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	Sunday, September 3 Staying healthy key for make or break season
	By Bill Doherty Special to ESPN.com Rutgers Scarlet Knights 1999 Record: 1-10 (1-6 Big East) Coach: Terry Shea Returning Starters: 9 (6 offense, 3 defense) Outlook In a word, grim. Shea enters his fifth year at Rutgers with only four Big East wins. In fact, last November's 24-21 overtime shocker over Syracuse probably saved his job. But for how long? With only three starters back on defense, Shea has some serious retooling to do as the Scarlet Knights switch from a 4-3 scheme to a 3-4 alignment this autumn. The good news? Like fellow Big East doormat Temple, Rutgers has softened up its non-league schedule this season, replacing Cal and Texas with I-AA Villanova and I-A weakling Buffalo. A 2-0 start is a must, because the Knights travel to Virginia Tech in Week 3. Keep an eye on ... Senior QB Mike McMahon. After leading the Big East in passing yards through four games, the 6-3, 215-pound McMahon went down with a season-ending shoulder injury in the fifth game and the team completely fell apart without him. McMahon is a talent, but he'll need to stay in one piece if Rutgers hopes to improve a unit that ranked 102nd out of 114 Division I-A teams in total offense last fall. It's a good season if ... Shea can somehow replace eight lost starters and four offensive linemen who graduated. Otherwise, teams will continue to score at will (the Scarlet Knights allowed a Big East-worst 38.3 ppg last year) and McMahon could end up in an ambulance again. Bill Doherty covers Big East football for ESPN.com		AROUND THE BIG EAST Boston College Miami Pittsburgh Rutgers Syracuse Temple Virginia Tech West Virginia ALSO SEE 'Canes looking to reclaim Big East