Rutgers and Miami Make Final Preparations for Pinstripe Bowl

As part of their final preparations for the Pinstripe Bowl, Rutgers and the University of Miami took part in ringing the opening bell on Wall Street, Tuesday.

After a weekend of festivities the two former Big East rivals -- now representing the Big 10 and ACC, respectively, get set to square off on Thursday afternoon from Yankee Stadium. Kick-off will be at 2:15 p.m.

"I think its overall excitement. It's going to be a great turnout for Rutgers nation. It will feel like a home game for us," running back Kyle Monagai said last week in a joint press conference.

Monagai will be the center of attention for the Rutgers offense on Thursday. He led the Big 10 in rushing and is widely considered one of the nation's top running backs.  Rutgers has to get him going and control the line of scrimmage against Miami's stiff front seven.

"He has developed. He was always an intelligent player. He grew a lot from watching himself a year ago and seeing what worked and what didn't," Offensive Coordinator Kirk Cirracco added.

If Rutgers can get Monagai going, it will only benefit quarterback Gavin Wimsatt who led Big Ten quarterbacks with nine rushing touchdowns.

How Rutgers' defense handles the Hurricanes will be the key to the game. Rutgers was 19th nationally in total defense and ninth in red zone defense with 11 stops. Mohamed Toure, Aaron Lewis and Wesley Bailey are the players to watch defensively for the Scarlet Knights.

It will be fascinating to see how this group flusters quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, who threw for 2703 yards and 19 touchdowns during the regular season for Miami.

Fox Sports Radio New Jersey will carry the game beginning at 11 a.m. with Rutgers Game Day with Anthony Fuccilli and Julian Pinnix Odrick. Dom Savino follows with Rutgers Game Day at 12 noon. Kick-off between Miami and Rutgesr is shortly after 2 p.m.

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