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Rutgers won nine games, its second-highest total in 31 years, and completed the 2009 season with a bowl victory in St. Petersburg.
Still, the postseason victory against Central Florida left the Scarlet Knights feeling lacking.
''It was bittersweet at the end,'' receiver Mohamed Sanu said. ''We ended up getting a bowl victory, but we felt like we should've ended up better than we did.''
Sanu, who proved to be one of the Big East Conference's most dynamic all-purpose threats as a freshman last season, insists there's a different feeling around Rutgers.
''Everybody's focused on the little details now,'' said Sanu, who as wideout and wildcat quarterback became the first Rutgers player in 16 years to record touchdowns passing, rushing and receiving in the same season. ''We just weren't consistent last year so we want to be much more consistent. There needs to be better focus in a lot of different areas and we just have to come out and stay the moment.''
Rutgers' hopes of contending for its first Big East championship may depend on Sanu not only duplicating his 1,073 all-purpose yards but also Tom Savage building on a freshman campaign in which he passed for 2,211 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Savage displayed maturity beyond his years in guiding the Scarlet Knights to a 9-4 record.
''Tom's a levelheaded guy,'' said Greg Schiano, who enters his 10th season as Rutgers coach with a 55-55 record. ''I think that's one of his strengths at the quarterback position. He never gets too high, never gets too low.''
Much of Savage's success rests on whether an offensive line that graduated two starters and had Anthony Davis jump to the NFL early and become the No. 11 pick by San Francisco.
Davis will be replaced by Desmond Stapleton, a fourth-year junior with one career start, while left guard Desmond Wynn, center Howard Barbieri, right guard Caleb Ruch and right tackle Art Forst figure to fill the other spots an untested line.
''There are some new guys in the mix but I think with the experience of the guys returning we will be just fine,'' said Barbieri, a fifth-year senior who moves to center after playing the other four spots on the line the past three seasons.
Joe Martinek, who ran for 967 yards, will have to fend off a quartet of fleet-footed tailbacks, including true freshmen Casey Turner and Jordan Thomas, to keep his carries.
Schiano has made it known he wasn't satisfied with last year's rushing production.
''We need to be able to run the ball consistently and we need to be able to run the ball when we want to run the ball,'' Schiano said. ''It needs to be part of our physical nature. I don't think we were as physical a team on offense because we didn't run the ball effectively. That's how you establish your physical nature.''
Thanks to the return of six starters and arguably the deepest defensive line he's coached, Schiano isn't nearly as concerned with a defense that rated in the top 20 nationally in seven statistical categories, including total defense (18th, 307.7 yards per game) and scoring defense (16th, 17.9 point per game), last season.
''We have a lot of experience,'' said defensive tackle Scott Vallone, who anchors a unit that finished first nationally in tackles-for-loss and fifth in turnovers gained last season. ''We don't want to regress in any sense. We want to get better and build off our experiences.''
While Rutgers will return experienced players at key skill positions and on the interiors of the defense, 75 percent of the roster is comprised of players with three or more years of eligibility remaining.
''We're a young, talented team,'' Schiano said. ''It's going to be an exciting team to watch because we're going to get better every week. How fast they develop will kind of tell the story of 2010.''
