Rutgers is currently three wins away from bowl eligibility, with the Scarlet Knights already claiming two Power Five wins this season. Count USA TODAY among the media outlets believing that Rutgers is trending towards a bowl game.
And with outlets such as ESPN also projecting at least six wins for Rutgers (well, 6.3 wins to be exact), there is some genuine and legitimate optimism about the program heading to bowl eligibility for the first time since 2014.
On Tuesday morning, Rutgers received a projection from USA TODAY which sends the Scarlet Knights to the Pinstripe Bowl.
The opponent in the game is Wake Forest.
It is the same projection from USA TODAY that Rutgers received the week before. Rutgers is now 3-1 on the season following Saturday’s 31-7 loss at No. 2 Michigan.
The Scarlet Knights play Wagner this week.
In 2021, Rutgers served as a replacement team and played Wake Forest in the Gator Bowl. Texas A&M, scheduled to be Wake Forest’s opponent, had to withdraw from the game.
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Rutgers has played in the Pinstripe Bowl twice. In 2011, they beat Iowa State in a game that was Greg Schiano’s final Rutgers game before leaving for the NFL and becoming head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.