It appears that Rutgers football has been trending towards one bowl destination for several weeks, and ESPN is now locked-in with that destination.
In their latest bowl projections, ESPN college football insiders Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura both have Rutgers going to the Pinstripe Bowl (Bronx, New York). While both ESPN writers are in lock-step when it comes to this being the destination for Rutgers, the bowl game opponent is different.
Schlabach has Georgia Tech as the opponent for Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl (which is the same opponent as his pick last week). But Nonagura has Rutgers playing Clemson.
It is certainly an intriguing match-up projection for Rutgers against a team that has been among the best in the nation over the past decade.
This has been a down year for Clemson by their usual standards (7-4) but the Tigers are certainly trending in the right direction. They’ve won their last three games, with two of those wins coming against ranked teams.
Dabo Swinney’s dynasty isn’t over, to say the least.
Clemson has made the College Football Playoff six times since 2015. They won the national championship in 2018 and again in 2018 (they also won a national championship in 1981).
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At 6-5 (3-5 Big Ten), Rutgers is bowl-eligible for the first time since 2014. A win on Saturday against Maryland (6-5, 3-5 Big Ten) would be their first win since Greg Schiano returned to rebuild the program in 2020.
This would be the third time that Rutgers plays in the Pinstripe Bowl. Their first appearance came in 2011, when the Scarlet Knights beat Iowa State.
That was Schiano’s final game as head coach of Rutgers before he left for the NFL to become head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Scroll down and check out some of the best photos from Rutgers football over the past few weeks!