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Following a 17-7 win at Syracuse on Saturday afternoon, Rutgers football took another step forward in terms of the credibility of their rebuild under head coach Greg Schiano with a road win over an ACC opponent. They also took another step forward – or make that a leap – in a poll released early on Sunday morning.
Rutgers is now No. 16 in the nation according to FoxSports.com in a poll by national college football writer R.J. Young. Rutgers jumped eight spots in Young’s poll from a week ago.
The Scarlet Knights are now 2-0 and play Delaware on Saturday at SHI Stadium. They are one of five Big Ten teams in Young’s top 25 for FoxSports.
Iowa (2-0), by virtue of their win over Iowa State, is the highest-ranked team in the Big Ten as they moved up five spots to No. 4 in the ranking. Penn State (2-0) dropped a single spot to sixth in the poll as other teams moved up around them. Ohio State (1-1) tumbled six spots to No. 9 after a home loss to Oregon.
Michigan State entered the poll and is No. 18 after beating Youngstown State.
Young raved about the team put together by head coach Greg Schiano in what is the second year of the Scarlet Knights rebuild:
Rutgers has forced eight turnovers, notched seven sacks and outscored opponents in two games. You better watch your pockets when you play in Piscataway because these men are liable to empty them.
Last week following a 61-14 win over Temple, Rutgers received votes in the ‘Week 1: USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.’