Rutgers are certainly a team in flux right now. Whether or not you truly believe that the Scarlet Knights under Greg Schiano have evolved as a team is entirely up for interpretation. While the Scarlet Knights achieved their best-ever record in over a decade, it still feels like baby steps as Schiano enters his pivotal fifth year with the team. Now, with one of the more daunting conference slates in recent Big Ten memory, the Scarlet Knights could either be in for a rude awakening or stun the world with continued and steady internal improvement.
2024 in Review
Rutger’s 2024 was turbulent, but almost certainly not a disappointment. To achieve the escape act they did while reaching bowl eligibility was actually quite impressive. Considering how they started off, losing several pieces on both sides of the ball, to start off 4-0 was far more than they could have imagined. Then came the topsy-turvy part. 4 straight losses, three within the conference, saw them head into the bye week, looking for answers and reinforcements for several injured players.
Coming out on the other side was a Rutgers squad given new life. A win over Minnesota. A win over Maryland to clinch a bowl berth. Then, probably the most Rutgers game of last year. Up by one with four seconds left, and Illinois on their 40-yard line, they gave up a last-gasp touchdown to lose a heartbreaker on the road. It was an encapsulation of all things that went right and wrong for the Scarlet Knights. So, of course, leave it to them to finish their regular season with a resounding win over Michigan State to close out their best season and win total in over a decade.
Overall, it wasn’t pretty, but it was a winning record and was a continuation of the steady progress Schiano has made with this roster.
Head Coach Profile
To say that Greg Schiano has made the correct kind of progress for Rutgers is an understatement. Whether he can lead them to a full-on revitalization remains to be seen. While in his second stint with the Scarlet Knights, he has started off quite similar to his first, producing 9 NFL players in this current span in the process. Nevertheless, at some point, 7-5 won’t be enough for a Scarlet Knights program that feels ready to turn the page. He has 5 more years with the program to show he is the right man for the job. Now he has to prove it continuously.
This 2025 season especially feels like a marker for him. The schedule is an absolute gauntlet with no gimmes in the slightest. While a 7-5 finish in this hellhole of a season would be well-earned and deserved, it will largely depend on how it’s executed and, most importantly, who their wins are against. Look for Schiano to be hyper-focused on putting wins on the board during conference play.
Top Offensive Player
While Athan Kaliakmanis was one of the most steady QBs of this current Schiano era last year, and the passing attack gained new life, Ian Strong almost became a superstar before our very eyes. In a young wide receiver room, he started to separate himself from the pack in an offense that may become more pass-oriented this year with the loss of bell cow Kyle Monangai. In just his second full season as a starter, the converted receiver did things no other Rutgers receiver has done in countless years.
For one, there was the receiving touchdowns in four straight games, not done since 2010 by a Rutgers receiver. In a loaded receiver conference, he somehow ranked 10th with 15.7 yards per reception. And in Rutgers’ bowl game, he was the most impressive receiver, perhaps between both teams, with just five receptions but for 105 yards. The junior is ready to catapult his name into the annals of Rutgers history with another stellar, potentially All-Big Ten season.
Top Defensive Player
This Rutgers defense could certainly carry it to more victories than expected this season, but it will really have to rely on depth. And if Greg Schiano relies on this young man much like he did last year, chances are it will pay off.
Kaj Sanders as a true freshman made a good kind of history last year. He became just the second true freshman ever to start a season opener for Greg Schiano. That just speaks to the level of trust Schiano is placing in certain athletes and with Sanders, it looks like it is already starting to bear fruit. Sanders in high school wasn’t even a defensive player either. For NJ powerhouse Bergen Catholic, he was their star running back, rushing for over 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns. Thus, his transition from running back to safety was ever more incredible.
The switch immediately paid off, as he totaled 43 tackles and four pass breakups in just six starts. If he wasn’t Rutgers’ best defensive player last year, he will almost certainly be just that this year.
2025 Schedule Preview
Aug. 28 (Thursday) vs. OhioSept. 6 vs. Miami OHSept. 13 vs. Norfolk StateSept. 19 (Friday) vs. IowaSept. 27 at MinnesotaOct. 10 (Friday) at WashingtonOct. 18 vs. OregonOct. 25 at PurdueNov. 1 at IllinoisNov. 8 vs. MarylandNov. 22 at Ohio StateNov. 29 vs. Penn State
It’s one thing to speak glowingly of what we could expect from Rutgers this season after major steps forward. It’s quite another when you actually look at who they will be playing. In fact, every game outside of maybe Ohio and Norfolk State to start the season will be a huge test. Iowa is no easy start to their conference slate and its all downhill from there.
They have to welcome a CFP squad in Oregon three short weeks later, but that’s not all. Two weeks after, they travel to Champaign to visit an impassioned Illinois squad who this time won’t want to leave it till late this time around. But the games every Scarlet Knights fan are fretting are the back to back gauntlets where they have visit both Ohio State in the Shoe and perhaps the most experienced Big Ten team in Penn State rolls into town. Facing Jeremiah Smith is one thing to end your season. But to have a Penn State machine roll into your house to end the season is quite daunting.
Like I said above, if somehow Schiano’s crew come out on the other side a bowl squad, they will have earned it.
