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Rutgers may have lost at Michigan on Saturday, but the Scarlet Knights actually saw their bowl probability go up.
It was a gutsy and at the same time gut-wrenching 20-13 loss for Rutgers at then-No. 19 Michigan in Week 4 (the Wolverines climbed up five spots in the latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll with the win). It was the type of loss that got Rutgers national attention, especially the way that the Scarlet Knights played in the second half in very nearly pulling off the upset.
Now, ESPN FPI has Rutgers projected for 6.8 wins and favored in four Big Ten games. Last week, Rutgers was at 6.6 wins and favored in three games.
Rutgers is now favored at Northwestern (October 16), at Illinois (October 30), at Wisconsin (November 6), and in the season finale, a home game against Maryland (November 27).
The addition of Wisconsin (55.3 percent) is a new projected win for Rutgers. Wisconsin got blown out on Saturday against a very good Notre Dame team. Wisconsin is now out of the top 25 following the loss.
Why would Rutgers win projection increase? First off, the Scarlet Knights were impressive in their loss against the now No. 14 Wolverines. But also, it was a rough weekend for some upcoming opponents leading Rutgers to rise in estimation while other Big Ten teams sunk.
Illinois is struggling, Northwestern has been surprisingly bad this season, aforementioned Wisconsin got blown out on Saturday and Indiana barely beat Western Kentucky. Rutgers losing on the road to a now top 15 team doesn’t look so bad in comparison.
Rutgers faces three Big Ten teams on their schedule that are currently ranked. The best chance for an upset win comes on October 9 against No. 16 Michigan State (42.3 percent).
The win projection, given their current 3-1 record, would be enough to get Rutgers into their first bowl game since 2014. It would also mark Rutgers first winning record since that season.