Following wins in their first two games, Rutgers football has an important Week 3 match-up against Virginia Tech. According to ESPN, Rutgers is currently the favorite in what will be a meeting between two former Big East rivals.
If Rutgers is going to be bowl-eligible this year, then winning on Saturday afternoon is going to be a near must.
According to the ESPN Matchup Predictor, Rutgers is favored at 68.6 percent. The Hokies look improved from last year when they finished 3-8. They lost seven of their final eight games in the 2022 season.
Heading into Week 3, Virginia Tech is 1-1 following Saturday’s disappointing home loss to Purdue.
It is a program that gave head coach Greg Schiano fits back when both schools were in the old Big East. The last time these two teams played was in 2003 when Virginia Tech beat Rutgers 48-22 at what is now SHI Stadium.
Virginia Tech left the Big East for the ACC in 2004.
Rutgers has had a solid start to the season, showing a 2-0 record for the third time in as many years. They opened the season with a Big Ten win over Northwestern and followed it up on Saturday night with a four-quarter surge to beat Temple.
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Why is the Virginia Tech game so big? Three wins to start the year would be beneficial to the program heading into a Week 4 game at Michigan. The Wolverines won the Big Ten a year ago and made the College Football Playoff.
Michigan is off to a 2-0 start, having most recently beaten UNLV on Saturday.