Rutgers heads to Northwestern next weekend with a chance that doesn’t come around often, and probably won’t come around again this season. The Scarlet Knights are staring at a matchup with a ranked opponent, and that alone makes Saturday different from what’s waiting on the rest of the schedule.
Northwestern checked in at No. 24 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll on Sunday and will host Rutgers at its brand-new stadium. The Wildcats enter at 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play, and multiple sportsbooks opened them as 16.5-point favorites.
For Rutgers, the bigger number is the one attached to its current drought. The Scarlet Knights own the longest losing streak against ranked opponents in FBS football, having dropped their last 45 chances by an average margin of 28.8 points.
Their last win over a ranked team came in November of 2009 against No. 24 USF.
If they don’t pull off the upset in this one, that wait will stretch to 17 years.
That’s what makes this game stand out so sharply. Rutgers is 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten, and the five teams left on its schedule after Northwestern are all well outside the top 25, which means this may be the Scarlet Knights’ best shot at ending the streak.
The only ranked opponent Rutgers has seen so far this season was then-No. 5 Indiana, which rolled to a 47-15 win in Piscataway.
There is some history here, though not enough to change the reality of the moment. Rutgers is 4-2 all-time against Northwestern, but since joining the Big Ten the Scarlet Knights are 1-2 against the Wildcats. Their most recent trip to Ryan Field came in 2021, when Rutgers fell 21-7 during Greg Schiano’s second season back in charge.
Now, five years later, Rutgers gets another crack at a ranked Northwestern team, with a skid that has lingered for years hanging over the matchup.
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KJ Duff has become one of the biggest reasons Rutgers passing game has started to feel dangerous, and his latest breakout came in a 37-30 win over Maryland. The junior wide receiver was the most explosive target on the field, finishing with nine catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns as the Scarlet Knights kept pace in a game that turned into a showcase for Dylan Lonergan, who threw for 291 yards and three scores.
Greg Schiano had plenty to like afterward, and Duffs production now carries a little extra weight beyond one strong afternoon. His scoring output has him closing in on a place in the program record book, which gives Rutgers fans something to track as the season moves forward and makes every big catch feel a little more significant. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Win Just Triggered Fallout Maryland Couldnt Ignore
Rutgers 37-30 win left more than just a mark in the standings. Less than a day after the defeat, Maryland entered its bye week and head coach Mike Locksley made a sweeping change on defense, moving on from defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino. It was the kind of postgame fallout that usually says as much about a programs internal pressure as it does about one Saturday result.
Locksley said he appreciated Monachinos work, but also made clear the decision came after a broader evaluation of the program. For Maryland, the timing matters as much as the move itself, with the bye week now serving as a reset point after a loss to a Big Ten rival that clearly carried more consequences than just one in the standings. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Gave Fans A Real Reason To Debate This Team's Progress
Rutgers walked into Madison Square Garden and gave itself plenty of reason for optimism, even in an exhibition against a St. Johns team widely expected to make a deep NCAA Tournament run. The Scarlet Knights controlled the first half and showed clear signs of offseason progress, with Christian Gurdak and Tariq Francis both making their presence felt against a high-level opponent.
The game eventually stretched into a long, chaotic test of depth and resolve, and Rutgers was forced to answer the kind of questions that only a night like this can create. The final result left the Scarlet Knights with a loss, but the way they competed for stretches against a talented St. Johns group made it a useful measuring stick for where this roster is headed. [Read more 🡒]