LB Greene, Scarlet Knights made for Manhattan

Khaseem Greene grew up a half-hour train ride from New York City, but the Rutgers junior linebacker never spent "more than a couple hours" there. So you can imagine his anticipation for when Rutgers spends four days in Manhattan leading up to the Dec. 30 Pinstripe Bowl. Greene, who is favored to earn the Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year on Wednesday, will look to pad to his league-leading tackles total when the Scarlet Knights (8-4) face Iowa State (6-6) at Yankee Stadium. "I'm a Jersey kid, but I've never really experienced New York," said Greene, who hails from Elizabeth, N.J. "It's always an honor to play in that stadium. It was great to be there once, but now we're going to be up there for a week, and to play a great opponent in Iowa State, it's just going to be a lot of fun." For Rutgers, the Pinstripe marks its sixth bowl appearance in seven years. But unlike past postseason trips, the Scarlet Knights won't need to travel very far as they look to earn their fifth consecutive bowl victory. In fact, a trip to Yankee Stadium from the Central New Jersey campus generally takes less than an hour. "Playing here at home in New York gives a lot of our fans, who maybe can't always afford to travel to a bowl game, the opportunity to experience a bowl game at a much more reasonable expense," coach Greg Schiano said. "It is going to be a great opportunity for our players. "I grew up in North Jersey and other than the night I stay over at the National Football Foundation, I don't know if I have ever stayed over in New York. So, it will be great to stay in New York for a week and (take part in) all the great things that the Yankees have planned for our players." Rutgers hasn't played since losing 40-22 at Connecticut on Nov. 26, a stinging defeat that cost Schiano a share of the program's first Big East championship. "As a competitor, I'm not really looking back at the whole season and what an 8-4 record and going to another bowl game (means)," Schiano said. "Although I'm very proud for Rutgers to be going to its sixth bowl game in seven years - I think that's a big accomplishment - right now I'm just disappointed in the opportunity we had and we didn't perform the way I thought we were capable." Still, the Scarlet Knights turned in a successful regular season as they defied their last-place ranking in the Big East's preseason media poll by reversing their 4-8 record from a year ago. In the end, they finished fourth in the conference. "It is (satisfying). It is for me," Schiano said of returning to the postseason after a one-year absence. "I don't take it for granted, but some maybe took it for granted that, 'Oh, we'll go to a bowl game after going for five-straight years.' Then you are sitting home last year watching everyone else and it eats at you. "As I said last year, there is only one way to get that feeling gone and that is now. We are going back to a bowl and the postseason. "It is big." And it didn't take long for Schiano to realize how dangerous an opponent Iowa State is. In fact, when the Pinstripe matchup was announced, defensive tackle Scott Vallone recalled watching the Cyclones' stunning 37-31 double-overtime win over No. 3 Oklahoma State, an upset that cost the Cowboys a spot in the BCS championship game. "That definitely catches the eye of everybody," Vallone said. "They beat the No. 2 team in the country. "So, we know they're pretty good."