Rutgers’ 2026 schedule has the usual Big Ten grind baked into it, but there’s also enough relief built in to make a bowl run feel realistic after last season’s 5-7 finish. The Scarlet Knights still have to survive the league’s weekly wear and tear, yet a softer out-of-conference slate gives them a clear path to stacking wins early and, if things break right, getting back to postseason play.
The easiest stretch starts right at the top with UMass on Sept. 3 in Piscataway. The Minutemen were winless in 2025, and this looks like the kind of opener where Rutgers should be able to settle in quickly and move on.
UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak is making his return to Rutgers after three years as Schiano’s defensive coordinator, but that reunion is not expected to tilt the matchup. By the fourth quarter, this has the feel of a game where Rutgers can turn to freshmen and younger players.
Howard comes in at No. 1, and there’s not much mystery about why. The Bison visit SHI Stadium on Sept. 25, and the jump in class is obvious.
Howard went 5-7 last season and was beaten 55-7 by Temple in its only FBS game, which says plenty about the challenge ahead. The timing helps Rutgers, too, since the game arrives after a tough home date with USC and gives the Scarlet Knights a chance to reset before closing September.
It should also be a spot where younger players get real snaps.
Boston College lands third on the list, and Rutgers should like that trip to Boston on Sept. 11.
The Eagles are coming off a 2-10 season and went through a major overhaul, so early-season growing pains are part of the picture. Former Boston College starting quarterback Dylan Lonergan could be Rutgers’ starting quarterback, since that competition is still unresolved.
Bill O’Brien enters his third season with a 9-16 record, and after losing a bundle of players, Boston College is still trying to sort itself out. If Rutgers drops this one, it would say plenty about where the season is headed.
Maryland checks in at No. 4, with the game set for Oct. 17 in College Park. Rutgers has been better on the road since Greg Schiano returned, and Maryland’s home-field edge is described as minimal because of the empty seats.
The Scarlet Knights are also coming off a bye week, which matters because Schiano’s teams have historically been strong after time off and OC Kirk Ciarrocca has a strong track record coming out of a bye as well. Rutgers has won the last two meetings, and Maryland could be under pressure by then with UConn, Virginia Tech, UCLA, Nebraska and Ohio State all on the schedule before Rutgers arrives.
Michigan State rounds out the five at No. 5, and that one comes Nov. 28 in Piscataway as the regular-season finale for both teams. The Spartans will be trying to bounce back under new head coach Pat Fitzgerald, but Rutgers has had the upper hand lately.
The Scarlet Knights won the last meeting 41-14 in 2024, making it two straight in the series, and until Michigan State shows it has shaken off its recent funk, this matchup leans Rutgers. Bowl implications could still be in play, though the bigger point is that Rutgers should not need this game to get eligible.
In Other News...
Greg Schiano Just Sent Rutgers Fans The Message They Wanted
Greg Schiano has spent plenty of time selling Rutgers on patience, but this time the message landed a little differently. With president William Tate and athletic director Keli Zinn now in place, Schiano pointed to a kind of vertical alignment around the program that he said Rutgers had not really had before, and he framed that as a meaningful shift for a team trying to keep climbing.
The other part of the pitch was less about structure and more about proof. Schiano highlighted the retention of KJ Duff, Antwan Raymond and Kobe Asamoah as a sign the program is starting to hold onto the kind of players it needs, while making clear he would rather build through development and retention than lean too heavily on the transfer portal. He also made it plain that the old setup left Rutgers operating at a disadvantage, which is why these early wins around the roster matter so much now. [Read more 🡒]
Former Rutgers Star Suffers Brutal Injury In Shocking MLB Moment
Joshua Kuroda-Grauers first extended look in the majors had already started to turn heads for the Oakland As, and the former Rutgers infielder kept adding to that momentum after his June 29 call-up from the minors. He had been swinging it well, and in the same game he delivered his first career home run, a reminder of why his rise had been one of the more encouraging Rutgers-to-pros storylines this summer.
The night took a painful turn after a foul ball struck him in the groin, but Kuroda-Grauer still managed to stay in long enough to add a single before being replaced. He was resting comfortably afterward, leaving Rutgers fans to absorb both the promise of what he has done so far and the concern that comes with any sudden MLB moment like this. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Turns To Fred Mangione For A More Aggressive Future
Rutgers is adding a veteran business executive to a key post, bringing in Fred Mangione as chief executive officer of Scarlet Knight Enterprises. Mangione is set to begin Aug. 3, and the hire gives the school a leader with more than three decades in sports and entertainment, a rsum that includes work with the NYNJ Host Committee for the FIFA World Cup as well as stops with the New York Jets, Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center.
For Rutgers Athletics, the move points toward a more aggressive push on the business side, where revenue growth and strategic partnerships have become central to the departments next phase. Mangione arrives with a familiar New York and New Jersey background and a track record in major-event and pro-sports environments, the kind of experience Rutgers is betting can help sharpen its reach well beyond the field. [Read more 🡒]