Rutgers football enters November with plenty of questions and very little margin for error. At 2-6, the Scarlet Knights have fallen well short of expectations, with disappointing losses to UMass and Boston College derailing expectations before conference play began. Other than one win over a floundering Maryland team, Big Ten play has produced a couple of close calls, but no other victories.
With four games remaining, Rutgers still has an opportunity to finish the year on a more positive note, but
the path won’t be easy. The Scarlet Knights face Wisconsin, Nebraska, Penn State, and Michigan State to close out the regular season. Reaching bowl eligibility would require winning all four contests, an uphill battle for a team that has struggled to find consistency.
Still, there are opportunities within this November slate. Here’s a closer look at Rutgers’ remaining opponents, what makes each matchup challenging, and where the Scarlet Knights could find opportunities to get back in the win column.
Rutgers at Wisconsin (5-3, 3-2 B1G): November 7th
It has been an interesting season for the Wisconsin Badgers, who climbed into the rankings after a home win over USC, but were shut out by Iowa 30-0 last week and promptly fell back out of the AP Top 25.
Wisconsin’s other two losses came to a top-flight Notre Dame team at a neutral-site game at Lambeau Field during the first week and on the road at an undefeated UCLA Bruins team that was ranked within the top-ten in the first CFP rankings.
However, starting quarterback Colton Joseph has been struggling tremendously, being held to under 100 passing yards for three straight games. Against the Hawkeyes, he was benched for freshman quarterback Ryan Hopkins after throwing for 90 yards on 5 of 14 passes.
Luke Fickell and the Badgers have a decision to make at quarterback, as Hopkins completed 8 of 13 passes for 93 yards and an interception while making some throws downfield. He looked sped up at times, as expected for a freshman coming in against a suffocating Iowa defense, but seemed to have more command of the offense.
Expect the Badgers to deploy a heavy rushing attack, which could include a very mobile Joseph on the ground if he ends up starting. This has been a troubling series for the Scarlet Knights, and I originally had Rutgers picking off the Badgers in Camp Randall. That does not appear to be the case barring something highly unexpected.
Rutgers vs. Nebraska (5-3, 2-3 B1G): November 14th
Speaking of troubling series for the Scarlet Knights, Rutgers has also never defeated Nebraska, although the past two meetings were highly competitive, being a frustrating 14-13 home loss in 2022 on Black Friday in which the Knights blew a 13-0 lead and a 14-7 defensive contest in Lincoln in 2024 that saw the Huskers snap Rutgers’ 4-0 start to the season (which included inspiring wins at Virginia Tech and at home against Washington).
This year, Nebraska looked due for a breakout season under Matt Rhule, starting 5-0 and hosting Indiana for Big Noon in a battle of then-unbeaten teams. Big Red had the defending champions on the ropes after an electric run by Anthony Colandrea put the Huskers up 17-6 in the fourth quarter, but an all-too-familiar collapse saw Curt Cignetti’s squad leave Memorial Stadium with a 20-17 win.
The next week, Nebraska blew a 14-6 lead at Autzen Stadium, with former Huskers quarterback Dylan Raiola coming into the game during the fourth quarter and connecting with Jamari Johnson in the back of the end zone in the final minute to sink Nebraska. A bye week was not enough to cure the Huskers’ fourth-quarter woes, as Nebraska choked away a 7-3 lead with Washington scoring 14 points in fifteen seconds to stun a blackout crowd in Lincoln. This included a late touchdown followed by a pick-six returned by the Huskies’ Alex McLaughlin.
Despite all this, Nebraska possesses a very talented, mobile quarterback in Anthony Colandrea, a strong defense that has held most opponents under 20 points, and a talented receiving corps led by Jacory Barney Jr., Kwazi Gilmer, and tight end Luke Lindenmayer, not to mention freshman running back Jamal Rule.
Big Red will look to get right this Friday at an Illinois squad that has quietly followed an ugly 2-3 start with three consecutive wins, including one at home over Oregon. The Huskers will be looking to turn things around these next couple of weeks, and Rutgers will be a team they can assert their physicality and dominance towards.
Rutgers at Penn State (4-4, 1-4 B1G): November 21st
Next up for Rutgers is a familiar foe in Penn State. In last year’s win-and-go-bowling showdown, the Scarlet Knights were oh-so-close to pulling off their first win over the hated Nittany Lions since 1988, but the game turned on its head with an untimely Athan Kaliakmanis fumble returned for six, and the Knights were unable to punch back in one of the most heartbreaking losses in program history.
In Matt Campbell’s first year leading the program, Penn State has struggled arguably even more than a year ago when they fired James Franklin. After three lopsided nonconference wins, Wisconsin opened Big Ten play with a win in Happy Valley, and the Lions lost their next three games to Northwestern, USC, and Michigan.
Penn State found the win column again last Saturday against Purdue, taking them down 31-17 behind an efficient 16-24 performance from Rocco Becht and 135 yards from running back Cam Wallace. Sitting at an even 4-4, the Nittany Lions will take on Washington (5-3) in Seattle this Saturday before hosting a pesky Minnesota team that has pulled multiple upsets this year, before hosting the Scarlet Knights.
For Rutgers, this matchup should be less daunting than in years past, but it is still Penn State on the road. November is full of matchups that have been historical nightmares for Greg Schiano’s team, and this one haunts fans that much more. However, Penn State is by no means beatable this year, and if Rutgers can get healthier by then, this game could be for the taking in the fourth quarter.
Rutgers vs. Michigan State (2-6, 0-5 B1G)
The Scarlet Knights’ final game of the season will be at home against another bottom-dweller in Michigan State, and this might be one of the most winnable Big Ten games all year. The Spartans have been struggling with injuries and are among the worst offenses in the Power Four in both yards and points per game.
After a 2-0 start against MAC opponents (something that Rutgers could not manage), it was all downhill from there as Michigan State was outclassed by Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. The Spartans managed to play better in close losses to both Illinois-based schools, but fell in overtime to the Illini and lost by three at home to Northwestern before falling 28-10 to undefeated UCLA.
Starting quarterback Alessio Milivojevic is questionable this week, while the top three running backs for the green and white are also dealing with injuries. Although a lot can change between now and the end of the month, the Spartans have been dealing with poor health and have not been able to win a single Big Ten game.
MSU takes on their in-state rival Michigan for the Paul Bunyan Trophy this Saturday, before hosting Washington and Oregon in consecutive weeks. It would take a lot to go right for the Spartans to be in bowl contention entering the road finale at Rutgers, but this matchup has gone a lot better for the Knights than the other three.
Despite Michigan State leading the overall series 8-3 (all since RU joined the Big Ten in 2014), Rutgers has won the last two matchups. This included a wild 27-24 victory in the rain in which the Scarlet Knights came back from down 24-6 with a couple of big plays on special teams and a 148-yard rushing performance by Kyle Monangai, which included the game-winning touchdown and a clock-churning drive where he ran the ball at will.
One year later, the Scarlet Knights and Spartans duked it out in East Lansing for the 2024 regular-season finale. Despite Michigan State needing the win for bowl eligibility and Rutgers already having clinched, it was Rutgers that dominated the game with the legs of Monangai and Antwan Raymond in the snow, with three touchdowns and 200 yards of rushing between the two backs. Rutgers won that meeting 41-14 and went on to fall to Kansas State in the Rate Bowl in a 44-41 shootout.
Can Rutgers Salvage Its Season?
Rutgers enters November with an uphill climb ahead. The Scarlet Knights need to win all four remaining games to reach bowl eligibility, and after the way the first eight games have unfolded, that is a difficult proposition.
There are opportunities, though. Nebraska has struggled down the stretch, Penn State has been far more vulnerable than expected, and Michigan State has yet to win a Big Ten game. Wisconsin presents a difficult road test, but Rutgers cannot afford to approach any of these matchups assuming the outcome is already decided.
If Rutgers loses five games in a row and only beats the Spartans, that would result in a 3-9 season, and although a win to end the year would be nice, it would not say much if the only teams the Knights can beat are those that happen to be just as bad or maybe even worse. It would be a painful reminder that Rutgers only seems to pull games out against them, just barely, except they did not even do that in the early portion of nonconference play.
For Greg Schiano and his team, the final four games are an opportunity to give Rutgers fans a reason to believe heading into the offseason. If not, some changes will likely be made heading into 2027.
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