Finally, a road game. After starting off the 2022 season with the first three games at home, the Hawkeyes start their Big Ten slate in Piscataway, N.J., against Rutgers.
After a disastrous era under former head coach Chris Ash, last year the Scarlet Knights really started to make some progress under now-Rutgers head football coach Greg Schiano. The Ash era included an 8-33 overall record, a 3-27 mark in Big Ten play and three of his four seasons were winless conference campaigns. Now, Rutgers is starting to become somewhat respectable again with Schiano back at the helm.
While 5-7 overall and 3-8 in Big Ten games aren’t the most glamorous records in the world, they are miles better than previous years for a Scarlet Knights program that has really struggled to adjust to the Big Ten. They still weren’t that good, but certainly don’t appear close to as bad as the squad that lost 78-0 at home against Michigan in 2016.
While 2021 was one of the more respectable years in program history, Rutgers lost some key players on offense. Wide receiver Bo Melton and running back Isiah Pacheco both were selected in the 2022 NFL draft and will be big losses for the Scarlet Knights.
Schiano is starting to build something in North Jersey, bringing in two four-star recruits in the 2022 recruiting class, but it is yet to be seen whether or not they can take another step forward this coming season. Here are the opposing players to watch during Iowa’s first away game of the season against Rutgers.