ESPN College Football

They're finally playing football games that matter in Piscataway, N.J., but Rutgers quarterback Ryan Hart can't possibly encounter a more pressure-packed situation than the one he faced his freshman year.

That's when Hart began dating the athletic director's daughter … who happened to be a senior.

Talk about a quarterback sneak.

Obviously, the move had a chance to blow up like a Herman Edwards news conference, but it turns out Hart's relationship with Deidre Mulcahy -- daughter of Rutgers AD Robert Mulcahy III -- has blossomed in concordance with the school's football program.

Which is to say, it's flourishing.

"It was awkward when she first told him," Hart said. "He didn't really believe it. I was a freshman, and she was a senior. She's three years older than me. But he knew I was a good guy."

And now?

"It's not that bad," Hart said, laughing. "Mr. Mulcahy is a great guy."

Mr. Mulcahy's football program is off to its best eight-game start since 1979. The Scarlet Knights (6-2 overall, 3-1 in the Big East) became bowl eligible for the first time since 1992 with a 31-21 victory over visiting Navy on Saturday and might actually play in a bowl game for the first time since 1978.

This, from a program that came into the season with a 3-24 conference record under coach Greg Schiano.

This, from a program that lost to Division I-AA New Hampshire last season, lost to Villanova and Buffalo (not the Bills) on successive weekends in 2002 and dropped an 80-7 squeaker to a bad West Virginia team in 2001.

No wonder Schiano's players gave him a Gatorade bath after the Navy game. Mulcahy reportedly wiped tears from his face as the second-largest crowd (41,716) to witness a game at Rutgers Stadium celebrated the win. The student section stormed the field.

"I realized then that these people had been hungry for this for such a long time," said senior defensive end Ryan Neill. "They've been dying to see a day like this."

Hart personifies the team's resiliency. He had made 32 consecutive starts -- and broken just about every significant school passing record -- before he was benched in favor of talented redshirt freshman Mike Teel after a 27-14 loss to West Virginia on Oct. 8.

Schiano informed Hart of the move before a Tuesday practice. Hart, a senior, won't soon forget the feeling of watching Teel work with the first team that day. The coach called it his toughest personnel decision since he came to Rutgers five years ago.

It was 10 times tougher for Hart.

"I'd waited my whole life to get to this point," Hart said. "Coach Schiano didn't really tell me until Tuesday afternoon, right before our meetings. I kind of had to swallow it up, and Mike pretty much got all the reps that day because he needed to get ready. To sit on the sidelines and not get any reps was very tough for me to swallow."

Hart could have lashed out. He could have sulked -- and he might have if not for his parents, Deidre and a call from Archie Manning, of all people.

Manning played most of his career with the New Orleans Saints, so he was able to deliver a special perspective on dealing with adversity. He knew Hart because he'd invited him to work at a quarterbacks camp in Louisiana last summer.

"He's been in these situations before," Hart said. "He said, 'Hang in there buddy. You have to stay prepared physically and mentally like you're the starter.' He said his sons [Eli and Peyton] were in situations like that, where they were questioned about their abilities. He just said, 'Stay focused and you'll get your shot.' He was right. I did."

Two weeks later, to be precise. That's when Teel went down with a shoulder injury at Connecticut. Hart threw for three second-half touchdowns in a come-from-behind, 26-24 victory. He followed that with a precise, 18-for-21 performance in the victory over Navy. The 85.7 completion percentage was a career high and the highest in the Big East this season.

The way Hart sees it, the job is his to lose again, even though Teel is nearly ready to play.

"I think I've won the job back," Hart said. "I think I've played well enough to be the starter here, but I feel like I still have to go out and work hard and play well every week to keep it."

Schiano wasn't quite so definitive when he was asked who will start Saturday against visiting South Florida.

"I think Ryan Hart," Schiano said. "Mike Teel is still not, health-wise, ready to go, so I imagine that's what would happen. But I want to see what Mike's health situation is and keep moving day-to-day. Ryan did a good job, though."

Schiano appreciated Hart's professional approach. He replaced Hart because he liked Teel's stronger arm. It's also fair to say that Hart, over the course of his career, often put up big numbers because Rutgers trailed by such wide margins (and he was tied for the national lead in interceptions last season with 19). But he has settled down along with the team, throwing 11 touchdown passes and just three interceptions this season while completing 60.2 percent of his attempts.

And nobody can question Hart's heart. Or his class.

"He handled that situation as well as anybody could, being in his fourth year as a starter and seeing a younger guy put in front of him," Neill said. "He set a good example for everybody on what it means to be a team guy."

Rutgers fans, meanwhile, are so pumped up they hardly know what to do with themselves. The Web site scarletnation.com has seen a 20 percent increase in traffic this season, according to board operator John Otterstedt.

"I've been running the site since 1997, and it's basically been eight years of torture to this point, which makes this so sweet," Otterstedt said.

It would be wise not to pencil in victory No. 7 just yet. Remember, Rutgers dropped five straight after starting 4-2 last season. But this team, for all its flaws, has a fairly hardy defense, some difference-makers on special teams and an abundance of offensive talent with the likes of Hart, all-conference fullback Brian Leonard, tailback Ray Rice, all-conference wide receiver Tres Moses, receiver Shawn Tucker and tight end Clark Harris.

The Scarlet Knights take care of the ball, too. In fact, nobody in the country does it better. Rutgers has lost one fumble all season.

As a bonus, people actually recognize these guys on campus.

"Even the professors get into it," Hart said. "I've been around for four years, and I've never seen that happen. I think everyone's really excited for our next game."

It's been a long time since anyone said that about a Rutgers game in November.

Joe Starkey covers the Big East for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.