Rutgers football has its first non-conference opponent for the 2029 season. According to FBSSchedules.com, the Scarlet Knights will host the Central Michigan Chippewas for the first time on September 15th, 2029. Rutgers will pay Central Michigan a $1.35 million guarantee to play the game.
The Scarlet Knights are no strangers to scheduling competition from the Mid-American Conference (MAC), having most recently defeated the Akron Zips 49-17 in Week 2 of the 2024 season. This season, Rutgers will open
with consecutive home games against two of the MAC’s top teams. The Ohio Bobcats will come to Piscataway in late August to battle the Scarlet Knights before the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks play their first-ever game against Rutgers football a week later.
Rutgers will host UMass, now a member of the MAC, to open up the 2026 season, before visiting Chestnut Hill to begin a home-and-home series against Boston College. The final nonconference game for the Scarlet Knights in 2026 is another contest against Howard, with Rutgers having defeated the Bison 44-7 in last season’s opener.
Future MAC opponents for the Scarlet Knights include Akron in 2027, Kent State (2028, 2030), and the aforementioned contest against Central Michigan in 2029. Rutgers has also scheduled a four-game series with the Temple Owls from 2030 to 2033. Lincoln Financial Field will host the 2030 and 2032 contests, while SHI Stadium will host the matchups in 2031 and 2033.
Central Michigan has several future Big Ten matchups scheduled in addition to Rutgers. CMU will visit Michigan this season on September 13th, while visiting Michigan State in 2027 and 2030. The Chippewas have secured six wins over Big Ten competition over the years, while also knocking off a ranked Oklahoma State team back in 2016. A controversial untimed down allowed Central Michigan to set up a Hail Mary pass, which was lateraled back and eventually resulted in a game-winning touchdown.
The Scarlet Knights will look to continue their dominance against the nonconference slate in 2025, having won twelve straight regular-season games against out-of-conference teams. This includes several road wins against ACC foes Boston College, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech, with the Knights also knocking off the Hokies at home to sweep the home-and-home series. With a bowl win against Miami and bowl losses to Wake Forest and Kansas State, Rutgers is 13-2 against non-Big Ten competition since Schiano’s return to the program in 2020.
