It has been a roller-coaster season for the 2024 Rutgers Scarlet Knights with many highs and lows along the way. But when all is said and done, Greg Schiano’s squad will be bowling for the second straight season even if their bowl game odds are ultimately dodgy.
Check out our Rutgers bowl game projection to see why I like the Rate Bowl as the Scarlet Knights' likely destination.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights season to date
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights opened the season on a high, winning four straight, including impressive wins over Virginia Tech and Washington.
Unfortunately, that was followed by four straight losses, and Rutgers was unsure if it would be bowling at all by the end of October.
But Schiano’s team showed some resiliency as the Scarlet Knights bounced back by beating Minnesota and then became bowl-eligible by getting a road win over Maryland on Nov. 16. However, they followed that up with a loss to Illinois.
A blowout win at Michigan State ended Rutgers’ season on a high note, though that has little impact on their bowling destination.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights bowl game projection
Rate Bowl
Of the Big Ten’s 11 bowl-eligible teams, Rutgers may be the least enticing. All due respect to the Knights, but bowl representatives will clamor over 6-6 USC and 6-6 Washington before they chase 7-5 Rutgers.
That may knock the Knights to the Rate Bowl against one of the Big 12’s worst bowl-eligible teams, someone akin to Texas Tech.
Big Ten bowl tie-ins and affiliations
- Cheez-It Citrus Bowl (vs. SEC)
- ReliaQuest Bowl (vs. SEC)
- Duke's Mayo Bowl (vs. ACC) - Even-numbered years
- Las Vegas Bowl (vs. Pac-12) - Odd-numbered years
- Music City Bowl (vs. SEC)
- Pinstripe Bowl (vs. ACC)
- Rate Bowl (vs. Big 12)
- Quick Lane Bowl (vs. MAC)
Rate Bowl info
- Date: Thursday, December 26, 2024
- Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
- Network: ESPN
