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The first thing Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano wanted to talk about following Saturday’s impressive win over a good Delaware team wasn’t necessarily any x’s and o’s with regards to his team or even the predictably lopsided nature of the final score. It was the fans. Schiano wanted to talk about the fans
In particular, the student section, which was led on Saturday by the hardcore group known as ‘The Riot Squad.’
The student section has been very good through the season’s first two games, filling up in numbers not seen for several years. They showed up early and were loud as Rutgers rolled to a 45-13 win over the Fightin’ Blue Hens, the No. 6 team in the FCS.
Rutgers is now 3-0 as they head into Big Ten play on Saturday at No. 19 Michigan. Both home games for the Scarlet Knights have been blowouts.
“Well, it was good to get back home in front of our fans. I thought the student section was outstanding,” Schiano told reporters after the game.
“They got here early again and stayed for a better part of the game which I was really pleased with.”
What a healthy student section. You love to see it. pic.twitter.com/w2oTcdUxek
— DieterTheFireTweeter (@DietrichDeeds) September 18, 2021
As might be expected, given the program’s struggles the past few years, the atmosphere on game day has suffered for Rutgers. And with COVID-19 restricting crowds last season, there hasn’t been a true home-field advantage at SHI Stadium for quite some time.
But Schiano has made that a point of emphasis since his arrival back at Rutgers. Speaking two years ago at a basketball game as part of his return to the program, the head coach made it a point that he wanted the Rutgers students to create the best section in the country.
He also has posted on social media, encouraging the students to come out for gameday, and made an appearance before the season opener at convocation where he emphasized the need for a large and loud student section.
To their credit, the student section arrived on Saturday early – always a point of contention for Rutgers fans – and stayed well into the second half, even as the game got well out of reach for Delaware.