PISCATAWAY – Game day is still eight away and the asker has his entry guaranteed anyway. But Tampa native Jonathan Freeny stood straight ahead, Rutgers is headed down to Freeny’s neighborhood and so the question had to come out: “Got four tickets?”

“I’m looking for four if you’ve got them,” Freeny said, laughing at the affectionate poke – but full well serious too. The Scarlet Knights are headed down to the St. Petersburg Bowl, the junior defensive end has so far secured 24 tickets and his dad’s hassling him every day for more.

“It definitely feels like a bowl game,” Freeny said, letting out yet another of those deep, rumbling laughs. He’s a menace on the field – his 8.5 sacks led the Big East’s top-ranked defense – but he’s habitually jovial off it, and if anything’s going to stress him now, it’ll be letting down all the hometown folks desperate to see him.

Really, everything about this week should be stressful for the Scarlet Knights, who’ve never had a post-season turnaround quite like this. They closed their 7-5 season with a tough 24-21 loss last Saturday, late Sunday evening they learned their bowl fate – a Dec. 19 meeting with Central Florida – and in the days since, they’ve moved up their final exam dates, adjusted final paper assignments and drilled on the Central Florida game plan. Head coach Greg Schiano has repeatedly likened it to a bye week and did so again Thursday, saying, “There’s a lot of pressure on these kids right now, there’s no doubt about it.”

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