Following Saturday’s win over Michigan State, the outlook from ESPN FPI for Rutgers football is the best it has been in nearly a decade.
Rutgers is 5-2 (2-2 Big Ten) and off to their best start since the return of head coach Greg Schiano to the program. On Saturday, Rutgers overcame an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a 27-24 win against Michigan State.
And outlets such as ESPN are projecting a solid finish for the Scarlet Knights.
The projections from ESPN have Rutgers trending in the right direction with a 6.5-5.5 record. That has ESPN putting Rutgers either at the needed six wins to get into a bowl game or potentially going 7-5.
That would equal the Rutgers regular season finish in 2014, their first season in the Big Ten. They went on to beat North Carolina that year in the Quick Lane Bowl to finish 8-5.
Rutgers hasn’t had a winning season since that first year in the Big Ten under then-head coach Kyle Flood.
A look at how ESPN FPI is projecting the remaining five games for Rutgers football:
- @ Indiana on Oct. 21 (68.0 percent to win)
- vs. No. 3 Ohio State on Nov. 4 (7.8 percent to win)
- @ No. 24 Iowa on Nov. 11 (29.5 percent to win)
- @ No. 7 Penn State on Nov. 18 (5.7 percent to win)
- vs. Maryland on Nov. 25 (38.7 percent to win)
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Following Saturday’s game at Indiana, the next three opponents for Rutgers are all ranked, with two of those being top 10 teams. It underscores the importance for Rutgers of Saturday’s game at Indiana if they are to become bowl-eligible.