Cross-Country Rivals

For two schools nearly 2,500 miles away from one another, it sure seems like Rutgers and Arizona State meet with a lot of on the line way too much to be a coincidence.
The 1978 Garden State Bowl went to the Sun Devils.
So did the 2005 Insight.com Bowl.
The Rutgers women's basketball team showed a measure of respect by not accepting a forfeit after tragedy struck the Arizona State women's program earlier this season, but evened the score for those football losses with a rout in the Elite 8 Monday.
Surely an Elite 8 victory is more impressive than a victory in a play-out-the-string mid-December bowl game. Or is it?
Football -- even during its most meaningless moment -- gets more national attention than the women's Final Four.
So who is making out on that trade, ASU or RU?
What do you think?

THREE REASONS WHY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER FOR RUTGERS TO WIN THE INSIGHT.COM BOWL
1. It's football. All those empty seats you saw in the background at the Greensboro Coliseum are the only reminder you need that women's basketball just does not carry the same impact as football or men's basketball.
2. Revenue. The payout for bowls is big. Especially the payout to the winner. With all the money poured into the football program over the past decade -- and all the criticism that decision received -- the bigger the return, the better.
3. Recruiting. Last season's record and Texas Bowl victory was a Godsend in terms of marketing the program to big-time recruits. But imagine if coach Greg Schiano could walk into homes and say he was a two-time bowl winner or that postseason success is a norm now. Plus, it would have been a nice sendoff for two very deserving seniors, quarterback Ryan Hart and wideout Tres Moses.

THREE REASONS WHY IT WAS BETTER FOR RUTGERS TO WIN THE WOMEN'S ELITE 8 GAME
1. The weight of a monkey off its back. It's ironic that the year Rutgers returned to the Final Four is the year after its premier player -- Cappie Pondexter -- graduated. Still, for a program that is constantly knocking on the door, it was nice to finally break the door down. Two Final Four appearances in nine years is nothing to turn your back on -- especially when a third trip seems like a definite possibility considering the nucleus returning next season.
2. Wake up, Geno. The trash-talking Italian ripped Rutgers fans earlier this season and now has to watch Rutgers play in the Final Four while the UConn Huskies he has coached to national prominence sit home. Rutgers fans can say they wanted another shot at the rival Huskies in the national semifinals, but isn't it sweeter to accomplish something that UConn did not this season?
3. Wouldn't it have been Classic Rutgers to suffer a letdown and lose to ASU after arguably the best victory in program history against top-seeded Duke? Can't you just picture yourself walking around campus or into your office with a bitter attitude wondering when things are going to change at your alma mater? It would have taken only a loss Monday to wash away all the good from Saturday. Now, you can soak in the good for months.