Indiana football fans took over Rutgers' homecoming in latest embarrassment

PISCATAWAY – Fatima Popcakova grew up in New Jersey, lives in Wayne and has a master’s degree from Rutgers University, and on Saturday she attended the Scarlet Knights’ homecoming football game clad in red.

Indiana Hoosiers red.

Popcakova earned her doctorate in dentistry from Indiana University, and it wasn’t hard to pick a side for this one.

“Indiana, of course,” she said. “We’re the national champions!”

She sat six rows behind Indiana’s sideline, surrounded by a sea of Indiana football fans who ringed the lower level. A few minutes into the third quarter, with their Hoosiers cruising to a 47-15 victory, they represented the majority of the fans left at SHI Stadium.

Popcakova’s friend in the next seat over was an Indiana native and IU alum who was amazed by the sight and sound of Hoosiers faithful taking over a Big Ten stadium 750 miles away.

“I never thought I’d see the day when our fans would show up like this,” she said.

Visiting fans living it up at Rutgers football’s expense is an annual occurrence, but this one hit a little differently because for generations, Indiana was the Big Ten's tackling dummy.

That all changed on a dime thanks to a massive infusion of roster capital plus an inspired head-coaching hire.

Rutgers’ new administration is working on the first part, although having Indiana alum and tech billionaire Mark Cuban in your corner is a tough formula to replicate. Still, somewhere along the line someone at Indiana built or maintained a bridge to Cuban.

Rutgers hasn’t always gotten that stuff right in the past. Former athletics director Julie Hermann famously spurned one of its most famous alums, NBA commissioner David Stern, whose net worth didn’t reside in Cuban’s neighborhood but was nothing to sneeze at. Eddie Jordan, who was the Scarlet Knights’ men’s basketball coach at the time, wanted to bring Stern as a guest to a football game and asked Hermann for prime seats. She gave him tickets for a corner instead.

Who knows how many doors like that were closed by hapless administrators on the banks, but second-year athletics director Keli Zinn and her team are working the revenue-stream angle hard.

As for the inspired coaching hire part, that opportunity almost certainly is coming soon. Is there a Curt Cignetti out there for Rutgers? If Indiana can win big after decades as a doormat, is that possible here on the banks? The Hoosiers' revival should give the Scarlet Knights’ long-suffering faithful at least a ray of hope.

Because nothing is more depressing that a homecoming game dominated by visiting fans and their vastly superior team. Again.

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Indiana football fans took over Rutgers' homecoming in latest embarrassment