunch things Saturday, I did get a chance to see a few games and there were some wild finishes. It was a great weekend for college football and that is how you keep fans coming back for more."
On Rutgers playing in primetime on ESPN for the first time in consecutive weeks
"I think all of these things are signs that we are going in the right direction and building a program and not just a team or season. Hopefully that will become the norm and not the exception."
On the BCS Rankings
"I didn't pay much attention to it until we started getting into it. Then I paid a little more attention to it to see where we ended up. I think we all know if you take care of business week after week, you'll keep moving up, if you don't, you're going to fall, and now, maybe a team like Rutgers, they'll fall quicker than others. Hopefully, eventually, we'll be a program that's traditionally in the top-25, that's our goal and that's what we want to do."
On Staying Focused
"I explained to our players that they just have to focus on Cincinnati and stay on point. We call it 'chopping' around here. We have to keep chopping on things we have control over, I'd be a hypocrite if I just started talking about why we should be here or why we should be there. I truly believe this is a system that will work. We just have to take care of our business and that's our goal. We have a very good Cincinnati team that we're getting ready for right now. I know one thing, if we go out and play our best football this weekend, it won't matter for us. We're just going to focus on Rutgers being the best it can be and we're focused on a very good football team in Cincinnati. It's been a great ride and our senior class is really leading our football team. Our staff is taking care of business the right way. Any great team I've been around, there's been great, strong senior leadership and we have that here."
