2008 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

2008 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
PapaJohns.com Bowl champion
Conference Big East Conference
2008 record 85 (52 Big East)
Head coach Greg Schiano
Offensive coordinator John McNulty
Home stadium Rutgers Stadium
(Capacity: 41,500)
2008 Big East football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#17 Cincinnati $   6 1         11 3  
Pittsburgh   5 2         9 4  
#23 West Virginia   5 2         9 4  
Rutgers   5 2         8 5  
Connecticut   3 4         8 5  
South Florida   2 5         8 5  
Louisville   1 6         5 7  
Syracuse   1 6         3 9  
  • $ BCS representative as conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

After losing star halfback Ray Rice to the NFL Draft, Rutgers faced a rebuilding season. Senior Mike Teel was forced to step up his game at quarterback without being able to rely on Rice so frequently. Rutgers started off very slowly, dropping 5 of the first 6 games, including two to Big East rivals West Virginia and Cincinnati. With dreams of a Big East championship now completely eroded, Rutgers now had to recover to try to at least secure a fourth consecutive bowl berth. Starting with a 12-10 win against Connecticut on homecoming weekend, Rutgers never lost another game. The next week, they posted an impressive 54-34 win over #17 Pittsburgh. They won their next four games, finishing the season 7-5 with a solid 5-2 conference record. Rutgers earned a bowl berth in the PapaJohns.com Bowl, and they won a close game against NC State for their third consecutive bowl win.

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 1 4:00 PM No. NR/25 Fresno State* Rutgers StadiumPiscataway, NJ ESPN L 724   42,508
September 11 7:45 PM North Carolina* Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ ESPN L 1244   42,502
September 20 3:30 PM at Navy* Navy-Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD CBSCS L 2123   37,821
September 27 3:30 PM Morgan State* Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ SNY W 380   42,411
October 4 12:00 PM at West Virginia Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, WV SNY L 1724   59,122
October 11 12:00 PM at Cincinnati Nippert StadiumCincinnati, OH SNY L 1013   32,370
October 18 12:00 PM Connecticutdagger Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ ESPNU W 1210   42,491
October 25 3:30 PM at No. 17/20 Pittsburgh Heinz FieldPittsburgh, PA ESPN360 W 5434   51,161
November 8 12:00 PM Syracuse Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ ESPNU W 3517   42,172
November 15 12:00 PM at South Florida Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL SNY W 4916   47,216
November 22 12:00 PM Army* Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ SNY W 303   42,212
December 4 7:45 PM Louisville Rutgers Stadium • Piscataway, NJ ESPN W 6314   42,347
December 29 3:00 PM vs. North Carolina State Legion FieldBirmingham, AL (PapaJohns.com Bowl) ESPN W 2923   38,582
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP and Coaches Polls released prior to game.. All times are in Eastern Time.

References

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