New Jersey 2015 Football Season Preview
New Jersey is currently in the process of attempting to bypass the PASPA law and allow state based New Jersey legal sports betting options to its residents. Despite their heavy handed presence in the sports betting arena, the state’s football presence is limited to some prominent college teams and as of now does not include a home state NFL team. This page will take a look at what we can expect from these teams this year.
Princeton Tigers 2015 Football
After ending their spring practice in style by playing it in Osaka, Japan, the Princeton Tigers and head coach Bob Surace are hoping they do well much closer to home. Ideally, that will come in road contests or at home, but the hope is that the record improves from last year’s 5-5 mark that saw them in a tie for fourth in the Ivy League with Brown.
Quarterback will have either junior Kedric Bostic or sophomore Chad Kanoff handling things. What makes that issue so important is that the Tigers are the lone Ivy League squad who is looking at someone new behind center.
Princeton does have some big defensive ends returning in Kurt Holuba and Ty Desire, but are missing a number of players from last year’s unit. In truth, that might be a case of addition by subtraction considering that the Tigers had the dubious distinction of being ranked dead last in the country when it came to defense. Given the level of talent on the teams ahead of them in 2014, it will likely be difficult for Princeton to make much of a move. The hope is that they can at least improve their overall record, which may be difficult, given the uncertainty at quarterback.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 2015 Football
Moving into the Big Ten last year wasn’t quite as painful as some predicted for the Scarlet Knights, who ended up win eight wins last season. That put them in the 2014 Quick Lane Bowl, where they knocked off North Carolina, 40-21. Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood is set to begin his fourth year, but has to decide on which signal caller he wants: LSU transfer Hayden Rettig or returnee Chris Laviano, who thre only 28 passes during the 2014 season.
Whoever wins the job does have plenty of depth in the backfield, with any of these five ready to play: Desmond Peoples, Justin Goodwin, Robert Martin, Josh Hicks and Paul James, who sat out most of last year after suffering a knee injury. The key receiving threat is Leonte Carroo, who decided to come back for one more year after gaining more that 1,000 yards receiving.
On the defensive line. Darius Hamilton will be the man to watch after collecting 11.5 tackles-for-loss during the 2014 campaign. Joining him will be a potential breakout star in Kemoko Turay. Linebacker has Steve Longa and Quentin Gause to handle things, with Longa having compiled triple-digit tackle totals in each of the past two seasons.
Delon Stephenson will be the key man in the secondary, though he should receive help from players like Anthony Cioffi and Nadir Barnwell. In addition, Dre Boggs has the skills to get the job done, but needs to stay focused. The team’s defense wasn’t quite up to the level of the elite in the Big Ten, with the quartet of Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Nebraska unleashing 180 points on the Scarlet Knights. Flood is likely to point that stat out during the 2015 college football season in order to temper enthusiasm about the program’s development.
NFL Teams Supported by New Jersey Football Fans
Even though New Jersey governor Chris Christie has very publicly announced that he roots for the Dallas Cowboys, the state is effectively split three ways. The New York Jets have a small slice of the state, having played in New Jersey since moving from Shea Stadium after the 1983 season.
The New York Giants take up most of the upper half of the state by virtue of having come to the Meadowlands eight years earlier in 1976. The fact that they’ve also won four Super Bowls during that period, compared to zero for the Jets reinforces that fact. Finally, the lower half of the state is closer to Philadelphia, which means that the Eagles reign supreme. How far up the state that support goes, but virtually everything below it definitely bleeds Eagle green.
Legalities With Betting Sports In New Jersey
Check out our page about laws that affect sports betting in New Jersey to gain a better understanding on what your legal options are and what laws play a role.