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Since entering the Big Ten, Rutgers has never beaten Penn State. Following Saturday’s win at Indiana – an emphatic one at that – Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano talked about the possibility of bowl eligibility ahead of next week’s game at Penn State.
Rutgers, now 5-5 (2-5 Big Ten) following a 38-3 win at Indiana, needs one more win to make a bowl game. With Penn State on the schedule on Saturday, Rutgers is playing arguably its most meaningful game against the Nittany Lions since they met as Big Ten opponents for the first time in 2014.
Schiano was asked after the game his thoughts on his team going into Saturday with bowl eligibility on the line. Rutgers needs to win one of their remaining two games to qualify for a bowl.
(Check out the photo gallery from Rutgers dominant win at Indiana on Saturday)
“Of course we’ve thought about it but we have, you know, a big, big game against Penn State. And I know that we haven’t done enough to become Penn State’s rival. But that’s what should happen in Big Ten football right? It’s Penn State and then three-and-a-half or four hours away is Rutgers. We’re the easternmost schools along with Maryland,” Schiano told reporters after the game.
“The only way they become our rivals if we play well enough to make it that way and that takes years but we haven’t started yet. We got to get it going. Right so we got a huge game this week against Penn State at Penn State and every everything we got is going to go into. They’re a good football team – really good. And we’re going to have to do everything we can to have a chance to win but that’s 100 percent of our focus is there now.”
In 2014, Rutgers very nearly beat Penn State in their first conference game in the Big Ten. Turnovers doomed Rutgers in what would be a 13-10 loss at home. Rutgers has never beaten Penn State since joining the Big Ten eight years ago.
Penn State is 6-3 (3-3 Big Ten) after a loss on Saturday at home to No. 6 Michigan.