A different feeling around Rutgers this season

Coming off its most successful year ever, once-hapless Rutgers enters a season ranked for the first time.

The No. 16 Scarlet Knights look to pick up where they left off last year when they face lowly Buffalo on Thursday night in search of their eighth consecutive home victory.

Rutgers flirted with an undefeated season and a BCS berth in 2006, winning its first nine games before finishing with a team-record 11-2 mark. The Knights capped off their dazzling year with a 37-10 victory over Kansas State in the Texas Bowl and were 12th in the final AP poll after climbing as high as seventh on Nov. 12.

"We were the 12th-ranked team in the country, but when you do it for the first time you can't really say you're a top-15 program," said Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, who was named Big East coach of the year. "If we can do it over some period of time, then you become one of those programs that people talk about traditionally. That's the next step for this program."

Schiano started his tenure at Rutgers, heralded as the birthplace of college football, with four losing seasons, but is the first coach to lead the Scarlet Knights to bowls in consecutive years. His success was rewarded with a contract extension that runs through 2016.

Rutgers' rise has the university looking to spend $116 million to expand its football stadium, and the school has already altered its logo to add "New Jersey," claiming its location was in question.

With 14 returning starters -- including star tailback Ray Rice -- and eight home games, the Scarlet Knights are looking to again make a run at the Big East title. They finished tied for second last year, one game behind Louisville.

"Right now the guys are on a straight path," said Rice, who ran for a school-record 1,794 yards and 20 touchdowns last season. "It's all right to be confident but not get overconfident. It's all right to walk around with confidence and know that you're doing something well, but come back ready to work."

Rutgers, which has been ranked in a team-record 13 consecutive polls, will try to continue its unprecedented success and build on its seven-game home winning streak, the longest on-campus surge since a 20-game run from Nov. 16, 1974-Nov. 25, 1978. The Knights have not lost at Rutgers Stadium since a 45-31 defeat to South Florida on Nov. 5, 2005. Since then, they've beaten opponents at home by an average of 25.4 points per game.

Rice, a second team All-American in 2006 as a sophomore, is the centerpiece of Rutgers' offense. He finished with the most carries in the nation at 335, the second-most rushing touchdowns and third-most yards gained on the ground.

"I would hope that we wouldn't have to give him that many carries (again) because we have other options at the skill positions," Schiano said. "But then again, Ray's one of those guys who gets better and stronger as the game goes on. He trains like a maniac to be able to do that. He's got the gift."

Quarterback Mike Teel could give Schiano a reason to lesson the load on Rice. Teel is looking to build on his strong finish to 2006, as he completed 65.2 percent of passes for 692 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in the last three games.

That was an improvement after he posted a 52.4 completion percentage for 1,443 yards, seven scores and 13 picks in the first 10 contests. Teel was intercepted a career-high four times in a 42-21 loss at Cincinnati on Nov. 18 that ended the Knights' nine-game winning streak.

Teel, though, is 12-3 as Rutgers' starter and seems to be emerging as the team leader. He recently voiced his displeasure with the Knights' preseason struggles.

"If we don't play better, we're not going to be No. 16 for long," Teel said. "The whole offensive team is going to have to work harder. Not just me, but the line, the receivers, the backs. We have to put it all together and we need it now.

"I look around and I am one of the older guys now. I took over last year, but now, this is my time. And it's time for the team to step up together."

Having its top two wide receivers back could help Rutgers achieve that. Tiquan Underwood and Kenny Britt are hoping to see their contributions increase after the departure of tight end Clark Harris, the team's 2006 leader in receptions and receiving yards.

Underwood led the Knights with four touchdown catches and had 23 receptions for 290 yards in nine games. Britt emerged as a consistent target for Teel in the second half of the season, catching 29 passes for 440 yards and two touchdowns in six games.

While the offense looks to continue its development, the defense, which ranked No. 4 in the nation in yards allowed last season, returns six starters. One of those is first-team All-Big East defensive tackle Eric Foster, who had six of Rutgers' 41 sacks in 2006.

Rutgers is looking for its fifth victory in six games against the Bulls, who went 2-10 last season and 1-7 in the Mid-American Conference, finishing at the bottom of the Eastern Division.

Second-year coach Turner Gill is hoping Buffalo, perennially one of the worst teams in the country, can improve, at least at home.

"I'm really going to emphasize winning all of our home games," he said. "That's our biggest goal. We have to establish a home-field advantage. That will help us get more confidence when we play on the road.

"I dislike losing."

The Bulls are 12-79 since moving to Division I-A in 1999, including 4-45 on the road.

Quarterback Drew Willy will try to help Buffalo improve an offense that produced only 24 touchdowns in last season. Willy, a third-year starter out of Randolph, N.J., completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 1,391 yards with six touchdowns and six interceptions in 2006.