Rutgers football's path to bowl game is straight forward, but will it get there?
For the first time since 2014, the year the program joined the Big Ten, the Rutgers football team has a chance to be bowl-eligible.
And, no, I won't count the 2021 season. In 2021, the Scarlet Knights (3-1, 1-1) finished the regular season 5-7 with all of their hopes of making a bowl game ending with a whimpering 40-16 loss to Maryland in their season finale. That all changed when Texas A&M had to withdraw from the Gator Bowl due to a high number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases.
A day after the Aggies withdrew, Rutgers and head coach Greg Schiano got the call and replaced Texas A&M in the bowl game against Wake Forest. On New Year's Eve, the Knights would get crushed by the Demon Deacons 38-10.
Rutgers had an ever-worse year in 2022, as it finished with a 4-8 record and a 1-8 conference record. It didn’t help that the Knights were dealing with injuries and a season-long quarterback carousel.
After healing up and bringing in new talent to the roster, Rutgers appears to have its best team in years, especially on defense.
The Knights started the 2023 season off with commanding victories over conference foe Northwestern, Temple and Virginia Tech to advance to 3-0 for the third consecutive year. Last week, Rutgers stumbled against No. 2 Michigan in its toughest test yet. But even with that loss, there were still positives to be seen, including the growth of junior quarterback Gavin Wimsatt.
Wimsatt and the Knights will return to Piscataway with a 3-1 record in hand to face off against Wagner on Saturday. They will have a prime chance to take the last three-quarters of the season by the horns.
Last year, Rutgers dismantled the Seahawks (2-2, 2-0) by a score of 66-7. There doesn't seem to be much worry that the Knights will fall to Wagner this season, especially with a newer, much more talented roster. By Saturday night, Rutgers might be 4-1, with its eyes set on Wisconsin the week after.
The Badgers would be the Knights' second toughest challenge of the season so far. It will be an easier matchup than the one against the Wolverines (4-0, 1-0), but escaping Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, with a victory will be tough. Rutgers might keep it close but will probably fall to 4-2 after getting defeated by Wisconsin.
The next two games are probably the Knights' two biggest games of the season: Michigan State at home and Indiana on the road.
The Spartans (2-2, 0-1) are certainly not the same team from years past, and they will be traveling to SHI Stadium on Busch campus for Rutgers' annual Homecoming game. Michigan State is 2-2 on the year, having put up 16 total points in their last two games combined against Washington and the Terrapins (4-0, 1-0).
After the Spartans, Rutgers is set to make a stop in Bloomington, Indiana, the following week to face the Hoosiers (2-2, 0-1). Indiana has not fared well against the Knights in the last two seasons, with losses to Rutgers by scores of 38-3 at Memorial Stadium and 24-17 in Piscataway, respectively.
This game is absolutely crucial for the Knights' bowl chances, and I predict they will rise to the occasion with humongous, back-to-back conference victories. If Rutgers wins those two games, as I predict, it will already have its tickets to go bowling by October 21.
If the Knights find themselves with five wins after week eight, there might be a problem as football behemoths Ohio State and Penn State, as well as tough conference opponents Iowa and Maryland, make up their final four games. Rutgers has yet to beat the Buckeyes (4-0, 1-0) or the Nittany Lions (4-0, 2-0) since joining the Big Ten with a combined 0-18 record against both squads.
The Knights are 0-3 against the Hawkeyes (3-1, 0-1) in program history, and it will be tough to earn that first-ever win against Iowa on the road. Rutgers has fared a little bit better against the Terrapins, but a 3-6 record since 2014 isn’t exactly concerning to Maryland, especially when it has taken victories over the Knights in 4 out of its last 5 matchups.
The moral of the story? Beat Wagner, Michigan State and Indiana, the games that it should win, and Rutgers will have to rev up the buses for its 12th-ever bowl game in program history.
If the Knights can’t beat one of the Spartans or the Hoosiers in their mid-season battles, then Rutgers will have to toughen it out in what would be four of its most critical Big Ten games ever.
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