watching the rutgers/texas bowl game and have a couple ??

OceanCityGirl · Post by **OceanCityGirl** » December 28, 2006 10:16 pm

why did that second loss drop rutgers standings so much? They've ended up playing a team that is 7/8 while they are 11/2 I think.
Also what are all the various rubber band like things that football players and other athletes wear around different places on their arms and legs, sometimes even stocking like strips around their elbows.

Oh and - go RU, they're kicking butt if it's not too soon to get happy bout it.

Captain Morgan · Post by **Captain Morgan** » December 29, 2006 9:37 am

Well, they only dropped 3 spots after the last loss. That was mainly due to:

- Strength of schedule, Rutgers doesn't play powerhouse teams (USC, Texas, Ohio State, etc) all season long, so they have to win consistently to keep a good ranking.

- The 2nd loss...they lost to a lower ranked team

They did have a heck of a year though!

windknot · Post by **windknot** » December 29, 2006 9:40 am

Rutgers dropped in the rankings for several reasons, the Big East conference that they are a part of is not widely respected by pollsters, also Rutgers themselves have not been even an average team in the last 40 years so one good/great year does not gain you top ranked status.

There are lots of different things players wear, you might be seeing thin protective sleaves that keep the players from getting rug burns from artificial surfaces. There are also compression bandages that help with minor sprains.
Some players actually do wear rubber bands, Deion Sanders wore 2-3 rubber bands on his wrists as a supersticious (sp?) thing, he got the rubber bands from the FSU trainer before each game.

OceanCityGirl · Post by **OceanCityGirl** » December 29, 2006 10:09 am

these are actually rubber band like. They are sort of like those livestrong bracelets only thinner but they wear them pushed up their arm in one or two spots. Sometimes they wear them on their calves. They also wear stocking like bands around their elbow.
About the rankings - week 12 rutgers 9-0 ranked 7
week 13 rutgers 9-1 ranked 15
so that's where the big drop happened. I assumed it was calculated based on wins and losses within your division. I didn't realize they'd take into consideration your previous seasons and the strength of the teams you played for an actual ranking. I can understand these things being used for bowl game choices as they want evenly matched teams.

weirdo0521 · Post by **weirdo0521** » December 29, 2006 10:44 am

OceanCityGirl wrote:these are actually rubber band like. They are sort of like those livestrong bracelets only thinner but they wear them pushed up their arm in one or two spots. Sometimes they wear them on their calves. They also wear stocking like bands around their elbow.
About the rankings - week 12 rutgers 9-0 ranked 7
week 13 rutgers 9-1 ranked 15
so that's where the big drop happened. I assumed it was calculated based on wins and losses within your division. I didn't realize they'd take into consideration your previous seasons and the strength of the teams you played for an actual ranking. I can understand these things being used for bowl game choices as they want evenly matched teams.

Well it hadd a lot to do with who they lost to, Cincinatti an unranked team (that pretty much thumped them).

Those are 2 different types of bands. The ones they wear on the arms are basically sweatbands, to keep seat from dripping down their arms, mainly worn by recievers.

The bands worn on the legs tend to be a tension type, similar to neoprene braces worn in the past.

OceanCityGirl · Post by **OceanCityGirl** » December 29, 2006 11:08 am

i was actually told they wear them for looks, that it makes their muscles look bigger and their veins pop out. Didn't sound right but you never know.

Skibo · Post by **Skibo** » December 29, 2006 11:24 am

Strength of schedule is important also. Rutgers didn't play anyone outside their conference that was strong, nor did the Big East. Losing to an unranked big east team killed them. That entire conference needs to strengthen their schedules and beat ranked teams before it will ever be respected as a contender. Losing BC, Miami and Va Tech really set that conference back.

CrznDnUS1 · Post by **CrznDnUS1** » December 29, 2006 11:30 am

Does anyone know if this game will be re-aired? I did watch it but my brother who was at the game forgot to watch tape it and asked me to record it if it re-airs. I looked all over the cabelvision side and nflnetwork site and found no mention of it. As far as the rubber band thingies, they are either to prevent from muscle pulls or I like you idea better, just for looks.