Where does Rutgers rank in national media’s Big Ten football predictions?
Another college football season, another year in the bottom of the Big Ten for Rutgers.
That is the prediction from most of the national media, with outlets steadily releasing their preseason prognostications for the conference as the first full slate of the 2023 campaign approaches this weekend.
The Scarlet Knights, who finished in last place in the Big Ten East last season with a 1-7 record in conference play, are expected to remain in the Big Ten basement in the fourth season of head coach Greg Schiano’s second stint at the helm.
Here’s where each outlet places Rutgers in their preseason pecking order:
The Athletic
Stewart Mandel, the editor-in-chief of the publication’s college football coverage, predicted Rutgers will finish in sixth place in the seven-team Big Ten East, finishing above only Indiana with a 2-7 record in conference play and a 5-7 record overall.
In their Big Ten tier rankings, Nebraska beat writer Mitch Sherman and Michigan beat writer Austin Meek placed Rutgers in the fourth and final rung of the ladder:
The Scarlet Knights can’t escape the Big Ten East fast enough. Playing Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State every year hasn’t helped their transition to the Big Ten, but they haven’t been particularly good against anyone else in the league, either.
Rutgers opens the season at home against Northwestern and has a great chance to equal last year’s Big Ten win total by Labor Day. There’s a path to be 3-0 after home games against Temple and Virginia Tech, which would put bowl eligibility within reach. The Scarlet Knights are banking on offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca to help quarterback Gavin Wimsatt take the next step and fix a passing game that ranked last in the Big Ten in completion percentage, yards per attempt and yards per game last season.
The report included a quote from an anonymous Big Ten assistant coach on each of the conference’s teams. Here’s what he said about Rutgers:
“I think Greg (Schiano) is going to do the best he can at Rutgers. But they’re just gonna be limited by who they play. When Chris (Ash) took that job, I thought he was out of his mind. Because just to get to a bowl game and think about what you’re gonna do on your side of the league? It can’t be done.”
ESPN
National writer Mark Schlabach predicts Rutgers will go 4-8 overall and finish in sixth place in the Big Ten East.
The outlet’s FPI computer rankings place the Scarlet Knights as the worst team in the Big Ten and 75th nationally, projecting a 4-8 record and giving them a 19.4% chance of reaching the six-win mark and clinching their first traditional bowl bid since the 2014 season. A big reason for that: it also lists Rutgers as having the third-strongest schedule in the conference and the eighth-strongest schedule in college football.
CBS
All eight of the publication’s experts predicted Rutgers will finish in the bottom two of the Big Ten East, with three of them picking the Scarlet Knights to finish in last place.
FOX
National writer Michael Cohen picks Rutgers to finish sixth in the Big Ten East. He adds that “anything north of four wins would be impressive considering a tricky non-conference slate that features games against Virginia Tech, Temple and Wagner.”
Athlon
A popular preseason magazine, the outlet’s online edition released a preseason ranking of every Big Ten team at the start of the month. It placed Rutgers at 12th, ahead only of Indiana and Northwestern.
“A defense that returns seven starters from a unit that held teams to just 5.2 yards per play allowed should be a strength once again. While the Scarlet Knights have the defense trending in the right direction, the offense needs to take a step forward after averaging only 17.4 points a contest last fall. The hire of Kirk Ciarrocca as play-caller is one of the Big Ten’s top coordinator moves, which should help promising sophomore quarterback Gavin Wimsatt improve his overall play in ‘23.”
