Rutgers’ Slim Hope for a Bowl Game
Photo Credit: 247 Sports
College Football Preview Magazine:
Rutgers getting to .500? How is that even possible in what might be college football’s most difficult division for 2023 in the Big Ten East? Try one of the more manageable nonconference slates in the entire country. Rutgers gets Temple, Wagner and Virginia Tech all at home this season. So, of the three nonconference opponents, only two of them are FBS teams and both of those FBS teams – Virginia Tech and Temple – finished with three wins last season (fewer than Rutgers’ four wins). Rutgers will also get a couple of winnable Big Ten teams at home this season: Northwestern, as one of its crossover opponents from the Big Ten West Division, and Michigan State, which has a lot to replace from last year’s team, especially offensively. Rutgers will have a winnable road game against Indiana, which ranks 121st in returning production. The next most winnable game for Rutgers will be its season finale at home against Maryland.
If Rutgers is not already at six wins when it faces Maryland, then the Maryland game could get interesting. Here’s why: There is a good chance Maryland would have lost two of its previous three games going into the Rutgers game, having faced both Penn State and Michigan in November. Given that Maryland would have most likely lost to Ohio State earlier in the season, this would give Maryland – at the time of going into the Rutgers game – likely at least three conference losses and a situation where Maryland is not playing for either a Big Ten Championship appearance or a NY6 bowl appearance. Sometimes in a situation like this late in a regular season, you’ll see a (5-6) team beat an (8-3) or (7-4) team because the (5-6) team needs that win to achieve bowl eligibility while the team with the better record going into that last game of the season may not have as much to play for.
Rutgers should have a good defense this season and will have an experienced offensive line with proven depth at running back. The biggest question will be the passing game, as quarterback and receiver are the biggest unknowns at the moment. Rutgers will probably need to keep games lower scoring to have a chance of winning. Given Rutgers’ home slate that features mostly struggling opposing offenses, there is a small chance Rutgers could start the season well with wins against Northwestern and a manageable nonconference slate and, as a result, gain momentum early in the season and get those wins early before the schedule gets more difficult later on.
Is this exact scenario unlikely to occur? Yes. but this scenario in which Rutgers makes a bowl game is not impossible. This is something to watch out for this season.