It has been two decades since Rutgers put together the kind of season that still gets talked about in Scarlet Knights circles. The 2006 team went 11-2, finished No. 12 in the final AP Top 25 poll and delivered a peak that now feels distant. The question hanging over the program is simple enough: can Rutgers ever get back there?
The answer starts with remembering how the rise happened in the first place. Rutgers had no winning seasons from 1993 through 2004 before Greg Schiano’s fifth year finally broke the drought with a 7-5 record. That year opened the door to a strong stretch under Schiano and Kyle Flood, when the Scarlet Knights went 79-49 over a decade.
But that version of Rutgers also benefited from a conference landscape that no longer exists. Miami and Virginia Tech left the Big East in 2004, and the league was thinner for it. Schiano deserves credit for taking advantage, but the 2006 Big East was hardly a gauntlet.
Here was the top of the standings that season:
- Louisville, 12-1 overall, 6-1 in conference
- Rutgers, 11-2 overall, 5-2 in conference
- West Virginia, 11-2 overall, 5-2 in conference
- South Florida, 9-4 overall, 4-3 in conference
- Cincinnati, 8-5 overall, 4-3 in conference
- Pittsburgh, 6-6 overall, 2-5 in conference
- UConn, 4-8 overall, 1-6 in conference
- Syracuse, 4-8 overall, 1-6 in conference
Rutgers never actually won the Big East that year. The Scarlet Knights’ biggest moment came in the upset of No.
3 Louisville, which stands as probably the biggest win in program history. But late losses to Cincinnati and No.
15 West Virginia kept them from finishing on top.
Even with that near miss, Rutgers’ run in the Big East was a real success by program standards. Over its final seven seasons in the league, the Scarlet Knights were 26-23 in conference play.
For Rutgers football at that time, that was a major step forward. It even helped launch Schiano into an NFL coaching opportunity.
Still, the old setup is gone for good. Rutgers isn’t going back to getting USF, UConn, Syracuse and Cincinnati on a regular conference slate.
That reality makes the money conversation impossible to ignore. Rutgers is operating at a disadvantage in a sport where investment drives results.
According to CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer and John Talty, the school is spending between $20-30 million on its football roster this season, which places it near the bottom of the Big Ten. That lines up with the Scarlet Knights’ 2026 transfer class, which ranked 81st overall and last in the conference.
The financial picture gets even tighter when you factor in the athletic department’s $78 million budget deficit in the 2025 fiscal year, per NJ.com. Even a coaching change would be expensive, since Schiano’s buyout sits at $17.3 million.
If Rutgers wants to follow the Indiana model and jump from conference afterthought to serious Big Ten player, it needs a major influx of cash. The article points to the absence of a Mark Cuban-type booster, while noting that Sebastian Stan, Jane Krakowski and Todd Frazier could theoretically combine forces to help the program.
There is at least one opening for optimism. For much of Rutgers’ Big Ten life, the Scarlet Knights were stuck in the East Division and had to deal with Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State every year. That was a brutal path for any program.
The division format is gone now, which means Rutgers no longer starts every season staring at three automatic heavyweights. The 2026 schedule still brought a rough draw, though, with USC, Indiana, Michigan and Penn State on the slate.
In a more favorable year, Rutgers could have a better chance to make a move. Purdue under Jeff Brohm is the comparison here: the right coaching staff, a friendlier schedule and enough opportunity to turn that into real success. Brohm’s Boilermakers won 17 games across his final two seasons.
Even so, the ceiling remains hard to see in a Big Ten packed with blue bloods and rising powers like Indiana. Rutgers can dream bigger than it has through two games in 2026, but the path back to anything like 2006 will require a lot to break exactly right.
In Other News...
Rutgers Heads Into USC Test With A Familiar Defensive Problem
Rutgers gets another crack at USC at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, and the matchup brings back some familiar concerns for the Scarlet Knights. In the first meeting last season, Rutgers moved the ball well enough on offense to stay in it, but the defense had a much harder time keeping USC in check, a pattern that looms over this rematch as both teams come in with clear strengths on one side of the ball.
The numbers point to a game where Rutgers will need cleaner answers on defense than it had before, especially against an USC offense that has shown it can stress teams in a variety of ways. For Rutgers, the challenge is not just matching the Trojans score for score, but finding a way to avoid the kind of breakdowns that turned last years meeting into a long afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
Moses Walker Gives Rutgers A Defensive Spark At The Perfect Time
Moses Walker has given Rutgers a timely lift on defense just as the schedule is about to tighten. The senior linebacker was named Comeback Player of the Week after a standout performance that included two interceptions and a sack, an outing that helped underline why he remains such an important leader for the Scarlet Knights through the first two games of the season.
Now the challenge only gets bigger with USC next on the slate, and Rutgers will need that same disruptive edge to carry over. The Trojans bring a test that can expose a defense if it loses discipline for even a few snaps, which makes Walkers presence in the middle of things especially valuable as the Scarlet Knights try to carry some momentum into the matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Heads Into USC With One Huge Decision Still Unsettled
Rutgers spent the lead-up to USC focusing on a Trojans offense that has leaned on youth early, with freshmen Trent Mosley and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt giving Lincoln Riley another layer of danger at receiver. Tight end Mark Bowman and sophomore wideout Jourdin Houston only add to the sense that this is not a unit waiting for its veterans to carry the load, and for the Scarlet Knights it means the defensive plan has to account for speed and unpredictability all over the field.
Greg Schiano still has one major call hanging over the week, though, and it is the kind of decision that shapes everything else on game day. He has not named a starting quarterback for the trip to USC, leaving Rutgers with a little more uncertainty than it would like before facing a high-powered opponent on the road, even as the program continues to sort out how several younger players fit into the picture this season. [Read more 🡒]