The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are still on schedule to start their season in the Superdome, as they plan to take on Tulane on Saturday evening.
Hurricane Isaac, which is now classified once more as a tropical storm, did about $40,000 worth of damage to the stadium, mostly damaging signs and landscaping.
"Right now everything is on," said Tulane head coach Curtis Johnson in a press conference on Tuesday. "We are still planning on playing Saturday night."
Weather aside, the Scarlet Knights still face a formidable opponent in the Green Wave, who finished the 2011 season ranked 97th in total offense across the country.
Although Tulane didn’t present a dominant record last season, finishing the year at 2-11, the Green Wave bring some new and old faces to the field this year and, they hope, new success as well.
Johnson, who spent the last six seasons as the wide receivers coach of the New Orleans Saints, enters his first year with Tulane, making Saturday evening’s game a battle of the freshman coaches.
It’s Ryan Griffin though, a three-year starter returning for his final season of college football, who will present the biggest challenge for the Scarlet Knights.
Over the course of his career, Griffin has thrown for 6,163 yards and 36 touchdowns, making him not only an experienced QB, but a prolific one.
The Green Wave also return an impressive 15 other starters for the 2012 season, giving them considerable experience on the field, but nothing that the Rutgers squad can’t match.
For almost all intents and purposes, these two squads, who are meeting for the first time since 2010, are incredibly similar on paper, with a handful of returning starters and brand-new coaching systems to work with.
Both teams do present their own strengths and weaknesses, as every team does, and it’s those strengths that have Curtis preparing his squad for the best the Scarlet Knights have to offer.
"They run the ball as good as anyone in the country," Curtis said of the Rutgers offensive attack. "I think they really lean on their run."
-- Check back here on Friday morning for a final preview on both squads before they take the field on Saturday evening.See On The Banks for more about the Scarlet Knights.